Caring for your Axolotl

Axolotls are fun and adorable animals that are continuing to grow in popularity as aquarium pets.

Most people familiar with fish or turtle care will find that axolotl care is very similar, requiring only a few special details.

Axolotls are sometimes called the “Mexican Walking fish” but are actually a type of aquatic salamander that use big feathery gills on each side of their heads to breath underwater. Axolotls can live with other axolotls or fish with similar needs, but it is recommended to keep them solitarily, especially in smaller aquariums. This is because they are very clumsy eaters and will accidentally nip each other or fish when they are crowded together during feeding. If multiple axolotls are kept together, they will require much more space. It recommended to have at least 15 to 20 gallons per axolotl. It may sound like a lot of water, but they can reach up to 10 inches in size. With proper care and room to grow, these critters can live for more than 10 years!

What do they need?

Axolotls need longer and wider tanks compared to standard fish tanks, because they will mostly walk on the bottom and don’t necessarily need the height for swimming. A “20 gallon Long” or “40-gallon Breeder” size aquarium make great options for an axolotl for this reason.

They do NOT need a heater. These are cold water aquatic animals and can become stressed in warmer water temperatures above 70° Fahrenheit (21° Celsius). Use of a chiller or other water-cooling method is needed to maintain cooler water temperatures, if the aquarium is placed where it might get too warm.  

Fine sand or leaving the aquarium floor bare is preferred for these salamanders for easy walking or laying and preventing them from accidentally eating stones or gravel. They will appreciate many places for them to hide away from bright light and sleep in, such as caves, driftwood structures, decorations and tubes. Make sure any decorations that are added to the aquarium have smooth edges, to protect delicate skin and gills.  

Axolotls need a lot of filtration and clean water but prefer an overall low water flow. Higher flow filters can be stressful to them, as the axolotls generally want to move slowly as they explore the aquarium and will struggle to fight against a big current. If the filter starts to push the animals around, consider turning down the filter flow or adding more decorations to disperse the flow within the aquarium.  

Adding API QUICK START™ nitrifying bacteria to the aquarium when first adding your axolotl will make sure that toxic ammonia and nitrite are taken care of by these “beneficial bacteria” and converted to nitrate but be sure to perform your weekly or biweekly water exchanges to keep the resulting nitrate low over time. If tap water is being used to fill the aquarium or is used for water exchanges, make sure that you are adding API TAP WATER CONDITIONER™ treatment to remove chlorine or chloramines from the tap water before use in the aquarium. Be sure to test the water used for the aquarium and to test the aquarium water itself weekly, to assure that the water testing values fall within safe ranges that the axolotls need for their best health. The API Freshwater Master Test kit or the API 5-in-1 test strips are great and accurate ways perform a variety of these water tests, each will test multiple of the water quality levels that are important for axolotl care. Make sure to acquire additional individual API testing kits or strips as necessary to make sure all important water parameters can be checked (for example pairing the API FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT with the API GH & KH TEST KIT, or pairing the API 5-in-1 TEST STRIPS with the API AMMONIA TESTING STRIPS). The manuals for each of these products include strategies for changing the qualities of the water, according to whether the water is testing too low or too high.

Ideal Water Testing Parameters for axolotls:

• Temperature: 60-65° Fahrenheit (15-18° Celsius)
• pH: 7.2-7.6
• Ammonia: 0 ppm
• Nitrite: 0 ppm
• Nitrate:  Keep below 20 ppm
• General Hardness (GH): 7-14 dGH (125-250 ppm)
• Carbonate Hardness (KH): at least 3 dKH (50+ ppm)

Axolotls are also known to produce a lot of physical waste in addition to the ammonia waste and this can be controlled by siphoning the bottom of the aquarium during water exchanges and regularly adding API STRESS ZYME™ bacterial cleaner to break down the buildup of organic matter and sludge in the sand or filter.  

Diet

In the wild, axolotls are carnivores that like to hunt and eat invertebrates during the night. In captivity, they will adjust their feeding times to when food is provided. Be sure not to overfeed your axolotl, while growing babies should be fed once or twice a day, a fully grown adult only needs feeding once every 2-3 days. Provide your axolotl with protein rich food like earth worms, adult brine shrimp, insect larvae like bloodworms, small live or frozen freshwater shrimp, and/or sinking pellets that have been specially formulated for them. Many axolotls will insist on eating live foods at first when they are young and may not transition from frozen foods to pellets, so make sure to locate places near you that sell these live foods and frozen foods to keep your new axolotl fed appropriately.  

Special Considerations

While their care is very similar to keeping an aquarium for fish or a turtle, axolotls are going to be much more sensitive to changes within the water testing than turtles and will be much more sensitive to some medications or additives than fish. Providing the best water parameters, care, and feeding will prevent the majority of issues and reduce chance of disease. That said, if you ever have a sick axolotl or need to treat a different sick animal in the same aquarium, you will need to be careful and fully research which medications can be used alongside an axolotl or use a medication that specifically states that is for aquatic reptiles and amphibians like the API TURTLE FIX™ treatment.  

Axolotls can be be very fun to watch during feeding times but are not very active animals in general and should not be handled with hands or above the water. This means they should be avoided if it is desired to have a more interactive pet or if someone in the household is likely to poke at or disturb the animal often. This animal is perfect for those looking for a very chill and cute wet pet, that are content to watch it explore at its own pace.

The API products listed above are all appropriate for use in an aquarium containing an axolotl, for other product recommendations and compatibility questions, please reach out to us directly.