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Axolotls are carnivores, so meat is essential for their diet. Axolotls swallow their food whole since they do not have teeth for grinding or biting. They use groove-like teeth to help grip their food. For this reason, the axolotl's food should fit in their mouth. When an axolotl goes to eat something, they open their mouth and inhale anything that is close. That is why it is important to use a bare bottom tank, rocks larger than the Axolotl's mouth, or sand that can pass through the Axolotl's stomach. Regular gravel can block the stomach & even cause death.  Axolotls will eat non-live food when a little over an inch in length, but the movement of live food entices them to snap.

Adult axolotls are best fed every other day or daily depending on your Axolotl's preferences & needs. When very young they should be fed frequently (once or twice daily).  Feed just as much as the Axolotl can comfortably eat within 5-10 minutes. Try to aim for their stomach to be as wide as their head.  If keeping more than one adult Axolotl in a tank, it is recommended to keep the Axolotls well fed so hungry Axolotls won’t  nip on tank mate. Any uneaten food should be cleaned from the tank daily to keep water optimum.  To minimize mess to clean up, a small terra cotta tray (water catcher for flower pot) can be placed in tank as a feeding dish as well as a turkey baster can be used to precisely land food on dish.  A variety of foods is best for optimal nutrition & to get a balanced diet. If your axolotl develops a nutritional problem, change its diet immediately and try to feed it a variety of foods. Nutritional deficiencies often lead to increased likelihood of the Axolotl acceptability to bacterial or fungal disease.

You can also grow your own worms which is good to obtain a steady source of earthworms for Axolotls, as well as to produce fertile compost for gardening. You will need a container that allows drainage and ventilation. Place soil in container with a bedding material on top. You want the bedding material to be light weight and retain moisture like coconut fiber, peat moss, shredded paper, or leaves. Add worms such as earth worms which have a fast reproduction rate. You will also need fruit and vegetable scraps like banana peels & melons avoiding any citrus which is too acidic to feed worms. Place food under bedding which will reduce the invasion of pests. You will also want to add egg shells to prevent acid conditions and it will also provide calcium for worms. Make sure not to add too much food which can foul the bedding and sicken or kill the worms. Also, make sure to keep worms at temperature of 32-85°F. Other bugs may live in habitat with the worms, but these are very unlikely to harm the worms or your Axolotl.

Bloodworms are the aquatic larvae of midge flies and not actually worms. They get their name from their bright red color and they live in the sediments of ponds where they feed on detritus. Frozen blood worms are found at most pet stores and are an excellent source of nutrition. Bloodworms can be fed to adult axolotls as well as juvenile Axolotls (small enough to fit in mouth)  and are readily accepted by Axolotls as a food source. You can purchase frozen bloodworms in cubes or bricks. If using cubes, place the frozen cube in a cup with a small amount of dechlorinated water from the Axolotls tank. Wait for the cube to thaw and pour food in tank. The frozen bloodworm bricks usually have more bloodworms available but you will have to break up the brick in pieces since it is often too much for a few Axolotls. The brick can be useful if feeding a large amount of juvenile Axolotls as more of brick can be thawed as needed.

When choosing a pellet, make sure to choose it based on the ingredients list. You want the ingredients to have meat as the first few ingredients since ingredients on labels are ordered in what they have the most of to the least.  I would stay away from ones that have vegetarian ingredients (algae, wheat, corn meal, alfalfa) near the top of the list and make sure it is not high in fat. You also want to make sure they sink since Axolotls prefer sinking pellets since they are bottom dwellers. Pellets are almost all floating. You can pre-soak the pellets and squeeze the pellets a bit to allow them to sink.

If using pellets make sure to remove any leftover pellets which may cloud water. Also keep in mind the food must be able also fit in the Axolotls mouth since the Axolotl swallows food whole.  Some Axolotls may need to be trained to accept pellets. You can train your Axolotl by using tweezers to wave the pellet in front of their face until they snap & eat pellet. Be consistent only providing the pellets for the Axolotl to eat. This may take a few days for the Axolotl to eat the pellets but once the Axolotl realizes it is food, you can feed anytime but should not be a sole source of nutrition.