Feeding Axolotls

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.
Great Foods for Axolotls
Earthworms & Night Crawlers
Nutritional value: Excellent


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.
Blackworms
Nutritional value: Excellent
Blackworms live in shallow-water like swamps, ponds, or marshes and feed on microorganisms. Blackworms can be found at some pet shops and are an excellent food source for juvenile axolotls (small size fit easily into mouth). When keeping live black worms, worms should not be in too deep of a container of water. The water should just barely cover them and they must be rinsed with dechlorinated water every day to keep water from smelling foul. You will want to keep them in the refrigerator to keep from aging faster. Also remember to pick out any dead worms which will turn white when they die. Ask your pet store when their blackworms are delivered to make sure to get the healthiest, freshest batch as sometimes pet stores do not rinse them daily. When you get a new batch of blackworms, rinse them several times.
Nutritional value: Excellent

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.
Brine Shrimp
Nutritional value: Excellent

Frozen brine shrimp can be fed to larger axolotls as well as juveniles (small enough to fit in mouth) and are readily available at pet store. Plus, they are readily accepted by Axolotls just like bloodworms and they come in cube form 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 brine shrimp bricks usually have more available but you will have to break up in pieces since it is often too much for a few Axolotls.
Pellets

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.
The Occasional Treat
Foods High in Fat
Nutritional value: Fair

Nutritional value: Fair

Meat & Liver
Nutritional value: Fair

Although meat is not recommended as a food that can be consistently given, you may feed occasionally as a treat. Frozen beef & lamb heart may be found at some pet stores. It is normally packaged in frozen cubes which you thaw before giving to your Axolotl. Raw steak and chicken, have also known to be given to Axolotls as an occasional snack, which is cut into strips of approximately half a cm wide and 3 cm long. They then can be wrapped and frozen ready for feeding. Make sure to do regular water changes to keep water quality optimal.
Crickets
Nutritional value: Fair

Foods to Stay Away From
Freeze Dried Food
Nutritional value: Poor
Freezed dried foods such as bloodworms, daphnia, and tubifex lose most of its nutritional value during the freeze drying process as the cell walls become broken letting all the nutritional vitamins leak out. Due to this, freeze dried food do not have enough nutrition to support your Axolotl and many will not eat the Freeze dried food since it floats and Axolotls prefer sinking food. Also, it is possible for cheaper brands of freeze dried tubifex to harbor deadly bacteria.

Nutritional value: Poor

Nutritional value: Poor

Nutritional value: Poor