Ambystoma mexicanum

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Axolotl
Axolotl
Species	Ambystoma mexicanum
Difficulty	Moderate
Min. Tank Size	75.708 liters 75,708.236 mL 20 US Gallons (75.7L)
Size	15.24 cm 10-6 " (25.4-15.2cm)
pH	6.5 - 8.0
Temp.	288.706 K 15.556 °C 519.67 °R 290.928 K 17.778 °C 523.67 °R60 -64 °F (15.6-17.8°C)
Water Hardness	6-16
Stocking Ratio	1:1 M:F
Availability	Uncommon
Diet	Carnivore Pellet Foods Flake Foods Live Foods
Life Span	5-10 years

[edit] Alternative names

Mexican Walking Fish, Axolotl

[edit] Sexing

Mature females will have a very rounded abdomen, mature males cloacal region tends to be swollen. Mature males also tend to be more elongated, and have longer tails than females.

[edit] Tank compatibility

These amphibians should be kept in species tanks only, and when more than one is kept the tank should be large and well-filtered. Fish small enough will be eaten, or fish too large to be eaten are likely to nibble on the Axolotl's gill feathers.

[edit] Diet

Axolotls are carnivores and do best with a meaty diet. Food must be carefully considered so as to not pass on any parasites to the Axolotl. Feed them live foods such as bloodworm, earthworms, blackworm and daphnia. Foods such as tubifex and beef heart are not recommended as they are not of much nutritional value to the Axolotl. Axolotls will also generally not accept floating foods.

[edit] Feeding regime

Feed once or twice a day.

[edit] Environment Specifics

These fish require coldwater/temperate temperatures, and consistant at that. The minimum tank size for the Axolotl is 18" long for a single adult. It is best to have the tank only half-filled, as these creatures can be excellent escape artists and it may be necessary to have a mesh lid on the tank to maintain their temperature needs. The water must also be very well filtered as these are messy animals, however, they must not have a tank with a strong current.

Substrate must be carefully considered for Axolotls, they are capable of eating small gravel that can harm them, and are not able to grip on bare-bottomed tanks, therefore keep them on pebble-sized substrate. They also must have places to hide and these can be in the form of silk plants and pvc pipes.

[edit] Behaviour

Axolotls are curious but sometimes shy creatures.

[edit] Identification

The Axolotl can not be mistaken for any other animal. Their external gills are a huge give away.

An Axolotl is a very unusual phenomenon in the animal world, it is a Salamander that never loses it's gills and can reproduce in what is effectively still a larval stage. It's rare, but sometimes an Axolotl will metamorphose into a true Salamander which behaves and looks very similar to the Tiger Salamander.

[edit] Pictures

Albino Axolotl

Axolotl - wild type

[edit] External links

• Axolotl.org