The Miracle of... Eggs

The hoped for and anticipated moment has occurred, Cordelia has had/laid/brung forth eggs! It all seems almost too soon, seeing as Nessie and her have been co-habitating for less than a month, but we will ask no questions of the happy couple! I have taken most of the eggs out of the tank, (I think there still may be a few on plants etc, but have taken all I can see). The little axolotl miracles will now live in a big plastic tub, (about 20 litres), until hopefully the birthday (hatching day?) happens in a couple of weeks!

Nessie, my little 'Water Monster'

Axolotl roughly translates as  'water monster' from an ancient Aztec language.  Their scientific name is Ambystoma mexicanum.  Axolotls are sometimes referred to as Mexican walking fish, but they are not fish, they are amphibians.

The axolotl originally comes from some lakes in Mexico, but are endangered in the wild due to pollution and loss of habitat.  Luckily, they are commonly bred in captivity around the world, so are unlikely to become extinct.  As well as making excellent pets, scientists are motivated to breed and study them because they have the amazing ability to regrow parts of  their bodies! So if an axolotl has a leg or part of its gills eaten by a fish (or another axolotl) it will regrow it within a few months. 

My pet axolotl Nessie gets his name from the Loch Ness monster, the most famous water monster of all!

Cordelia

 This lovely and rather fat axolotl at the bottom of the picture is my new axolotl Cordelia.  She is a lovely big healthy looking female, and makes Nessie look quite small next to her.  This is a picture of the two of them eating blood worms, as little (including Nessie!) gets in between this girl and her food.  One big swish of her tail is enough to send him flying, so I take the precaution of feeding them at the same time at opposite ends of the tank.

Like Nessie, she is very active.  She also enjoys swimming or walking through the log in the tank.  I rarely see Nessie do this but Cordelia does quite a lot. 

I had been looking for a female for some time, to be a wife/companian for Nessie.  When I saw Cordelia, she was the biggest and most active axolotl in the petshop, so I knew she would be a great match for my active boy Nessie! 
They get on great, (as long as he doesn't get between her and her food!) so I think I did some great matchmaking.

How To Feed a Fussy Baby Axolotl

Lucky has been eating well for the last day, which is reassuring to me. I can now see that the other baby Axoltls, Precious and Heidi, are getting a little more filled out in the body compared to him. I'm not sure if this is because technically they are a little older than Lucky, so a little more developed, or just because they like their food more! To encourage Lucky to eat, I moved him into a much smaller jar. This allowed me to chase him around with the food a bit more easily, because he couldn't dart away quite so far! Then with some patience, he ate twice yesterday (some chopped up bloodworm). I'm not sure if he is timid, and darting away from foreign objects that come near him as a survival skill, or if he is just a fussy eater!

Lucky the Baby Axolotl

I have noticed that the seventeen day old axolotl, Precious and Heidi, are feeding very quickly and well now. They eat a small piece of blood worm immediately when it is offered. Lucky, however, still takes quite a bit of patience to feed. I move the food very slightly in front of him until he takes it. I can't always get him to take the food, so I just keep offering it to him as often as possible. I worry about him when he won't eat! I am hoping that he may just be a little behind developmentally, as he was the last larva that I broke out of the egg. He wasn't out of his egg until nearly a week after the other two. He is the same size (about 2cm), as Precious and Heidi, and is swimming well and darting about like them. When I get home tonight I will try him with some boiled egg.

Feeding Hungry Baby Axolotl

Today the baby axolotl, Precious, Heidi and Lucky are 2cm long at about two weeks old. They are growing well, and are hungry! I have tried feeding them frozen blood worms (thawed), tiny pieces of boiled egg, and have even tried gold fish granules just to give it a go. Their favorite seems to be the bloodworms.

What I do is chop the thawed blood worm into tiny pieces just a few millimetres long. Then I use a thin wooden skewer to feed the baby axolotl from. I basically just wiggle it a little bit in front of their mouths, (mimicking live food) until they eat. This sometimes takes a little patience! I have noticed the last few days that all three babies, but Precious in particular, are starting to eat much more quickly when I feed them. I think they are starting to associate the human who comes hovering over their bowl, with food!

  I feed them twice a day, morning and evening, and three times daily on the weekend when I have the time. Sometimes one won't eat, and then I just have to leave the food with it and hope for the best.

The preferred first food for axolotl larva is live. But as I came across these eggs unexpectedly, that wasn't possible. I was hoping my guppies may have produced some fry, in which case I would have tried that, but at least my alternative labour intensive feeding method seems to be working!

New Aquarium and Axolotl Companion

Great news, my axolotl Nessie is now in his new and improved aquarium.  This one is a 60 litre tank.  I also bought a few new plants with heavier bases on them, as, following best practice, there is no gravel in this tank.  His log has of course made the move with him. 

Most importantly, I have taken the precaution of putting styrofoam underneath this aquarium, as you can see in this picture.  That will even out any irregularities and avoid a repeat of that last disaster.

Most exciting of all, I have found a wife for Nessie!  This is Cordelia.  I saw her in the pet shop when I was buying the tank and had to have her.  She captured my heart very quickly, much like Nessie did, with her playful antics.  She is lovely and healthy looking, and at 24 cm long, she makes Nessie look quite small. 

This picture shows Cordelia being gradually adjusted to the temperature of the tank.  The two of them are getting on beautifully.  Within the first few minutes of meeting, Nessie came over and layed his head on her back.  It was so cute, like he was cuddling her.