A Beginner's Care Guide
Keep your axolotl happy.
The right tank. The right temperature. The food that actually keeps them growing. Honest care notes from real research, not pet-store fiction.
A Beginner's Care Guide
The right tank. The right temperature. The food that actually keeps them growing. Honest care notes from real research, not pet-store fiction.
Why this site exists
Pet-store articles miss the basics. TikTok shows the wrong tank, the wrong food, the wrong temperature.
The real expertise lives scattered across Reddit threads, breeder Facebook groups, and a handful of exotic-vet papers. This site collects the right information from the right sources.
Start with the complete beginner walkthrough, then browse the food safety database or your morph guide.
If you're new
Ammonia poisoning is the single most common cause of death in new axolotls. Tank cycling takes four to six weeks and must happen before the axolotl arrives.
Axolotls are cold-water amphibians. Above 70°F they stop eating, become vulnerable to bacterial infection, and die quickly. Sixty to sixty-eight is the working range.
Live feeder fish carry parasites and thiaminase. The dramatic videos online of axolotls eating fish are dramatic because the axolotl is being poisoned.
Axolotls swallow their substrate along with food. Anything larger than fine sand causes impaction. Bare bottom or fine aquarium sand are the only safe choices.
Cannibalism is normal for axolotls. They will bite each other's gills and limbs. One axolotl per tank.
"Cycle the tank right and keep the water below 68°F, and you've already done 80% of the work."
Food safety
A quick-answer database covering 15 foods, ranked safe, caution, or avoid. Built from veterinary sources and the axolotl Reddit consensus.
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