- Common name: Mexican Walking Fish or Axolotl
- Scientific name: Ambystoma mexicanum
- Origin: Lake Xochimilco, Mexico
- Temperature: 14 and 20°C (57-68°F)
- Ease of keeping: Medium
- Aggressiveness: Highly Aggressive
- Lighting: No specific needs
- Adult Size: Up to 30cm – 12 Inches
- Minimum Tank Size: 15 Gallons
- Feeding: Beef Heart, Liver, Earthworms
Anecdote: As the name “Mexican Walking Fish” suggests that the Axolotl is a fish, it is not, it is an Amphibian and is actually the larval stage of the Salamander, which has not developed into a salamander because of the water conditions it has been kept in. Axolotls are relatively easy to keep, as the temperature, filtration and lighting specifications are close to the Goldfish. To feed the Axolotl you must thread meat onto some cotton and move the meat around its mouth using the cotton to imitate live food as the Axolotl will not eat meat if it is not moving, which is why you should not place an Axolotl with any other fish, if the fish around the Axolotl are small, they will end up in the Axolotl’s stomach, and if the fish are large, the Axolotl will nip at the other fish’s fins, and in the end, killing it. The Axolotl is available in a variety of colours including albino, brown and black.
Axolotls can be bred, but as I have no knowledge on this I can’t say anything about it. I highly recommend a gravel vacuum to take out the Axolotls feces because, if you don’t it can get out of hand very very very quickly resulting in poisoning from high ammonia levels if there has been no water change. For more questions and information about the Axolotl, please click our forum link above.