The Students

Weird But REAL !

Tuesday, 10 April 2012 • 01:39 • 2 comments

Axolotls are neotenic, meaning that they spend their lives looking like larvae, complete with gills, weak legs, and finlike extensions on their back and tail. Axolotls were once believed to be of the same species as tiger salamanders; while they're close relatives, though, they're not the same. Axolotls are much smaller than neotenic tigers (they're about the same size as adult tigers), and axolotls only come from two lakes in Mexico; they're extinct (or nearly so) in the wild but have been bred for so long as laboratory animals and catfish bait that they're relatively common in captivity. Rumor has it that the axolotl is the only salamander one can legally keep in Australia. I don't know if this is true.

It's been said that axolotls will eat anything they can fit into their mouths. This is not quite true. They will eat ANYTHING. I've never seen an axolotl choke on a fish that was too big for it, but I'm willing to believe it's happened. Their appetites are similar to those of Xenopus laevis, if that helps. They will eat pellets but prefer live guppies, rosy reds, or appropriately-sized goldfish.

Fish gravel makes a bad substrate for the tank; the axolotls may swallow it, with disastrous effects. Use stones that are larger than the axolotl's mouths (stealing large gravel from other people's driveways often works well). Axolotls are well-suited for a 5 or 10 gallon tank that is periodically stripped down and the parts cleaned -- they're messier than a filter can handle, care little about water conditions, and can't live with other fish. 2.5 gallons per axolotl is a good ratio. Larval tiger salamanders should be cared for identically.

SOURCE : HERE

xoxo, students

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