BREEDING OF THE AXOLOTLS

The life and the atmosphere

The natural habitat of the Axolotl constituted from course and devout or less deep and rich water mirrors than vegetation, but characterizes from the total current absence to you. Here, to the end of the winter or the beginning of the spring, it is coupled.

After the courtship, the male rilascia its spermatofora (to notice the spherical swelling up in the low part of the abdomen). It comes picked up from the cloaca of the female, than you strip over. During the escape the eggs come therefore fertilized singularly, as pass in front of the spermoteca of the female.

The containing females place one or devout mucillaginosi lumps everyone 50-100 eggs, or devout.

The larve, of small dimensions, they are born second after approximately 20 days (the temperature), and catch up the maturit sexual also within the first year of ET. Near the Axolotarium they are available is the adult Axolotls, is the larve of various dimensions.


The adult Axolotl does not exceed i generally 28 cm of length. Its coloration in kind goes from the dark green to the brown, but rather common all one series of shapes albinos or albinotiche, completely white women or yellow, to exception of gills of color red ignited.
The much beautiful also melanica shape, of black an intense one and vellutato.

Normally the Axolotls are particularly long-lived and sturdy and if they are maintained to a temperature of 14-18C, they can living until 25 years.

The bathtub

The bathtub a simple Aquarius from the minimal capienza of 40-50 l adapted to accommodate the Axolotls (animal completely aquatic). A such container adapted to the breeding of two adults, while for young, not devout animals of eight months of ET, sufficient one bathtub from 20 l. In order to raise devout exemplary, it must at least calculate others 20 l for every ulterior brace of adults.
The cohabitation of devout animals in the same Aquarius pu however to originate cannibalism phenomena, with loss of limbs, that they come quickly regenerates to you.

We advice against the exemplary breeding to different stages of increase in the same container, in how much the Axolotls of great dimensions can calmly swallow exemplary of small ransom.

The Axolotls are essentially nocturnal animals, and are disturb to you from the directed solar light. therefore opportune to predispose to the inside of the Aquarius of the shelters, to es. of cliffs disposed to form small coves, roots etc.) that they allow it, if of it they perceive the necessit, to hide.

For the bottom to avoid the use of the siliceo classic ghiaietto to fine grain well, that it could involuntarily be swallowed from these amphibians, provoking they serious damages to the digesting apparatus. We advise instead the use of large sand to grain, cliffs or slabs of travertino, making attention to create widths free zones of bathtub for the swim.

To renounce to whichever material for the bottom facilitates the pulizia of the bathtub to expenses for of the aesthetic one.

The water

The greater part of the amphibians pu living to one pH comprised between 6.5 and 8.5. In the case of the Axolotls optimal value 7-7.2. . La Temperature advised in the interval 16-20 C. A too much low temperature pu to block the digestive process of the food that, in cases limit, comes rigurgitato. A too much high temperature prevents to oxygen of disciogliersi and could induce the metamorphosis.
It knows them . . "the hard" distilled water or however, cio little poor of knows them of soccer and magnesium, damages the skin the Axolotls; they must, therefore, to be present good quantit of these knows them. therefore possible to use coming from waters from the aqueducts (in Italy they are in average rather hard).

In lack of specific products for I reinforce in knows them, pu to use the being followed formulation, profit above all if To. they have problems or diseases of skin (dose for 100 liters of water):
KCl (Chloride of potassio): until average teaspoon from caff;
CaCl2 (Chloride of soccer): until 2 spoons from table;
MgS04 (magnesium Sulfate): until 1,5 spoons from table;
NaCl (Chloride of sodio = knows them large from kitchen): until 150 gr.

The Axolotl much sensitive one to chlorine , if present in the drinkable water. E' therefore necessary to use drinkable water estate previously R-retired at least 48 hours.
Advisable E' a system of filtering , it is biological that chemical (with active coal) in order to maintain the water of the bathtub limpid. The abundant deiezioni produced from the Axolotls, in fact, stretch to make to increase the rate quickly ammonia disciolta (pu to monitorare itself with I affixed to you kit; preferibile value: zero).
To hold low flow of water in case of continuous filtering, perch with I recirculate too much fast To. they do not succeed to maintain the skin protected.
In filtering absence, it must preview regular reciprocations partial with controlled water.

In any case, the alarm bell for the not ideal conditions chemistries of the Aquarius supplies it the same animals that, if in difficolt, swim frequently in the vicinities of the surface in order to swallow air, incapable to procurarsi one sufficient quantit of oxygen disciolto through the sun external gills.

The FEEDING

The Axolotl invertebrate predator of worms, molluschi, small. In Aquarius pu to nourish itself with Daphnia, with mangime in stick or tablets for carnivorous or onnivori fish of bottom. It goes avoided the mangime for algivori fish, too much rich of vegetables. To. it appreciate the prede very lives: guppy and other small fish, snails, larve and lombrichi, but in realt pu attacking whichever animal of such dimensions to enter in its great mouth. The name Ambystoma it just means in fact "goblet mouth".

sconsigliabile to introduce in the bathtub other Amphibians of small dimensions (es. frogs or tritoni) that they would end unavoidablly divorati. A young Axolotl pu to be nourished with 1-2 stick or tablets to the day, or with a small fish (2-3 if To. adult).
Since draft of Amphibians rather voraci, the fact that do not feed themselves for various days indicates one be of suffering of the animal. In this case they go verified the values chemical-physicists of the water and the temperature.

The diseases

The Axolotl, like other Amphibians, subject to several shapes of fungosi , than they are manifested with the apparition on the epidermide and gills of decolorated zones, or fiocchetti white men from the vaporoso aspect. In these cases they can be used I affixed fungicideta to you for Aquarius fish, that they go introduced in the water in variable doses to second of the product. One of they the Nitrofura-G, made up of made up of Furazolidina, blue of methylene (disinfectant) and dichromate of potassio (oxidant). As it says the name, it colors the water in blue.
good norm to handle the less possible these animals.
Their thin skin in fact much and delicate one, and come damaged from the contact with the epidermide human, that it opens the road to the attack fungino.

If the Axolotls are held and feed to you appropriately, little probable that become ill themselves; while those stressed from adverse conditions or several experimentations they are vulnerable to the infections from part of bacteria pathogenic opportunistic like gram-denied Pseudomonas, Aeromonas and other organisms you.
The first sign of disease is loss of appetite and deterioration of gills. Pu also to have anemia.
In serious devout cases the Axolotls can become itterici and to manifest plagues opened on the skin.
In serious cases much, abscesses can be manifested or edemi. They are devout subjects to become ill the adult individuals regarding the larvali shapes.

The ill Axolotl goes place in one clean and isolated bathtub, in water previously rested in order at least 48 hours. The temperature goes low estate (5-15) C in order to reduce stress. In case of external lesions (piaghette, hurt) to aggungere some drop of mercuriocromo to the water: it acts from disinfectant. (Dose: not to exceed one coloration of the yellow water pale).
Not to aggiugere composed that contains branch or manganese.

In serious cases pu to be effective a treatment with antibiotics ; investigators Americans ( Universit of Indiana ) they bring back I use it of antibiotics to wide phantom like Enrofloxacina (Baytrill), Gentamicina or Amikacin.
The investigators have iniettato these antibiotics for intraperitoneale way, but this method much impegnativo for a amatore normal school. They express reservoirs on the effectiveness of antibiotics when added to the water simply...
In any case, they explicitly recommend not to use in the Tetracicline water and derive to you, in how much strongly annoying for the skin, while the first three antibiotics list to you are very tolerate to you.
However, the employed doses are of 5mg/kg cio 5 milligrammi of active principle for every Kg of corporeo weight of the animal (attention to calculate the doses in proportion!). John Clare in its optimal FAQ on diseases of the Axolotls succeeding the somministrazione for mouth has tried with.

The metamorphosis

The metamorphosis in the Amphibians determined from the ipofisi, that it governs the operation of the tiroide, than in its turn produces to a called hormone tirossina (or tiroxina).
Somministrando tirossina to an Axolotl (as an example dandogli in meal a little polpa of tiroide) induces chemically its metamorphosis in land shape.
Gi we have said that the metamorphosis pu to be induced from one water stress (scarsit, of oxygen, overcrowding). Symptoms of incipient metamorphosis of To. in Aquarius they are lack of appetite and ipersensibilit to the external stimuli.
In conditions ' normali' the metamorphosis of the Axlotl not verification nearly never.

Breeding in small lake

An alternative to the breeding in Aquarius represented from the small lake: these animals adapt themselves calmly to the climate of good part of the Italian regions, also with temperatures near the zero.
For the breeding to the open of Amphibians always necessary to predispose an adequate recinzione, in order to avoid that they become prede of dogs, cats, snakes, rapes and other predators.

If the enough wide bathtub in exteriors and not sovrappopolata, the Axolotls can only irregularly be nourished with worms or small fish.
One layer of leaves died on the bottom to allow they to not only escape to the too much intense light, but also to repair itself in case of excessive lowering of the temperature of the water, falling in one be of seeds-ibernazione.
Analogous, in the summery season the animals can show a short period of estivazione, with motoria and alimentary reduction of the attivit.