Gambusia?

[Nichol]

We call them Mosquito fish here. They are a prolific little feeder fish that can be easily raised in a 5 gallon bucket. No extra care except a daily bubbler to oxygenate as needed and a few fish flakes and a few fake plants. (I raised them year round here in the shade with duckweed, a water lettuce or two I wanted to grow, a few Reptomin a week in a 20 gallon tub changing out water 50% once weekly) I pulled them into a more heated area once for heat when I was afraid my bucket might freeze but they did fine in full summer shaded heat of 115 F.
But that was as a side because my turtles would chase down hundreds of them a day and I liked a well fed turtle tank. If these are an ok food source for you know that these little devils are EXTREMELY prolific when well cared for and well fed. No problem for me as I simply strained them 3 times for duckweed, dumped them in irrigation ditches, irrigation wells or let my neighbors know I had extras and they would get snapped up. Check your local laws about them. And about duckweed and water lettuce. Let's NOT introduce invasive species on local environments. We don't need any more waterways clogged up or eaten up by foreign animals.

My question is "Would Axolotls be ok with this as a fish diet as well or do they need a higher fat diet?" I keep seeing worms as an optimal diet but I'm thinking, and I'm new here and learning, so bear with me because my thoughts are probably worthless, but in the wild they would be creatures of opportunity. So I could probably start with brine shrimp and grub worms and salmon pellets and work my way up to introducing a live feeder fish of two as I introduce larger black or earth worms as high fat treats? Is my method robbing the Ax of leaning to "hunt" it's prey?
We all know environment is crucial for longevity in any captive animal.
Am I over thinking this?

 

[auntiejude]

Feeder fish - of any kind - are not a good staple for axolotls. They should be fed live earthworms most of the time, with occasional feeder fish, river/cherry shrimp, maggots or other insect larvae, crickets etc. Pellets are also a good option if worms are difficult to obtain.

You'd do well to get a worms farm started, but by all means keep the fish for a once-a-week treat for your axie to chase.

(minnows, guppies and mosquitofish are good options)

 

[Boomsloth]

I found that gambusia are way more aggressive than stuff like guppies. I had some mosquito fish in my aquarium and they would harass every other fish. Guppies are a better option because they tend to be a little slower and more timid. They are just as easy to breed as gambusia. I never risked feeding gambusia to my axolotls because It was almost guaranteed they would go for their gills.

 

[preternatural]

Gambusia are much more aggressive than guppies, generally speaking, but they can also tolerate temperatures as low as outright icewater, and they don't have the long flowing fins of fancy guppies. It's a trade-off. Another option for smaller, less finny fish than guppies, but still very prolific, would be Endler's livebearers. Even smaller than that are heterandria formosa. In contrast to the commonly seen livebearers, they birth fry continuously, generally a couple every day or two.

 

[matias]

i fed my axolotl sometime with littles fishes (Cnesterodon decenmaculatus, it is very similar to gambusia, but less agressive) and they love them.