How to sex an axolotl? The question is the most sought-after one to anyone raising Axolotls because distinguishing males or females is not easy, let alone reproducing them.
Axolotls are infamously difficult to mate. Still, with our help, nothing can stop you from sexing the Axolotl successfully!
Contents
How To Sex An Axolotl?
How To Identify Your Axolotl’s Gender
In fact, it is an unsolved riddle when your pet is under 1 year old. The gender differences do not show their sign at this time.
They can look like females, but suddenly, they become males without any clear precautions.
Here is the secret to distinguish them. You need to look at the area around the area they are about to poop. If it is the male one, around this zone will have a noticeable bump.
You can observe a swollen cloaca from its leg extending past its cloaca. Conversely, the female will not own the swollen cloaca, just a small opening bumpy.
Besides, when your Axolotl comes to the age of mating, their toe’s tips will change too. Wildtype axolotls have white color on this part, whereas those with lighter skin tones have black color.
This, though, is not always a reliable sign that the Axolotl is prepared for sexing or breeding.
Ideal Period for Axolotl Reproduction
An Axolotl starts mating in winter & late spring in its natural habitat. The perfect breeding conditions occur from December to June. When you house them, try to recreate the mating season at this time.
Lighting plays an important role in Axolotl’s breeding behavior. Both males and females should be exposed to less “daylight” conditions for a couple of weeks. Then, to promote breeding, the bright light exposure is gradually extended.
Suppose both genders reside in the same tank. In that case, you should separate them and keep the temperature at 20 °C. Then, introduce them again and maintain the temperature below 5 °C to stimulate the reproduction process!
If given the proper atmosphere, a couple of these animals can be capable of reproducing all year long. They might, however, have erratic breeding habits.
The place in which you installed the tank will also have an impact on the breeding habits. Any space that enjoys seasonal variations in light & temperature will promote axolotl reproduction.
Besides, you should not change the water and leave them alone during this sensitive time.
Courtship Customs
The male Axolotl will begin dancing, called the courting dance, towards the female when it is amorous.
The male axolotls can flop around, twist, and nudge female hindquarters to catch the sign of whether she is ready to breed or not.
When there is a yes, on the tank ground, the male will start scattering sperm sacs.
After that, the male will lead the female to go around these sacs so that the female can take the spermatophores towards and into the cloaca. The cloaca is where eggs are fertilized.
How To Set Up The Tank For Axolotls Breeding?
Tank Size
Once the female has delivered her eggs, the owner must remove her from the tank. As she could eat her eggs, it is for the safety of the next generation.
After the eggs have hatched and the young Axolotls have begun to grow, the fish owner will need to divide the groups into smaller ones occasionally.
A tank size of 10 gallons can hold up to 200 babies when they are still small. These bottom dwellers love the ample horizontal space.
Therefore, pay attention to the type of tank that will give your comfort.
Sponge Filters
A high-quality sponge filter product is recommended for Axolotl breeding. It ensures water quality and does a good job of not producing much flow.
Furthermore, it does not generate suction, which can harm the baby Axolotls and Axolotl’s eggs.
Aquarium Plants
Aquarium plants will support the females to come and lay their eggs there. Every time the female lays one egg, she does it continuously on the plant’s stalks & leaves.
Artificial trees are acceptable in this situation. However, ensure enough space for the female to lay all the eggs.
Flat Rocks
The males can scatter five to twenty-five spermatophore sacs around the ground.
These sacs do not stick to plastic or glass. Therefore, we recommend you use slate stone or something similar to that.
To allow the axolotl female to lay the eggs peacefully after absorbing those sperm sacs successfully, the owners should split the male and female.
How To Hatch Axolotls Eggs
You can remove the parents from the tank or the eggs to another tank.
Don’t worry. The cover of these eggs is super sturdy. It will not break, so feel free to remove them if you want to do so.
Egg development will proceed most effectively when you prepare and use the aquarium plants. This is because water is moving around the egg, facilitating gaseous exchange.
The eggs will hatch after roughly 17 days at 68 °F. The warmer the temperature is, the sooner the Axolotl’s eggs hatch and vice versa.
It can be beneficial that you can control the hatching process if you need some time to get food for the freshly hatched axolotls.
How To Take Care of Axolotl Larvae
When the eggs hatch, the larvae’s length is about smaller than 1 inch.
At the time you observe that almost all Axolotl eggs are hatched, you should tear the outer layer (the jelly one) out and release the babies inside those eggs that have not hatched.
At first, these larvae can still live together. However, when they reach 2 cm or about 1 inch, you should separate them to avoid these larvae eating each other.
Besides, these babies stay motionless because there is egg yolk left in their stomachs. When the yolk disappears, they move to find the food.
The larvae will respond only to the movement of the prey. They do not touch the motionless food. After hatching, the creatures normally require feeding for 1 day to 3 days. You should retain their live food intake until they are 2cm long.
If the Axolotls get enough food, their stomachs will turn orange and expand. Give them food once or twice daily.
An eyedropper will be a good tool to give food closer to them. Diverse micro-foods are highly recommended for these larvae.
Final Thoughts
That is all the ins and outs of how to sex an axolotl. We hope the sharing will support you in mating and successfully hatching the Axolotl.
Although it is not easy to mate, with these recommendations, there is a good chance you will own a ton of Axolotl babies.
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