Axolotls are truly popular creatures as a pet. They live underwater, and of course, they breathe with their skin, gills, and others.
But is it safe to keep Axolotls with fish and which species are Axolotl tank mates?
They can live with freshwater fish. But, Axolotls eat small fish, which means you can’t keep small fish with Axolotls.
But, it is best practice for you to avoid keeping Axolotls besides fish because of infection, degradation, and water quality.
In this article, you will get a complete list of Axolotl tank mates so that you can easily keep your Axolotls besides fish. So, stay connected to get further information.
The Risk of Keeping Axolotls with Fish
As I told you that you will face some major problems with keeping Axolotls with fish.
However, you can check out the following risk points to keep Axolotls with fish without facing any further problems.
1. Bites & Infection
The most important thing is that Axolotls bite and produce infection bacteria via gills which may be harmful to the fishes.
Freshwater fish avoid this type of problem. But, when you use other fishes, your fish may easily be affected.
However, it is not a big problem. You can use some medicine to solve this problem. But, the real challenges are fungal infections.
This infection directly affects the body of the fish. After affecting the fish with this infection, your fish gradually injures.
2. Parasites Problems
Many owners used live fish as feeder fish for their Axolotls which produce harmful parasites.
After using this thing, the Axolotls are seriously ill, and the gills are not working properly, which also creates a problem breathing.
So, it is important for an owner to avoid fish feeders. It is also advised for you to stay away from your Axolotls from the fish to avoid parasites problem easily.
3. Choking & Congestion
When Axolotls eat sharp exoskeletons, it may come with congestion problems. However, the Axolotls try to eat and swallow bigger fish which also brings choking problems.
4. Stress of Axolotls
Some of the fish created a problem and made them skittish in behavior, which put Axolotl’s stress on the tank.
The bottom feeder makes this problem more effective.
So, it would be better for you to keep freshwater clam behavior fish with Axolotls so that your pet easily avoids stress problems inside of the tank.
What Fish Can Axolotls Eat?
Generally, they eat small fish in the tank. They also eat other small elements on the tank.
So, if you think you will keep small fish in the tank, your small fish may be eaten instantly by the Axolotls.
Unfortunately, they try to eat big fish and don’t dissolve the big fish, which makes them fall ill.
I found plenty of fish that are not suitable to keep with Axolotls because of eating and facing other problems.
6 Suitable Axolotl Tank Mates
No doubt, Axolotls love to live alone on the tank. But, they accept some of the tankmates with them and don’t eat them or provide any infection.
However, you can check out the following 6 Axolotl tankmates . So, let’s break down the following list.
1. Axolotls
The Axolotls live with other Axolotls. They can live alone, but it is also far better to keep another axolotl because of good behavior.
Though you can keep them together, you should maintain some principles to keep another axolotl.
First of all, you need to know that the Axolotls which you keep on the tank come in the same size.
Moreover, the adult tank mates are good enough because of several reasons. Furthermore, it would be better for you to keep one male and one female Axolotls on the tank.
Finally, it would be better for you to keep an Axolotl on the tank so that other Axolotl live properly.
If you think that it is hard enough for you to manage another Axolotl as a tankmate, you can avoid keeping another Axolotl without facing any problems.
2. White Cloud Mountain Minnows
White Mountain Minnows are cool water fish, and they always behave well with other pets.
Axolotls think that this fish is the same as Axolotls, and that’s why Axolotls don’t eat white cloud mountain minnows fish.
They are ideal tank mates because they come with soft skin and never injure Axolotls’ skin and gills.
These fish don’t pose any threat to axolotls. That’s why the Axolotls don’t have any problem staying with this fish.
3. Guppies
Guppies are another fish that never harm any Axolotls, and the Axolotls also feel safe staying with this type of fish.
They come in small sizes. Though this fish comes in small sizes, the Axolotls never eat them because of their frank behavior.
There are different ages you will discover of guppy fish. Baby guppies are not much better for Axolotls, and most of the Axolotls owners used guppy fish for Axolotls feed.
So, it would be better for you to bring adult guppy fish to keep with Axolotls.
4. Zebra Danios
This is another coldwater fish which is the perfect choice for Axolotl’s tank mate. This fish’s social behavior helps the Axolotls get a perfect tank mate and live for a long time. This fish also avoids any harmful things with Axolotls.
If you want to keep Zebra Danios in your tank, you may need to be careful because these fish produce poison and also spread diseases to use.
It is also dangerous for kids because diseases spread when they touch the tank.
I strongly believe that Zebra Danios is a good option for tankmates, but they also need extra care.
So, if you think you need to keep Zebra Danios with Axolotls, you can maintain your tank’s and water’s safety features.
5. Shrimp
You can add this Shrimp fish to the tank. It is a freshwater fish that easily adjusts with your Axolotls.
On the other hand, you can’t think that Shrimp is the best tankmate for Axolotls because the Axolotls quickly devour them.
Shrimp also maintain good quality water. So, you don’t think about the water quality when you keep your Axolotls and fish.
So, it is clear that the Shrimp freshwater fish is good enough in two ways: fresh water and a perfect tank mate of the Axolotls.
6. Apple Snails
Apple Snails are also cold water fish on my list, which is also a good tank mate for Axolotls.
However, you can keep an adult Apple Snail with Axolotl, which doesn’t come with a small tool size. This type of fish is also avoided, provided any injuries to the Axolotls.
It would help if you kept in mind that the Axolotls eat small Apple Snailfish.
So, you should always avoid keeping small fish in the tank as a tank mate of Axolotls.
Can Axolotls Live with Turtles?
It is not advisable to keep Axolotls with Turtles. They come with the nature of two species.
The Turtles come with other behavior and also try to harm Axolotls. Moreover, Axolotls thought of threat when Turtles came near the Axolotls.
So, if you have both creatures, you should separate them and use different tanks so that your Axolotls or Turtles stay safely. Can Axolotls live with Turtles? The answer is no.
Can Axolotls Live with Oscars?
You can’t put Axolotls with Oscars for several reasons. First of all, Oscar fish do not behave well with Axolotls.
They try to harm the gills of the Axolotls, and that’s why you should try to avoid Oscars with Axolotl’s pet without any doubts.
Fish That You Should Avoid As Axolotl Tank Mates
Now, you have a complete list of the fishes that you can keep with Axolotls. But, do you know which types of fish you can’t keep with Axolotls? Well, you can check out the following list of the fishes that you can avoid to keep with Axolotls.
1. Gold Fish
Goldfish always provide a terrible experience for the Axolotls owners to keep at the same time.
They tend fins and nips on the gills of the Axolotls, which is harmful to the Axolotls. Keeping Goldfish with Axolotls makes the Axolotls stressed and injured.
On the other hand, Goldfish produce waste in the water, which is badly affected to breathe the air of the Axolotls.
So, it is clear that to keep Goldfish with Axolotls, your tank comes with waste and affects water health conditions.
2. Otocinclus Catfish
Otocinclus Catfish is also a fish that comes from other species. Moreover, this type of fish is also dangerous for Axolotls.
Most importantly, this fish’s behavior is not much better for Axolotls because Axolotls thought of the threat of this fish.
3. Cory Catfish
Cory is freshwater fish, unlike the above fishes, but they are not a good option for Axolotls.
You can’t keep this fish for tank mates of the Axolotls. This fish has sharp spines, which are harmful to the skin of the Axolotls.
On the other hand, the Cory Catfish is a bottom-feeder with bottom-dwelling axolotls. So, it would be better for you to avoid Cory Catfish with Axolotls.
FAQs (Frequently Ask Questions)
Q: Can Axolotl fish live with other fish?
Answer: Axolotls live with some of the fishes such as guppies, Zebra, Shrimp, and others.
Moreover, you should also avoid keeping some other fish such as gold fish and others. You will also check out the above article to get further information about this matter.
Q: What fish can axolotls not live with?
Answer: Several types of fishes do not live with Axolotls. For example, you can’t keep goldfish with Axolotls because Axolotls feel threatened by living with goldfish and also face some other problems.
There are plenty of problems your Axolotls face when you keep goldfish.
Q: Are axolotls aggressive to fish?
Answer: Axolotls are not aggressive to fish. But, they don’t like to stay with some of the fishes like goldfish and others.
Moreover, Axolotls are also aggressive when they feel insecure with other types of fish. I hope that you can understand whatever I said to you.
