Feed newly hatched, live brine shrimp to young larvae daily. We strain the shrimp out of the brine, resuspend them in axolotl water, and deliver them to the axolotls using a large glass pipette. Feed enough shrimp so that all of the young larvae have orange bellies afterward, but few shrimp are left uneaten in the bowl. Change the water again within 24 hours after feeding, because shrimp cause a rapid deterioration of water quality if many are left uneaten. As the larvae grow, we increase the number of pellets, always seeking to fill the larvae up without leaving a lot of extra food to foul the water.
Young larvae are very vulnerable to disease, but difficult to treat.
Therefore, we have found the most effective strategy is to feed them generously, pay particular attention to water quality, guard against overcrowding, and grow them up out of the vulnerable stage as quickly as possible. Always change the water of pellet-fed axolotls before feeding. We change young animals' water daily, and adult animals' water at least every other day. Frequent changes prevent the buildup of ammonia and other metabolic wastes and keep a large population of bacteria from getting established. We change the water of axolotls housed in individual bowls by carefully pouring it, axolotl and all, into a plastic colander.