Ethical Axolotls

25/11/2025

Exactly!!

One of the practices that I hold close and maintain consistently is limited release. What I mean by this is that even though these animals lay hundreds and sometimes over 1,000 eggs, I never release half the eggs/offspring produced in a pairing. Yes, as most breeders, I need to be able to financially support all of my animals, including the ones who will go to new homes. But ethics and quality have always been the head of my principal, not quantity. No, I will never send out 400+ from one pair in any form. Yes, I raise smaller numbers. This is done with intention. I also repeat pairs periodically because I like the quality of the offspring. So, for this reason, my animals have more consistency for a small single person program that has been around since 2019. I value this over being the biggest or spreading my genetics the farthest. I will continue to hold this above all else and continue to home what I view as valuable animals that can be enjoyed for years and years.

25/11/2025

The grow out from Flurry and Mousse went home today. Since she is finally out and headed home, her grow out siblings are looking for new waters. This lovely is an Alaskan girl, but there are a few 1-year-olds left.

25/11/2025

Lady, running down to the riptide, taken away to the dark side, I wanna be your left-hand man. I love you, when you're singing that song, and I've got a lump in my throat cuz you're gonna sing the words wrong...

Pretty "Riptide" Mel Albino and Mel babies! Plus a "Toolar" baby stack. Toolar needs a theme song lol.

24/11/2025

We are almost ready to go! I am almost positive that they'll be ready by the end of December. Gotta love those Northern Axolotls and Siserah’s Aquatic Escape genetics, yes they were Halloween babies! Stay tuned for updates~

21/11/2025

Holy crow.

I'm actually jaw-droppingly stunned at the amount of posts I've seen lately from other animal producers that insist that it is not up to the customer to determine if a purchased animal's pedigree is up to a given standard! Especially if the standard is "not in**ed to the 6th generation"...

I can attest to the amount of inbreeding that was and is still happening in the axolotl gene pool, I have observed and tracked clutches for awhile now, and while I am unwilling to pick fights just yet, do hear me when I say that I am not okay with these in**ed pairings being perpetuated, and I have always actively worked to inhibit inbreeding in the community.

Honestly, I was hoping to see improvements as time went on, however these posts only prove what I knew prior - breeders aren't sharing pedigrees, unless if it's to other breeders deemed 'worthy' - essentially rendering customers incapable of doing their own research on an axolotl they purchased, as well as limiting the community to who is already here.

If a breeder refuses to provide the pedigree of an animal they have sold you, you should assume that the animal is pet-quality, and can probably assume that it is unable to reproduce soundly. Eyeless and small eye genetics, pinhead, short-toe syndrome, among other deleterious flaws, are found in the gene pool of the American axolotl population.

If a breeder won't share information about the animals they so proudly chose to put together, anyone reasonable would ask why. Do these producers feel that they are above the rest of the exotic animal community, or is it something more heinous, with their desire for profit overwhelming the requirement of keeping accurate genealogical records?

I hope that any new breeders who choose to join the community see the massive value in being honest about the axolotls they breed, and in being thorough in documentation. I will always be open about the quality of the genetics of all animals that I produce, and I will never recommend a customer to someone who is not equally open and honest.

Bby pic for attention.

21/11/2025

As an established breeder who has been in the community since February 2019, I have always been 100% transparent with all available genealogy. I will openly share my own as well as clarify (decode) genealogy from other breeders. 100% of the animals I produce under Siserah’s Aquatic Escape go out with full linage and the ethical expectations of being breeder quality. If that ever changes due to discovered genealogy, I am always the first to be open about the desire not to see those lines propagated.

Ethical breeders have no reason to not disclose the genealogy. If genealogy is not being disclosed, I recommend not buying that animal. It is a lot harder to stay informed when issues pop up if you don't know your animal is related.

20/11/2025

Come see us at the Wasilla Public Library today!!! We will have axolotls with us, and we will be going over some axolotl fun facts!

Join our Afternoon All-Stars group this afternoon at 4pm for a presentation from Ethical Axolotls. Meet some amazing animals and learn more about axolotl life. This program is best for kids ages 6 and up.

19/11/2025

These lil ones hatched at the tail end of October - they are beautiful, and growing so quickly! I'm going to fiddle with my brine hatchery today - I need more brine, so that we don't have any unwanted haircuts 😳

I don't have a staff team to make individually raising larger clutches feasible, so we're doing this the old-fashioned way. I see value in most reasonable methods of raising axolotls. I really appreciate my mentor, Siserah’s Aquatic Escape, for making it possible for me to raise babies again after my well water went bad. Her guidance has been invaluable.

We also have been buying RO from Matsu Water (I'm thankful for their existence every day), which allows us to function at all.

Alright. I'm off to set up more brine!

19/11/2025

Over 40 years of Red Wigglers Worm Composting experience. We sell live red wiggler worms, worm composting bins and other vermicomposting supplies.

14/11/2025

Hey y'all. I wanted to address something tonight. Many axolotl breeders will accept surrenders, however just as many axolotl breeders are ill-equipped to properly rehabilitate axolotls.

Any surrender that we intake goes through several basic steps, and this includes testing the water that they arrived in with a liquid test kit. Sometimes, acclimation will be different based on what the animal was exposed to, but this is mostly to provide a baseline for what the animal needs to recover.

The surrender who came to us today was exposed to inadequate water chemistry. In the supplies that were given to me, I noticed a pH acidifier. When I tested the water, I also noticed that the pH was 6. I also saw that nitrates tested off the charts.

We do not plunge axolotls directly into our water, no matter how exact our chemistry is, and this is EXACTLY why. If he had transitioned immediately from a pH of 6 to 7.6, and a nitrate level of 180ppm+ down to 0ppm, he likely would have passed from the shock - despite not priorly being on the brink.

All of our intakes are acclimated individually for a minimum of 30 days, as well as dewormed, medicated as needed, and weaned onto live food. We have taken surrenders to the vet, just not very frequently as we are generally able to treat illness directly in our rehab.

Many breeders are incapable of taking all of these steps, but are still willing to accept sickly axolotls, oftentimes resulting in a poor rehab process or even a deceased axolotl.

If you're in need of help with any exotic species, a reputable breeder is the place to go - however, make sure you ask about their intake process if you opt to surrender your animal, to ensure the breeder isn't trying to fill more shoes than they ought to.

This is not meant to shame anyone who needs to surrender an animal, but instead to encourage them to seek help before things get so out of hand, as well as to ensure that who is meant to help will actually do so.

13/11/2025

Starring, Goliath! Goliath, along with her sister and two brothers, was surrendered to our rescue last month. Goliath hasn't had much interest due to her shorter filaments and dark coloration. She may be able to cohabitate, however she is a big eater and would probably be at her happiest solo in a 20-30 gallon.

Goliath is at a reduced rate, in hopes of finding her perfect placement soon. She is pet-quality. Feel free to reach out with questions!