Black sand from petco dyed my axolotl's face

Hello! I just got a juvenile Axolotl, and I put sand in the bottom of my cycled tank but forgot to rinse it off first. The water is totally clear and I let it filter for a day and put my axolotl in. I took him out to feed him in another container and noticed his face was covered in black dots. I don't know if this is bad for him and I'm super worried. I wont put him back in the tank until I figure this out but the sand dye won't come off his face... he seems fine other than that but I don't know if I should get rid of the sand or if it's okay for his face to get a little dirty. It is aquarium sand, and it was not opened (until I opened it). Please help a fellow newbie! The sand is petco brand, and I usually refuse to buy anything from that store but I am currently on a campus with no reputable pet stores around.

Do you have a picture of the axolotl and your tank? Its difficult to offer advice from a description.

Contact the person that you bought the pup from and ask them, if, by chance, they can remember if, what they sold you was a freckled Leucy. Freckles become more pronounce with age.

That's exactly what I was going to suggest. I have two freckled leucy, have had them for about 2-3 months. One had freckles right away and the other one just recently started her freckles. I also have petco brand black sand, but only rinsed it lightly. Is your little guy white with red gills and black eyes? If so, I don't think you need to worry

He had no freckles the first day he arrived, but freckles the next day, but I have been keeping him in a sand free tank now and he still has them, he seems pretty happy though! Thanks everyone.

Its usually advised not to keep Axolotls on sand until they're around 4", and it could put on some weight as well tbh

ThoseNewtsTho said:

Its usually advised not to keep Axolotls on sand until they're around 4", and it could put on some weight as well tbh

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The picture on the right is right after he came in. He wasn't very healthy when I first got him, but he is growing like a weed now. Thanks for the advice though...

Those are definitely freckles my dear. I can imagine the fright he gave u though!

Axies try to blend with the substrate sometimes. If u put a melanoid on white sand, it will start to look grayish. Putting ur little guy on black sand brought out the freckles my friend.

tammyaxie said:

Axies try to blend with the substrate sometimes. If u put a melanoid on white sand, it will start to look grayish. Putting ur little guy on black sand brought out the freckles my friend.

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Wait, does that mean my dirty Lucie will loose some of there freckles when I move them into the talk with white sand?? I think I need to rethink my substrait! I love my dirty Lucies!

They may or they may not but I read that younger axies do change more than matured ones.

That is so cool! Thanks for telling me that cool fact! It scared me a lot, but he's doing great (and the freckles remain). Because I know they're freckles now, I love the look