Axolotl pale and frantically swimming

Hi all,

About a few hours ago we noticed Mimi was completely pale, which was a shock, but after reading up on some threads here we were relieved to discover it was totally normal. Some people have said that after feeding or getting active the axolotl will return to its original colour, but we've fed them and a few hours later they are still very pale.

Another problem is that when we put the turkey baster in (which Mimi would often chase around until we took it out) at some point Mimi would panic and start swimming around the tank and bumping into the walls. We're not sure what's happening or if this is normal behaviour or not

Mimi is leucistic, 5 months old, and 19cm. We currently have a 10 gallon tank with no substrate which is a little small but we weren't able to get a 20 gallon yet.

Here are our water levels:
pH = 7.8
Temp = 18-19C
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 20-40 ppm

The only problem might be that the nitrate levels are pretty high?

I also suspect it might be a gut infection of some sort?
For the past few weeks we've had trouble with regulating feeding. We went from about 8-10 pellets every day to every other day. At some point Mimi threw up all the food from over eating but still seemed completely fine with feeding afterwards.
Mimi has been constipated for a week now so we've decided to fast them until they poop.

Please help!! We're not sure what to do right now or if Mimi is really sick. Is it a gut infection, stress, or just normal behaviour? Should we wait it out or try the fridging method?

Thanks!!!

She looks healthy to me. There doesn't seem to be any signs of stress. Also, she looks a happy weight. If she is constipated putting her in the fridge for a half hour or little more would help move things along. If you would prefer to let her wait it out then I'd do that before stressing her out by moving her.

Thanks for the response! Turns out Mimi actually pooped yesterday morning when we checked up on them and their colour has returned.

We're going to continue monitoring Mimi in case something else happens, but for the moment Mimi seems to be eating fine

A lot of the time my axolotl goes pale when it's relaxed ! Could be a sign you are just keeping the water parameters just right! They gain a lot more color when they're active due to the blood circulation/warming up. I wouldn't worry about it too much! I had the same concerns when Pip was young, now I know she's perfectly happy and chilled when paler

PS that coloration is beautiful on Mimi; one thing I will say; try some silica sand on the bottom of the tank, axies love the small granulated sand and in my experience end up more active when it is present! Could solve your initial problem