radkins
New member
New here! My name is Ron, I'm new to the site and new to Caudates. About 1 month ago I inherited 5 adult axolotls 3 melanoids and 2 leucistics. I have them all together in the same tank, 3 males 2 females, I keep them separated by a piece of egg crate material. It has been a lot of fun to learn about them.
I have raised fish for years, as a hobbyist and professionally raising sablefish. I know a lot about fish care and water chemistry, and a lot of knowledge translates, but these guys are so much more temperamental than fish. 4 out of the 5 are happy eating as many earthmorms as they can get but one of my males practically refuses to eat. Over the past month I have only been able to get him to eat a few whole frozen (then thawed) krill, and some blood worms. I always offer him earthworms and occasionally he will hit it but always ends up spitting it out. I am not sure what to do about him, but he isn't looking terribly skinny so I am hoping he'll get his appetite back at some point.
My biggest point of concern is that recently my female leucistic has started to look very red or pink. Her skin looks rough and bumpy. It is not defined red dots but just a usual red bumpyness over most of her. She is still behaving normally from what I can see, she is still eating as voraciously as ever. My water temp is usually 66-68, and I have a good cycle on the tank, no ammonia or nitrites. I do a large siphoning and water change 20-50% every week. Her gills are not pointed forward to indicate stress. I am kind of at a loss. I want to think she is just fine because she is acting normal, but if something is wrong I want to try to fix it as early as possible.
Thanks for taking a look
Ron
I have raised fish for years, as a hobbyist and professionally raising sablefish. I know a lot about fish care and water chemistry, and a lot of knowledge translates, but these guys are so much more temperamental than fish. 4 out of the 5 are happy eating as many earthmorms as they can get but one of my males practically refuses to eat. Over the past month I have only been able to get him to eat a few whole frozen (then thawed) krill, and some blood worms. I always offer him earthworms and occasionally he will hit it but always ends up spitting it out. I am not sure what to do about him, but he isn't looking terribly skinny so I am hoping he'll get his appetite back at some point.
My biggest point of concern is that recently my female leucistic has started to look very red or pink. Her skin looks rough and bumpy. It is not defined red dots but just a usual red bumpyness over most of her. She is still behaving normally from what I can see, she is still eating as voraciously as ever. My water temp is usually 66-68, and I have a good cycle on the tank, no ammonia or nitrites. I do a large siphoning and water change 20-50% every week. Her gills are not pointed forward to indicate stress. I am kind of at a loss. I want to think she is just fine because she is acting normal, but if something is wrong I want to try to fix it as early as possible.
Thanks for taking a look
Ron
