Toe Nails Fell Off

Hi, Well Neurus is still finding new ways to cause worry. She is about 10 months old now and about 2 months ago her toe nails went dark which i believe is a sign that they have reached sexual maturity. She went through a spell of not eating for 10 weeks, and has only just recently started eating again (only daphnia). The temperature of the tank has dropped in the last couple of weeks from 21 degrees to 17 degrees.
After she got a tank mate she definitely perked up a lot and they really like each other. The water has now gone milky. It is still see through but goes very misty if looking through a longer section of the tank. I have put this down to the introduction of a second axolotl and presume that it will clear up in a couple of weeks when the eco system has settled.
However and this is probably a new one, Neurus's dark nails have fallen off and have gone back to being white. Has anybody heard of this before.
Neurus is a pure albino with 3 toes on her front right leg, 4 toes on her front right leg and 5 on each of her rear legs. And none of them have ever been bitten off, she just had that many

I'd do the tests on the water ( ammonia/nitrate/nitrite/ph) to check first to rule out problems there. I have never had a problem with the water going milky, or toe nails dropping off ( well not with the axy!)

Neurus, did you quarantine your 2nd axolotl for 30 day period minimum before introducing him/her to the tank? If not, how long since you introduced the new edition.


This is important - quarantining should be done before adding new companions, this is to ensure you new one is completely healthy and doesn't pass any nasties/illness onto your other axie.

If as you say the toenails have dropped off, your older one may be getting stressed. Darkening toetips falling off can generally mean there may mean it may have fungus on its toes (the tips start to disappear), which could have been brought on through stress, ie new addition to the tank, if she/he hasn't been quarantined and could possibly have something, and/or water quality.

I agree with Bellabelloo, you should test the tankwater for ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, to rule anything out. If the ammonia/nitrite is over 0, then do frequent partial (20%) waterchanges. You may even have to separate the two axolotls. If you don't have a spare tank then put one in a bucket of dechlorinated water and cover the top so it doesn't take fright and jump.

When my tanks go cloudy like that my ammonia most of the time spikes.

the pet shop had the new axolotl on its own for a couple of months before i got him, from the same shop i got Neurus from. I thought it could be ammonia so i am doing the water changes and it seems to have cleared a bit today. Another curious one, Neurus's toenails have darkened again.
Its hard to explain Neurus, im sure she gets entertainment from causing us to worry. Found out that she is secretly eating as well. The new one is so well behaved compared to her. He eats, he plays with toys, and if he sees a camera he darts across the tank and poses.
Neurus at the moment only has anything to do with me if i tickle her nose

Just as a note, axolotls don't have toe nails. The toe tips may become slightly keratinized, but they are not actual nails.

Regardless of whether axolotls come from the same shop, they should still be quarantined if purchased at separate times. It's not possible to observe new axolotls for signs of illness when you can't see them all the time.

Hi, The pet shop themselves are very trusted by myself. They had 5 axies altogether to start with, one developed a fungal infection and died, and the others sold, the black ones dont seem as popular around here so as expected he ended up the last one left but had been kept in a tank on his own. They keep very keen checks on their animals and are very honest with me. Eg when they are having problems with a batch of fish they advise me not to buy them etc, probably because i spend a fortune with them. Anyways, they had him quarantined for a couple of months and they knew it was for the purpose of introduction to an established tank.

If one developed fungus and died, they can't take that great care of them. Fungus doesn't happen for no reason. I've kept axolotls for years, and *knock on wood* I've never had a fungus problem.

That should be an absolute red flag. If one of the animals has had fungus in the tank, there is a problem, and any animal that has been in the tank with that animal should be quarantined before introducing it into a healthy, established tank.

If you read around, you can find literally thousands of instances of where pet shops have given poor information. Even if you trust the pet shop, that doesn't mean they give good advice. Remember their main goal: To get your money.