Sick Axies...or overreacting mum?

Hey there everyone,
Its been a while since I've last been on and for an update. I have two axolotls Banda my light wildtype and Gypsy my leucistic. They have both been living with eachother for hmmm about 3 months. but if recently noticed a few problems:

1. Banda wont eat worms...She used too and she loved them then for a variation in diet i put quarintined feederfish in with them which they gobbled up greedily. and I feed them thses for about two weeks. Now Im back to worms. And banda seems scared of them, they wriggle near er mouth and she swims away. whilst Gypsy "guza guts" eats em all. Is my Banda-boo ok?

2. Also Banda hasnt been as active as usual, Gypsys swims around at night, hunts down her food etc whilst Banda doesnt move around as much and only climbs the plants every so often..but one thing she does do alot is take gulps of air at the surface, I think this is wierd as i have a large airstone in there.

3. Im estimating that both Gyps and Bandz are about around 8-10 months old, so nearing their way to sexual maturity. But what confuses me is that their black fingertips come and go.. I dont understand why one day their fingertips are darkened or black (the sign of sexual maturity) and then the next day they are back to normal. Is this a good sign...?

Nay opinions would be great guys and just an FYI Gypsy was quarintined for 30 days before entering the tank and their tank is big enough to fit them comfortably, and I am also doing water changes and etc.

Hi Naymo,

Am thinking its no biggy, is Banda still eating anything else? Hendrix doesnt think to much of earthworms, he has a similar reaction whilst Ollie who will eat anything loves them.

She might be gulping air to help her with her floatation and climbing, similarly I have one that climbs and floats and one that likes the bottom of the tank more.

Good to hear from you best of luck

Thank you very much for your input Ian.
Well she wont eat anything willingly..i put slaters in the tank with worms and pellets and it was only Gyps that was eating although Banda snapped up a pellet as it sunk past her nose and then spat it out..grr

banda is eating a little more often now..
God Im finding keeping their tank cool a ral challenge now as the days keep getting hotter and hotter..
Dont know how im gunna handle the cooling situation when the days get up to 45 degrees (celcius)!!

My two used to go off worms from time to time, I now keep frozen back up suplies for them of lean raw meats/raw tiger prawn etc. I also hand feed them in different spos in the tank, this was initially for my benifit that I could see who ate what and how much.My female ( who has since been re-homed) loved her food , I tended to feed her first and then Jeffrey..on many occasions whilst distracted she would appear attached to my finger. He was older than the female and with hind site she perhaps was eating more as she was still growing and maturing and probably needed more food.
I'm not sure what is going on with the toe nails. It was very clear very early on that Jefffrey was male , but Maude was younger...her first sign of reaching matutity was that the tips of her toes and pads on her feet started to look grey..never actually noticed her nails change colour ( she was a golden albino)
All the best with keeping the tank cool, there is a lady who has recently posted that she has covered most sides of her tank with insulating material , and she has managed to drop the temps slightly. I managed with a medium sized fan blowing on to the surface of my tank ( we don't get as hot as you though!). I have decided now as a back up is I'll used cool boxes, the sort you take on picnics to house mine if the temps ever begin to cause problems.
You are not alone in worrying about your little axolotl, we just want them to be well and happy.