A few newbie questions...

I everyone! I just got my first three axies, and this forum has been super super helpful! They're three adorable adults (a golden albino girl, a wild type boy, and a melanoid boy). I have a few questions that I haven't really seen answered here...

They've been doing well (they seem pretty adjusted to the move, and they're eating), but the aquarium they came with from their previous owner was filled with gravel, and I thought I caught them eating it. I switched to sand as soon as possible, and they're doing well now (Ammonia: 0, PH: 7, Nitrite:0, Nitrate:20-30ish, Temp: 68F). But they also came with a very noisy waterfall filter, which we want to switch out as soon as possible (I'm considering the ZooMed 501 Mini Canister Filter). Does anyone have any good filter recommendations for a 15-20 gallon aquarium (especially for one that runs pretty quiet)? Would switching the filter too soon mess with the good bacteria that's built up in the aquarium?

The albino girl is quite round, which I read is normal this time of year cause she's probably full of eggs. But I can see dark stuff inside her stomach through her skin. Is that usual for albinos? Is it food or eggs? Or does it mean she's swallowed some gravel? She's still eating and she wanders around, but she seems to "waddle" and sometimes she floats with just her front legs on the ground.

Also, my little melanoid guy has something weird sprouting out of his head. I haven't really seen anything like it on this forum, and I'd like to know if anyone knows what it is... and if its dangerous. Their previous owner raised them herself and never had any real problems...

I've attached pictures of the weird thing growing from his head...

Welcome to the forum! You've come to the right place.

First off, a 15-20 gallon aquarium isn't really adequate for 3 adult axolotls. It will be hard to maintain water quality and provide the necessary hides for your animals in a tank that size. I would definitely upgrade if possible to at least a 30 gallon tank.

Depending on how long you've had the tank set up, you may not have built up much good bacteria, and are still in the process of cycling. Getting a new filter, if you do no additional changes or cleaning, won't harm your biological filtration. If you're worried, run both filters for a few days, or leave the old filter media in the tank with the new filter.

Albinos are fairly translucent, so you're probably seeing eggs, organs, food, poo, etc. It could also be gravel, if you've seen them eating gravel. Rear-end floating is usually because the animal is about to poo (mine do it for a day or two, then drop a big load).

If you've known the animals to eat gravel, be prepared for things such as impaction, infection, and bloating. And now that you've switched substrate, you'll probably find gravel for some time, as they've been known to poo it out for over 18 months.

The melanoid's lump looks like some sort of tumor. Has it grown or changed?

Hi,

I use a 'Eheim 2010 PickUp' Internal Filter for my 15 gallon tank and have had no problems with it. It's very quiet and I only start to hear it when the water level drops, and that is solved with a water change It was recommended to me by the aquarium for my tank size. However, as Kaysie said, your tank size is too small for three adult axies. Not sure if switching it will disrupt the bacteria, Kaysie had good suggestions though for avoiding problems. I cleaned my filter for the first time and got a mini cycle a few weeks ago so it could happen... It's probably best to be diligent with checking your water parameters and doing changes just in case.

As far as whether your axolotl has eggs or not, I don't know much about this but there was a link on another thread to this site: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/bloatEDK.shtml. It shows the difference between newts with bloat and newts with eggs.

You can often see through albino axolotls. My one still has a bit of a see through belly, but it is becoming less see-through as he gets bigger. I wouldn't be too concerned about it myself.

Not sure about the lump on your axie's head. Does he show any other problems? Like does he eat normally and things like that? It might be nothing serious though someone else here can probably offer some better ideas as to what it is!

Thanks guys! I know the tank is on the small side, but they've lived in it peacefully for 3 years... I do plan to upgrade, but considering they've just moved, and then I replaced all the sand, I think it would be a bit too much stress for them for now...

From those pics, it doesn't really seem like my little albino has bloat... Maybe she's just a bit chubby, he he.

I don't know if the "tumor?" is growing any, I've only had them for just under 2 weeks, and he had it when I got him... I'll keep an eye on it though...

Thanks for all the help

Hi Redd,

The lump on your melanoid is not very clear in the photo, it may as Kaysie says be a tumour or it may be caused by an injury and mishapen regeneration.

If you can use the filters out of your old filter and put them into your new one you will reduce the loss of healthy bacteria. However changing your tank setup may cause a mini cycle.

Good Luck