axolotl dropping and spots.

axolotl droppings and spots.

The only time i ever notice my axolotl pooing it is a white, gooey football and it floats in the water. Is this ok as from what i read it should be brown?
I'm a little worried about it but hopefully it is ok, I have only had him for two weeks.

Also today i noticed small black spots appearing on his gills, Is this some sort of diseasae or just spots that he is getting? they are so small you would not notice them in a photo and they are on the main "stem" of his/her gills.

Re: axolotl droppings and spots.

Hmm, my little guy George always has grey droppings that sit on the bottom....I wonder if that's not right either then??

Hi there,

Jadore, would you be able to provide some photos of your axolotl's excrement (fresh specimen) as well as the spots on the gills?

For the spots, normal harmless pigmentation is very likely although i would need to take a look at photos to confirm. Some axolotls get more pigmented as they grow older.

The colour of the excrement depends a lot on the diet. If you feed something that has a brownish or reddish tinge (such as axolotl pellets) and worms, the poop will tend to take on the colour. Grey poop is normal too if the diet it is fed has a largely grey colour.

What is important is that when the axolotl's poop is fresh, it should look like a well defined blob. There should not be excessive mucus covering and tends to sink rather than float.

Jadore, i suspect what you are seeing may be spermatophores. They are white, can float somewhat and is gooey. Here is a link. http://www.axolotl.org/breeding.htm

Look under courtship heading for the picture.


Cheers

I will get pictures tomorrow as i am going to bed now, I don't think you will be able to see the spots as i only have my camera phone with me in college but i will try. As for the spermatophores i thought that bob was a girl but of course I'm only new and could be wrong so i will get a picture the next time i see one in the tank.

Hey here are pictures of the droppings, sorry i couldn't get a picture with the black spots visable.

Hi Jadore,

They do look more like faecal matter than spermatophores.

So far i can say that they are well formed and doesn't seem to have excessive mucus coating and thats a good thing. Its not really white but a pale reddish brown.

Have the axie's poop always been floating? What do you feed your axolotl? Has the poop always looked like that or its a recent thing?

Cheers

Well i have only had him about two weeks and this is the second time i have seen this, I have never seen anyting else being passed just two of these floating.
I feed my axolotl shrimp, earthworms and some bacon because he seems to eat it more readily than the other two.

Hi Jadore,

You may like to offer other types of food and assess if it changes the colour of the poop. Earthworms are perfect and you can continue to keep that as a staple. As for shrimp and bacon, feed them sparingly as treats. I suspect the shrimp and bacon (with higher fat content) can make the poop appear paler in colour as well as float.

Try feeding more earthworms, bloodworms, blackworms or pellets, and cut down on treats for the moment. Give it a week or two on the new diet and see how it goes.

Cheers

I would resist the urge to feed your axolotl bacon..this is a cured meat and at best will contain high levels of salt ( I have just tackled the freezer and the fridge to check the ingredients of both green [unsmoked] and smoked bacon..it was a pretty scary and dangerous experience!!)

Well his poos are now brown and don't float! Thanks for the help

Excellent Jadore,

Another happy ending. :happy:

Cheers