Aggressive Axolotls? I found one missing a leg today.

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Antony Rossi

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I found my wildtype axolotl was missing a leg today. I'm pretty sure it was there this morning.

I ask about aggression because my leucistic axolotl is slightly bigger than his other 2 mates. I noticed he was also bumping/ramming into my wildtype yesterday during feeding.

Has anyone encountered a problem like this? What do I do?
 
Heya

Sorry to hear about that.
Axolotls can indeed be quite aggresive, mostly if their conditions are not right for them though.
Now you dident post anything about their tank, so of course i dont know, but you could be keeping them too cramped (tank too small), or with too few hiding places (minimum 1-2 hiding spots per Axy), also if the size difference is major, i would consider keeping them apart until they have about the same size.

Otherwise i would suggest feeding them by hand/forceps, a lot of the accidents where Axolotls bite each other are encountered during feeding time, if you just drop their food on the tank floor, you are likely to encounter accidents such as this when they all come rushing in for the kill :happy:

Hope it turns out alright!
Regards Bjorn
 
We were having trouble with aggressiveness, and now feed ours individually in tubs (tupperware type things) floated in the tank. Now they're used to it they happily swim into the tub and await food. Also means less tidying up after feeding :)
 
I don't know how old my axies are.

My leucistic is about 2 inches now.
My wildtype and golden are about 1.5 to 1.75 inches.

I already separated them. My leucistic is temporarily in a small glass vase until I can go buy another large bowl.

He used to live with the other 2 in a large glass cyclinder (9" diameter) with about 2/3rd's to 3/4th's of a gallon of water in there.

Just a few days ago I bought an aquarium figurine for them to hide away in. It's a little pagoda.
 
You kept 3 Axolotls in a 9" diameter cylinder? And 3/4 of a gallon of water?

Did you do any research before getting Axolotls? This is a completely inappropriate way to care for axolotls. Each Axolotl needs at least 10 gallons of water, and 3 Axolotls should be kept in a tank around 30 gallons.

No duh your axolotls are going to be aggressive towards each other, I'm surprised they're even still alive.
 
They're still juveniles, they're still very small. When they're adults I plan on having a 50 gallon aquarium for the 3. They're not adults right now and they have a lot of growing to do.
 
Ah, gotcha, if they are juveniles you should have them separated if there is a significant size difference.
 
This isn't really aggression. . Axolotls are opportunistic, gape limited predators. This means that they will try and eat anything that moves that might fit in their mouth, anything that does not move and will fit in their mouth, and anything that may bear a vague resemblance food and happens to be in gulping range. This includes rocks, gravel, plants, the base of their filter, floating thermometers. Your finger tip, and often other (or parts of other) axolotls.:eek:


The good news is, the one missing the leg will survive and grow a new one if you keep it in clean water in a nice cool fridge. There are are sorts of threads on this here, and lots of information about this on the various Sister Sites in the Caudata.org family.
 
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I wouldn't worry about it too much especially while they are still young, mine have a leg or two missing now and then.
Fortunately while they are young they will grow back very quickly and usually without defect.
Mel
 
Juvenile axies can be extremely aggressive especially if there is a size difference. Young axies regularily eat their smaller siblings as they are developing.

When I first got my male & female they were about 3 inches long. The female was slightly bigger, and as soon as I put them in their 10 gallon tank, she tried to bite the male. Needless to say, they immediately got separate 10 gallon tanks. 7 months later they are full grown and happily co-habitating & breeding in a spacious 20 gallon tank with lots of good hiding places.

You'll find lots of great information on this site. Best of luck with your new pets! : )
 
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