Scared / Really active, Spitting out worms and Trouble walking with a tiny arm.

Hello

I've have 2 axolotls, (a pink luecistic named Pinky, and a Black wildtype named Blacky)

I'm not too sure on age, But i know that the Blacky is around 7" while Pinky is around 6". I've had these guys for 2 weeks and have noticed the following problems.

Over Active / Scared

Pinky seems extremely scared and over active, Zooming around the tank often when at first, Pinky was the laziest of the two. When ever I go to hand feed him a earth worm, He will eat it, then have a little struggle with the worm, He gets it all in his mouth, then maybe a tiny tail will pop out, then it goes in... this happenes for about 3 seconds before he spits it out, I'm still managing to feed him now and then, but I'm worried . When he spits it out, 60% of the time he'll dart into his favourite corner, and sit there, He'll then start pacing along the wall of the tank, while grinding his head against the side (as if he's trying to find a weak spot in the wall).

Trouble walking

Blacky has a short and stubby right front claw. Its webbed and has no long toes at all, He often has trouble walking as he is constantly trying to swim along the bottom, and use his claws to propel him along the bottom, but because of the shorter claw he mucks up. Is this because of a birth defect or is it just a regrowing hand after an incident from another tank mate.

Trouble swimming / no longer going to the surface for air

Both axolotls no longer go up for air anymore (Where they take a gulp of air and then come back down to the water). Is this good or bad?

Oh and with the eating thing, Does this mean their full? or do they not even bother sucking up the worms if they're full?

Edit : On txting the owner, She said that the axolotls are around 10 months old, and that the parents were not related. Also guys, It's winter in NZ, So the temperature is quite cold (but not enough to snow).

Cheers
Kayne

I'm sure you would get some better advice from a more experienced member but I would first make sure the water is ok in terms of Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate, and temperature, and then I would make sure they aren't getting too much current from the filter, and no natural daylight or harsh lights, and then make sure their skin and gills look ok. My axie spent a couple of days hiding when she first got home but now she zips around the tank when she's startled and then she mooches in a corner for a few hours like she's sulking but she's usually fine after that. And she spends a lot of hours waddling up and down along the perimeter of the tank, I think just finding the limits, and sitting in the feeding corner looking balefully out at me waiting for more worms. Do you have anything else in the tank with them that could have injured Blacky's foot, apart from the pink one?

I worried a lot when I first got mine too, because they are so alien and getting to know the little quirks is good, so you will know the difference between healthy and sick behaviour Hope everything is ok with them!

Hi, I'm pretty certain that the injury t blackys foot was caused prior to me getting them, as its almost looking normal (its still extremely small, just its still odd-looking. My camera isn't good enough to get pictures but if I see the chance, i'll take it)

The only sharp thing in my tank would be the half - hollow log. They never swim on top of it, and the inside is extremely smooth.

My filter ( ugh I feel quite stupid after just reading this) is meant for a 70 - 250L tank when mine is only around 110 L. I've got a spray bar on and directed pointing at a 30-40 degree angle upwards at the wall behind it, The filter is positioned on one of the shorter sides so that the filter goes across the tank. Are their any alternative methods to filter my water?

Also... I'm going to be greedy and ask for a bit more help :3

Can anyone tell me what sex these axolotls are, The pink one ( Pinky) doesn't have black toes yet, but the Wild type (Blacky) Does have white toes.

Here are the pictures... (oh and i tried to take a picture of Blackys little hand... He always sits in the worst positions )

With regards to the feeding, do you chop the worms into pieces? Maybe the worm is too big for your axolotl to swallow?

I don't chop the worms into pieces because the chopped half doesn't riggle as much, And i'm trying to encourage my axolotls to semi - hunt the worms ( I place the worm around 10cm from their head, the worm starts moving away and the axolotl creeps up)
Although recently I have been trying to directly hand feed them, by dangling it above their head.

I've tried a range of sized worms, today I even tried an EXTREMLEY skinny worm, which would of been around 2mm thick, and around 1& 1/2 " long. Something I don't understand is i've cut a BIG worm in half, and they both happily accepted it. Without spitting it out once.

It wouldn't be the taste of the worm or anything would it? Maybe I should try washing the worms before feeding them to the axy's.

I have been washing worms after capturing them, and then I place them in a ice cream container with the lid shut and air holes. They leave poo and "worm - juice"? inside the container, so maybe their product is a bad taste? I'll experiment tomorow...

their gills look nice and fluffy. I've read here that sometimes the worm taste can be offputting, depending on the type of worm. maybe you could try a different type of food, some sinking pellets or frozen or live bloodworm?

Okay cheers, I have some frozen blood worms in the freezer, I'll try the washed worms first, then if they dont like it, I'll try the blood worms de-thawed.

I have sinking pellots but my axolotls spit these out the most, straight away. It just makes a mess in my tank. :/

Kanye,

Do you know for certain what type of earthworms you are feeding? Some apparently secret a lousy taste as a defense mechanism. Unfortunately I'm too sleepy to remember which ones.

I'm sorry to correct you but its Kayne (Y is before the N)
Alot of people call me Kanye and it does get a bit annoying lol

As for type of earth worm? i'm not to sure. I just had a look at them, They're all range from a brown to dark red colour, and don't have that characteristic "band" as if they're wearing a plaster, But i have noticed much larger earth worms with that band...

Thats very interesting lol, I didn't know there were differant types.

Here


I know exactly why though. I've been getting them from a compost heap, and i've only been scraping the top layer of slightly decayed material because I had found their were more worms. Tomorow i'll throw these guys out and dig deep

On further googling, E. Fetida (left)excretes a foul smelling liquid when handled rougly...
I feel so stupid.

Although, The majority of the worms are the Red to black worms ( right photo). and I haven't seen anything saying they emit anything.

Heh.... sorry... I was SO afraid of spelling it Kanye ... that I did it anyway.

Mac Myers said:

Heh.... sorry... I was SO afraid of spelling it Kanye ... that I did it anyway.

Click to expand...

! lol all good.
Anyways, its alot harder to find worms with the collar than I thought, I always have this problem lol. When ever I'm not looking for something I'll find it, but when ever I look for that specific item, I will never find it D:

Edit : Discovery!

Fed pinky a worm, then tried feeding blacky a wrom, he didn't eat it, So I Cut a GIANT worm in half, Blacky accepted it, Pinky also accepted it, but he threw up the old whole tiny worm. Interesting

Hi Kayne,

I think I read somewhere that "Bennings" carries worms. Does that sound familiar to you? Not sure if I have the name exactly right.

dragonlady said:

Hi Kayne,

I think I read somewhere that "Bennings" carries worms. Does that sound familiar to you? Not sure if I have the name exactly right.

Click to expand...

Bunnings warehouse? I'll check around there when I get a light for my tank, I might even start a worm farm

Worm farms are GREAT. If you have a garden or houseplants, the farm produces THE best fertilizer ever. Plus, you feed it with plain old food scraps (not too much!) so you have a mini-compost going.

Remember that the worms you farm are red wrigglers and they may have a "bad" taste/smell for axolotls. Just soak them in a cup of water or rinse them well before feeding, though, and all will be well.

Good luck to you!

-Eva

Hey Kayne,

Shannon is talking about Bunnings Warehouse... I read the same post a few days ago. I think they sell them for worm farms or something. Good luck.