Caudata.org: Newts and Salamanders Portal

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Did you know that registered users see fewer ads? Register today!

Axolotl - Bright pink tail

Amie

New member
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Hiya,

I have a pet Axolotl named Dio. He's a real beauty. He's an albino around 9" long. Was a pest to get him to start feeding, but now he can't get enough food! I feed him around every other day, rotating small earth worms (Dendrobeana, or at least I hope it's spelt that way! lol) He normally has 4, averaging in size of 50mm - 70mm, with frozen cubes of blood worm. With the bloodworm, I mix a little Daphina and brine shrimp into them and offer it all in little clumps with twissors. I would love to feed him more of a variation, but he just won't eat anything else (I've tried LOTS of different things),

So, my questions are: When I bought him, he looked quite pale, but very healthy and a healthy colouring in his gills (also a little on the slim side). Lately his tail has gone BRIGHT PINK and his gills look brighter and a little longer (the length of his gills might be down to our British summer, but the temp is never allowed to exceed 23C). The temperature of his tank is generally between 20-22C, which isn't ideal, but I don't have a chiller (nor can I afford one). I use cooler bottles, but I have to be very careful with these so they don't keep fluctuating the temperature too much. If the temp hits 23C, I take in down to 21C in the space of an hour or so.

My water readings are: Ammonia 0mg/L, Nitrite 0.1mg/L and Nitrate 5mg/L. The tank was fully cycled before I made a home for him and I do 25% water changes twice weekly. The KH in my normal tap water is 0mg/L, so I use aqualibrium salts to raise it to 100mg/L. The packet instructs that I use one teaspoon per gallon, but as it's not designed specifically for Axolotls, I use one level teaspoon per three gallons.

I also use a PH product. My tap water PH is 6.5, so I use 'proper PH 7.0. I would like to stop adding this to water as the more I've read about it, the less I trust these products. I'm just not sure how to do it safely or if he can adjust to a lower PH. I really don't like all the chemical additions (for his health, not my pocket).

He has a tetratec External 700 filter which is set on low flow and I use a long spray bar and point it at the glass. He has an airstone on 'trickle' a couple of hours here and there throughout the day, as I used to have it on trickle all the time, but it seemed like he didn't really want it there at all. He'd swim frantically through it, stick his face in it, or just sit n the airstone. (which looks like a good thing, but I've heard it's not) ????

Oh yeah, he's in a three foot 30 gallon tank, bare bottom as I can't find a substrate that I trust either. I've put tank backing on the bottom of the tank (it looks like brickwork, really nice). The back and sides also have the same backing to shade him from too much dayling. The tank is side on to the window and only the front of the tank is 'open'. He also has a box lid, so nothing ever startles him or scares him.

He sits in his cave and on his plants for about half the day and then he's just really active, swimming all around the tank and making me worry about his bright pink tail and the look of 'stress' in his eyes (well, that's how I perceive the 'look'. He has lots of things to do in his tank and has lots of swimming space too. So, I don't know why his tail is this colour. I've read it can be a sign of stress, but I'd really appreciate any responses that can help bring clarity to this matter! - Please :)

All I really need is some advice (if you think I could be doing things differently), and mainly, the scary pink tail!

Sorry for the lenghy description, but I though, you know.... more detail is best :)

Thanks a bunch!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

webzdebs

New member
Joined
May 30, 2010
Messages
128
Reaction score
0
Location
Dundee, Scotland
Re: Axolotl - bright pink tail

hello and welcome, i'm fairly new to newts etc so i cant really help much but wanted to say hello anyways :)
 

CherryBlossom

New member
Joined
May 30, 2010
Messages
320
Reaction score
4
Location
Dundee
Hi!

I'm sorry I don't have an axi,so not much use to you for helpful info. There are a lot of nice friendly members here that will gladly help you out tho :)

xxxxxxxxxxx
 

Shizeric

2010 Research Grant Donor
Joined
Nov 22, 2009
Messages
1,835
Reaction score
40
Location
Middletown, Connecticut
A picture would provide a great deal of detail...but it seems like it just may be his color, if everything else is normal.

Your temp is a bit high, as you know,

My only advice would be to stop using all those chemicals....stop using the salt, it isn't necessary..you also don't need the pH correct.
 

tomkeogh

New member
Joined
Feb 23, 2010
Messages
733
Reaction score
10
Location
Lewisham, London
I have noticed my alino's tail go very flush when she is due a poop.

but I would concur with the temperature diagnosis too she seems a lot more sensitive to heat than my wild and leucistic...
 

Amie

New member
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Hi,

Thanks for all the responses! I appreciate

I've had him about 6 weeks now and he was a normal colour when I bought him (but kept in a really small tank). I'm afraid a picture wouldn't provide a great deal of detail, more like a blob that resembles an Axolotl, lol. My camera is awful. I have some pictures of him on my phone, I'll put them up anyway.

I can't say I've ever seen him do a poo! lol. He's eating great though, so I'm sure he has and I do find little black lumps in the bottem of the tank, so I'm guessing that might be his mess.... haha.

Thanks for the advice on the salts. The only reason I used them was to raise the KH, as I'd heard crushed coral shell was a no no, and my tap water KH is 0. Would it be safer to stop using these things gradually with every water change, or just do a full clean without the PH corrector and salts? Would a 0.5 drop in PH and a big drop in KH stress him out? So, I should just use water out of the tap, dechlorinate it and nothing else???? Sorry for all the questions! I just want to make him happy.... haha.

Yes, my tempurature is too high. I got him when it was cold (as it normally is here in Britain) and about a week after getting him, too my surprise, we get a summer lol. I wuld drop the tempurature below 20C with each water change and coolers etc, but it's just as bad to constantly have the tempurature fluctuating greatly as it is too have a high temp. It would just go back up while I'm work. It never goes over 23C anyway. I'm saving for a chiller, but no doubt our little British summer would have finished by the time I can afford one. Until then, I'm doing my best to keep the temperature lower.

Thank you to everyone for your advice, it all helps Dio!
 

Amie

New member
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
I've just put some pictures up of him and his tank. My camera is awful, you'll have to forgive the picture quality, lol. You can see his pink tail in a couple of them. It has little veins on it that have come up more in the last week. It looks brighter than in the pictures.
 

esoteric

New member
Joined
Jun 20, 2009
Messages
171
Reaction score
7
Location
Skelmersdale, Lancashire
Hi Amie, welcome to the site.

I've noticed all my leucistic axolotls' gills go very pink and their tail goes really deep pink and veined after a good feed. I think it's normal.

However, I don't feed mine as much as you seem to feed yours. They each get 2 medium or 1 large earthworm each every couple of days and, usually on a friday, they will get perhaps a dozen sinking pellets dropped in for them to hunt out and 1 bloodworm cube, (defrosted, sieved and washed) to share between all 4 of them.

If anything, I'm going to reduce the pellets, because I think my 2 chubby leucistics are getting more than their share.
:eek:

Amie, as an after thought, just cut out one of Dio's meals (it wont do any harm) and observe the colour over 24 hours .. I'm going to predict that Dio will go slightly paler and once you feed him again he/she will colour up again.
 
Last edited:

zoe

New member
Joined
May 25, 2010
Messages
34
Reaction score
1
i've got a golden albino and his tail and hind legs always go pretty red/pink when he's been swimming around a lot, because of all the extra blood being used in the muscles there, so it may just be that
 

Aleksthegreat

New member
Joined
Jun 9, 2010
Messages
37
Reaction score
0
like zoe said, because their is an increas of the bloodcirculation the tail turns pink and gills red :)
when I feed my axolotl or when she is swimming to hunt her gills turn red and tail a bit pink (got an albino ax)
 

Amie

New member
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
I might cut back on the feeding, thanks. I just think he looks so lonely in there on his own I just really want to give him something to do, lol. Will resist just throwing him a worm to give him something to chase. His tank is really kitted out, but he generally swims back and forth for ages (slowly) and then just disapears into his cave or tunnel not to be seen for another few hours.

Thanks for all the advice everyone has given. It's all really helpful. It's nice to know he's normal. I'm thinking about getting him a friend, but I'm not sure how he'd get on with another boy in his tank. He's hit sexual maturity as his toes are back, but still.... not sure if I should incase they don't get on. I'd like another boy of the same size, but a different colour. Also, I would like to figure him out before I go getting another one. I got him from a pet shop, the others he was with didn't look well, but he looked great. His gill have always been bright red, sometimes they fade to a lighter red, but they've always been quite bright. My guys generally quite placed, he does sometimes snap at thin air though. I thought it might have been because of the filter flow to start with, but since I've adjusted my filter with a long spray bar and some extra home made added lengh to stretch across the back of the tank and faced at the glass, there's hardly any flow and he still does it, lol. I don't know what he's doing when he does that?? I never just leave food in there with him, I find blood worms too messy, so he's not snapping at food. Axolotls are so weird! lol.

I changed his water and stopped putting the PH/buffering chemicals in there. His tail is still red, but he seems more relaxed.

Oooooh, we're moving house soon.... has anyone had to move their axie and tank before?? How did you do it? He'd have to be out of his tank for a few hours so we can move it and set it up at the other side, any advice please? Haha.... I feel like I'm steeling all of your know-how and offering very little in return other than a babbling essay of questions, lol! Sorry!

I'm also saving for a chiller too, so if anyone knows a good one for a 140 litre, please please send me a link as I have NO IDEA what I'm looking for, I just know they're expensive and all my hard earned money is going on him.... haha.
 

StuStu

New member
Joined
Apr 15, 2015
Messages
21
Reaction score
0
Location
London, Canada
Hey There,

My Axolotl is very active during the day. I have a 30 gallon tank and he swims back and forth along the bottom for hours and hours crashing into the corners and i recently noticed that his tail has turned pink.

Like the others have said i have attributed this to activity. i have cupped him in my hand and the tail does not seem tender or to irritate him as i can run my fingers along it and he doesn't flinch or move away.

I also had a problem keeping the tank cool over the summer so i found an old graphics card fan and wired it into a 5v plug and used pop clips to suspend it over the top of the tank. This has taken the average temperature down from 22 to around 18 as the air is being circulated on the top of the water and reduces the chance of heating the water throughout the day.

WARNING: If you are going to do something similar make sure the clips you use are strong enough to hold the card in place securely. Using clips that are not strong enough will result in the weight of the card lowering towards the water and you could end up electrocuting your Axie! I done numerous tests on mine to make sure the card was securely in place,

The card actually came with UV lights on it to make the inside of the computer glow but i was concerned that the constant UV would bother his eyes so i removed them.

I've attached a couple of pics showing the tank and the fan. I put a washcloth under the clips to the tank to absorb the vibrations of the fan, i also have one for padding under the filter to minimize the vibrations. If you are going to do this make sure the washcloth is high enough that it does not reach the water level as the cloth will absorb the water and drip down the back of the tank.

I also found that the filter would cause a lot of water displacement and too much current can bother Axolotls so i used a piece of foam and notched a 90 degree angle into the back and cut slots into the top and bottom so i can secure it in place in front of the filter, this allows the water to filter but reduces the force of the current. It also eliminated the sound of running water as it now flows down onto the foam and into the water rather than running straight off the filter lip.

I change his water once a week, half tank change one week and a full tank change the second and i clean the foam along with the filter each week.

If you going to try something similar i recommend using the plastic coated sponge type foam, the kind of stuff you find in packing boxes of dvd players and stereo equipment. Don't use styrofoam/polystyrene as it breaks down after a couple of washes and results in lots of white bits floating around on the top of the tank.
 

Attachments

  • Tank Setup.jpg
    Tank Setup.jpg
    96.4 KB · Views: 2,195
  • Graphics Card Fan.jpg
    Graphics Card Fan.jpg
    88.7 KB · Views: 786
  • Filter Angle.jpg
    Filter Angle.jpg
    80.8 KB · Views: 790

Renette

New member
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Messages
29
Reaction score
1
Location
Perth, wa
As they are school pets, I am about to move my Axies for the 3rd time this year (2 ways per time). They come home with me every school holidays and this term I have bought all their babies with me as they are 3 weeks old and too young to go to their new homes.

I don't know how far to your new home but my trip is only 40minutes and the following has worked for me.

I have two big containers with lids that I use to transport as much of their tank water as I can. I use a clean plastic bag to hold their really large decorations that won't fit into the containers and this also allows me to carry more water. My two fully grown Axies are put in the largest zip lock bags I can find with an air gap and then put in a foam box with soft (gel) icepacks.

When I arrive, I set up as quickly as I can and let them sit in partially open bags like you would with a fish, letting the water mix slowly. Once they seem to want to move I help them out.

I know moving them isn't ideal but a reality of my situation and I don't know if this advice is any good but just my experience and what has worked for me. Please someone correct me if it is wrong.
 
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Top