Gills pointing forward, is it stress?

Hi,

I've had my axolotls for almost 2 months and the previous owner thinks they were about 3 months when I got them. I have two, a wild type and a golden (I think!), the wild type is about 10cm and growing a bit faster than the other one which is about 9cm.

Anyway, the golden ones gills seem to be curling forward quite considerably and they've only been like this for a few days. I'm pretty sure a week ago they were fine.

The tank is big, not sure about the gallons but it's a three foot tank so I think that would be about 20 gallons?? I only have it half filled normally and there are loads of hiding places for them.

Water temperature is fine, I thought it might be the filter at first so I've only had the filter on for a few hours a day anyway, and I point the water stream to the glass so I don't think there would be much current in there. Besides, he doesn't seem to be fighting against the current like I've seen others do.

I've not checked the PH of the tank as I don't have anything like that but will get some soon. I always use stuff to de-chlorinate the water before I put new water in and I change about 30% of the water every week. Occasionally I change a few small jugs of water every few days.

The only thing I can think of which could stress him is if he's fighting with the wild type. They often to get along fine and rub noses etc, but I've seen a few nips on the ends of both of their tails, and a few days ago during feeding time I noticed the wild one putting the golden ones leg into his mouth! But I think it might have been accidental as they are still quite young.

As for feeding, I think I feed them enough. Perhaps I feed them too much, I used to give them a cube of bloodworm defrosted to share, but for the past 2 weeks or so I've also given them a cube of brine shrimp between them at a different time of day.

Anyway, sorry to go into so much detail, I just wanted to mention as much as I could so I could quickly get to the bottom of this.

I've attached pics, the last one is how he looked at the beginning of this month.

Oops, I meant to attach this one instead of the 2nd pic.

Also just to mention, the lights in the tank are hardly used, I switch them on for about 10 mins a day when I feed them but that's all.

Very nice looking axies. Is the tail tip curled on the gold?? My abbys gills go forward when he is in hunt mode.
lea

No his/her tail doesn't seem to be curled but the very tip (about 1mm) is actually missing perhaps from a recent fight with the other one. Generally seems healthy though, think you may be right about hunt mode, they were fine for a while earlier but at the slightest hint of food they curled forward again.

Thanks

Turning the filter on and off isn't good. For one, they're designed to run continuously. And for two, your biological filter (that is, the bacterial colony that lives in your filter) needs a continuous flow of water for oxygen and food. By turning off your filter, you starve off the bacteria, which then die, and are then pumped into the tank when you turn the filter back on. This actually INCREASES your ammonia levels, rather than decreasing them.

As for the gills, I've noticed that young axolotls' gills tend to point forward a lot. Keep an eye on any bullying by the wildtype, and make sure the golden is getting his share of food.

Thanks very much Kaysie, I hadn't thought about the consequences of turning off the filter, I was just worried about the little guy. I'll keep it on non-stop from now on.

I'll keep an eye out for bullying and separate them if necessary but looking at him now the gills are a bit more normal looking, I think it might have something to do with when I feed him.