Question: White spots problem or pigment?

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Camirdra

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I got my guy yesterday from someone that didn't have the space for him anymore. I am just wondering if the white markings on his head and body are natural or if they may be a indication to some problem? He is a great little guy (not so little... about 10 inches :happy: ) And I just want to make sure he is healthy and happy. It's not easy to get a pic of him as I do not have a light on the tank. Also open to suggestions for a name... he didn't come with one...
 

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I could be completely wrong on this because the quality is not great, but I don’t think its white spot. It looks like interesting colouration because they do not look raised or fluffy, and the axolotl looks quite healthy.

You could ask the former owner how long he has had them for? If they have been there the whole time I would say it was just pigmentation. Also how is his over all health? Does he eat well, is he very active? Does he show signs of stress like curled forward gills or a kinked tail (right at the tip)?

If he is acting healthy I would not worry too much, assume its pigmentation and keep an eye on the spots.

It also helps to check water parameters like ammonia nitrate and nitrite to make sure the water is healthy.

Again i haven't had experience with white spot so another few opinions could help. He is very pretty!
 
Unfortunately the tip of his tail was missing when I got him yesterday but he seems to be healthy and has been eating well. He ate a bunch of guppies last night and has been exploring today, he comes to the front of the tank when i get close, i must be an interesting critter to him as well! The spots are not raised or fluffy, so i think it is just his color, but better safe than sorry right? I think he is awesome and look forward to having him a long time. The previous owner said they gave him 1 worm once a week and kept goldfish with him to eat. They had some that had grown too big for him to eat and offered them to me but i declined, I think they may have something to do with the state of his poor tail.
 
yes goldfish can nip at tails! But the great thing is he will grow it back soon, just keep the water cool and clean. Guppies are great every once in a while, but worms should be fed more often, and it is recomended to feed them once every 2 days.

His gills look quite healthy from the picture, so i think he is fine. Good luck with him, if it is colouration you have a very special one indeed :D
 
Awesome! Thanks for the insight. I will make it a point to feed him worms every other day. Guppies are just easy for us because we have a 55 gal tank full of them (my oldest childs attempt at raising money, unfortunately the demand for wild guppies isn't that high lol!)
 
This happens to most melanoid axolotls that are quite old that i have seen (specifically speaking about the ones i have seen in aquariums and zoo's throughout england) i couldnt comment on if this has happened to a hobbyists specimin
 
thats interesting... i wonder why. Maybe that means you got given an old axololt?
 
So he may just be old... I noticed today that he also seems to have an upper "lip" on the right side of his mouth but not on the left... I have been trying to get a picture but it is difficult to get one that shows it with a cellphone camera.
 
Don't they get black toes when they reach breeding age? Mine still has white toes...
 
dark axolotls actually get white toes. Its the opposite for them :D or though i'm sure it would depend on the individual. The whole bottom of my leucistics feet are black, where my very dark wild type has tiny white tips on her toes. They are definatley mature because they have both bred before.
 
Ok, that makes sense. I was just reading about piebalds, do you think that may be what he is, these white marks are all over him and they have "freckles" in them. He also has a much lighter colored belly. I wish I could get some better pics of him, guess I'll have to do it the old fashion way.. have my boyfriend take pics with the 35mm and wait for it to get developed :)
 
A piebald is an otherwise regular coloured axootls with pigmnetless white patches, like what your axolotl seems to have. however they have to be born with them to be a genetic piebald, so it would depend on how long he has had the spots for. If the spots are age related like aron suggested, he would not be a piebald. You could ask the previous owner how long he has had them?

A light belly is normal colouration for dark axolotls. I think its in all of them actually, its just more noticable with the dark ones. I think it is very cute :)
 
Better pics of Itzys markings :happy:
 

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