Juvie Not Eating

Hi everyone!

I have two axolotls that I got 4 months ago, a leucistic and a melanoid. The melanoid is doing fantastic. The leucistic has been having some trouble.

I already asked about her in (thisl) thread, and she's recovered from that sickness just fine. Or so I thought. While Oliver (the melanoid) is growing tremendously, Lila (the leucistic) is still much smaller. I have to work much harder to get her to eat, and most days she refuses food.

They are in a 40 gallon aquarium, ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites are all zero. Temp is 72. I am cautious to think its a water quality issue when Oliver is doing so well. I feed them red wrigglers that I've soaked in water for a half hour, but I'm going to get /real/ earthworms next time I go off campus.

Is this something I should be worried about? Is Lila just stunted because she was so ill when she was so young? Do you think she will always be smaller, or will she eventually grow up? Any speculations, advice etc... are greatly appreciated! I'm attaching a photo of the two of them that illustrates their size difference. They are (approximately) the same age, come from the same source, and have lived in the same conditions.

That is a big size difference. Make sure the bigger one doesnt think the smaller one is food. The smaller one mightnt like red wigglers....they give off a foul taste.....try bloodworms
I had 2 axies and as soon as the water changed one axie would go nuts and it appeared the other one wasnt effected at all.......

I watch them very closely because I'm afraid of him trying to eat her, but so far they have been fine, and the tank is big enough I believe to allow her to swim away from him if he tried. I don't think he's quite big enough to fit her in his mouth yet, too.
So far every time I've tested water quality issues they've been normal.
I'll have to get bloodworms next time I'm out, this weekend at the soonest.

I would recommend giving the leucistic a different type of food. I had the same problem with my albino when he was a juvie. He haaaated red wigglers. He ate them once then puked them up then wouldn't touch them again. I switched to bloodworms with no problem. Also, I give my juvie melanoid HBH Newt and Salamander Bites (got them at Petco), and she adoooores them.
Also, nightcrawlers are great if you don't mind taking the time to chop them up. Good luck!

Thanks so much! I'll be getting new food for her this weekend (bloodworms and nightcrawlers) but those pellets sound like a good idea so I'll add those to the list too! Hopefully that helps her out.