I can't seem to find a thread with an issue similar to mine, so I decided the best way to see what is going on with my little guy would be to create a new thread.
I have two axolotls (one dark melanoid, Nero, and one white melanoid,Maeve) that were living in a 20 gallon tank together. They are about 6 to 7 inches at the moment and were starting to feel cramped in their 20 gallon due to space taken up by hides in the tank. On a side note: I had been planning on buying a bigger 55gallon tank and went ahead and got it and began cycling it getting it ready for Maeve and Nero.
Before I could change them to the bigger tank, my white melanoid got a little aggravated by Nero and nipped his leg. He had a good chunk missing from his leg so I immediately moved him to a sick tank and over the course of a number of days lowered the temperature slowly to avoid any excess bacteria growth. I also did 100% water changes to make sure his leg was staying clean. He did fine with the bare bottom tank and the 100% water changes. His leg was healing quickly and he was eating normally. When I separated the two of them I did notice a change in both Maeve and Nero's behavior. It was not enough of a change in Nero to cause alarm, in fact he was moving his leg much more than I anticipated and he looked like he was healing quickly.
After a week of him being in a sick tank, Nero began to show signs of stress. Raising his gills, curing his tail. He also began to flick his gills more often and staying very still. After a day or two of his drastic change from the active axie he normally is, I decided to tank him from the sick tank. By this time we had our 55 gallon tank set up with Maeve already accustomed to it. I was worried that the smaller sick tank and the frequent water changes were starting to stress him out and it was time to return to a normal tank environment.
I assumed since they have been tank mates for some time (about 8 months) that the reintroduction didn't need to be drawn out. I slowly put Nero into the tank and was sure to have them on separate sides at first. It was Maeve who came over to Nero first very slowly. She would come close to him them turn around. Nero sat in the same spot for a while. Finally after about 10 minutes of him being completely still he darted to one of the hides and sat there. He has been staying in the same hide for 2 days now. He only will go out of the back side of the hide briefly then wander back inside. He seems fine with Maeve's presence. He comes to visit him in the hide often by sticking her head inside, sitting there for a comment then turning around. She has been sleeping right next to the hide as well while Nero is there.
One other thing that seems really odd is the fact that he is not moving towards my hand anymore. He used to be the most responsive when it came to feeding and being very inquisitive if I reach my hand inside. I tried to coax him out by letting him follow my finger (which he normally will do) but he instead backs up further into the hide. I am not sure if he is still stressed, but I am worried. His injury is looking great and I am keeping tabs on the water quality to make sure he has no chance of infection. He is still eating normally, he just doesn't seem to be interacting like he normally would with the tank, his tank mate, and me. Is there anyone who has any advice for me? I don't think that he is sick (at least physically he looks fine), but he is lethargic. I am worried about how his injury might be affecting his adjustment to the new tank and vise versa. Any advice?
About the pictures:
The first one was taken right after his injury. I couldn't get a clear picture of the underside of his leg (which is the side that is missing a chunk) but this picture shows him when it was first cut with him favoring it. The second is him in the hide that he won't leave. He is hard to take pictures with due to his color.
I have two axolotls (one dark melanoid, Nero, and one white melanoid,Maeve) that were living in a 20 gallon tank together. They are about 6 to 7 inches at the moment and were starting to feel cramped in their 20 gallon due to space taken up by hides in the tank. On a side note: I had been planning on buying a bigger 55gallon tank and went ahead and got it and began cycling it getting it ready for Maeve and Nero.
Before I could change them to the bigger tank, my white melanoid got a little aggravated by Nero and nipped his leg. He had a good chunk missing from his leg so I immediately moved him to a sick tank and over the course of a number of days lowered the temperature slowly to avoid any excess bacteria growth. I also did 100% water changes to make sure his leg was staying clean. He did fine with the bare bottom tank and the 100% water changes. His leg was healing quickly and he was eating normally. When I separated the two of them I did notice a change in both Maeve and Nero's behavior. It was not enough of a change in Nero to cause alarm, in fact he was moving his leg much more than I anticipated and he looked like he was healing quickly.
After a week of him being in a sick tank, Nero began to show signs of stress. Raising his gills, curing his tail. He also began to flick his gills more often and staying very still. After a day or two of his drastic change from the active axie he normally is, I decided to tank him from the sick tank. By this time we had our 55 gallon tank set up with Maeve already accustomed to it. I was worried that the smaller sick tank and the frequent water changes were starting to stress him out and it was time to return to a normal tank environment.
I assumed since they have been tank mates for some time (about 8 months) that the reintroduction didn't need to be drawn out. I slowly put Nero into the tank and was sure to have them on separate sides at first. It was Maeve who came over to Nero first very slowly. She would come close to him them turn around. Nero sat in the same spot for a while. Finally after about 10 minutes of him being completely still he darted to one of the hides and sat there. He has been staying in the same hide for 2 days now. He only will go out of the back side of the hide briefly then wander back inside. He seems fine with Maeve's presence. He comes to visit him in the hide often by sticking her head inside, sitting there for a comment then turning around. She has been sleeping right next to the hide as well while Nero is there.
One other thing that seems really odd is the fact that he is not moving towards my hand anymore. He used to be the most responsive when it came to feeding and being very inquisitive if I reach my hand inside. I tried to coax him out by letting him follow my finger (which he normally will do) but he instead backs up further into the hide. I am not sure if he is still stressed, but I am worried. His injury is looking great and I am keeping tabs on the water quality to make sure he has no chance of infection. He is still eating normally, he just doesn't seem to be interacting like he normally would with the tank, his tank mate, and me. Is there anyone who has any advice for me? I don't think that he is sick (at least physically he looks fine), but he is lethargic. I am worried about how his injury might be affecting his adjustment to the new tank and vise versa. Any advice?
About the pictures:
The first one was taken right after his injury. I couldn't get a clear picture of the underside of his leg (which is the side that is missing a chunk) but this picture shows him when it was first cut with him favoring it. The second is him in the hide that he won't leave. He is hard to take pictures with due to his color.
