Does Dexter look normal?

Hi all!
I'm a total newb to caring for axolotls, and I'm looking for an opinion from you experts out there!
This is going to be kind of long, but bear with me. I want to give some environmental info first.
This is Dexter, and he's one of two new young axies that I brought home yesterday (Wednesday). I have had the tank (30 gallons) set up since the weekend, cycling to establish a healthy environment. The water in the tank is on the hard side, is at a temperature of 64-65 degrees F, and testing shows no nitrites and no ammonia. pH is between 7.5 and 8 (I need to buy a more accurate testing kit). I have a waterfall filter on the back of the tank, but I've dispersed the flow of it using a plastic water bottle with some holes in it to minimize current in the tank. Having said that, I do have an aerator in one corner to help oxygen saturation (and Casper, the other axie actually plays in it - he rides the bubble column up and floats back down over and over. It's adorable). I have a tonne of hiding spaces in the way of rock caves and plants (fake, because apparently axies don't like light too much, and I feared I'd have a hard time keeping live plants healthy without it- the filter is an Aquaclear bio filter though, and has an ammonia filter in it). The substrate on the bottom of the tank is sand, and there's nothing big enough for them to inhale when they eat.
Right now, they're on a diet of frozen bloodworms, while the brine shrimp I hatched recently grow a little bit.

The axies themselves are both albinos, and I have no worries about Casper. Dexter however has these shiny/white patches all over his body. I was told that it's a phenotype of the albinos that is normal, because he also has iridescent gill branches. But his gill branches have been curled forward a little bit, while Casper's have not (though, Dex does have longer gill branches than Cas).
I'm worried that the patches might be some kind of illness - but as I mentioned, I'm new to this whole thing, and still at the stage where I'm worrying over every little behavioral trait!
I thought that maybe his gill branches would be fine after he settled in, but Casper seems totally at ease now. Other than Dexter's gill branches though, they both seem to be acting totally fine - swimming around, eating well, exploring the plants and what I think is playing (especially Cas and the bubble column).

To be honest, I'm not even sure how far forward the gill branches have to be before I should start being concerned. All I know comes from the research I put in before buying them both.

Sorry for the boatload of info! But what do you guys think? Does this look normal? Or should I be worried?
(Also, sorry for the poor quality - he isn't a fan of being handled yet, so the best photos I could get were through the glass so he was comfortable)

Thanks so much guys!

ALSO
If you look in the third picture especially, you can see a small bump on his side, just behind his foreleg. The previous owner couldn't tell me what it was, and I still don't know either. Any ideas?
I'm almost 100% he hasn't swallowed gravel, because he's been on sand substrate in my tank, and the tank before and he eats normally. I'm pretty sure he's pooping normally too - hard to tell with two in the tank.

I have had the tank (30 gallons) set up since the weekend, cycling to establish a healthy environment. The water in the tank is on the hard side, is at a temperature of 64-65 degrees F, and testing shows no nitrites and no ammonia. pH is between 7.5 and 8 (I need to buy a more accurate testing kit).

Click to expand...

Cycling takes many weeks; and there are two types: fish-in and fishless (do not confuse the two - and axolotls count as fish-in cycling)...

Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling

The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side. - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community

Long story short, since your tank/filter are not cycled, you will need to daily water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite levels under .5 ppm at all times. And yes, use a liquid based test kit versus the test strips.

You seem to be doing everything right just watch the ammonia and nitrite and perform the needed water changes. I don't really see anything wrong with them and my axolotls have grown and lost bumps and growths over time. As long as it doesn't look like a tumor and the axolotl is still eating it should be fine. Curled gills in a stressed axolotl can be much more drastic than the slight bent forward. Also an axolotl can be more sensitive than others. My big leucistic moody judy curls her gills if I do anything near the tank while the others don't care.


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Like others said, you need to keep a close eye on your water parameters and do daily water changes, because your tank is not cycled. Cycling essentially means growing bacteria in your tank and filter that will then take care of the ammonia from the wastes your axolotls produce. It won't happen in a day or two, it takes weeks.

The axolotl looks fine in the pictures. Some axies have their gills a bit curled at times. If it was because of stress they would curled a lot. The shiny patches are just the shiny pigment axies have, nothing to worry about.

For food earth worms would be the best. When they're young bloodworms are fine but as they grow earth worms would provide better nutritional value. The brineshrimp will probably be too small for them to take much interest in it.

And one more thing, you shouldn't handle your axolotl unless absolutely necessary so taking pictures through the glass is what you should always do. The oils, salt etc on your hands can damage axies slime coat and skin so it's best to not handle them too much. They sometimes will climb on your hand though when you put it in the tank and that's fine as there's water to kind of protect them.

Awesome, thanks so much everyone!

Yeah, they get partial changes every day - I siphon out the stuff they don't eat to make sure nothing rots, so I have to replace some water anyway. I always try and do a bit extra (because I figured it takes more than a couple of days to cycle the tank) so it ends up being around 20% change each day.