Gill colour

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penny07

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My axolotl is pale pink with black eyes, but I've noticed that his gills can change colour slightly from time to time. They seem to range from being quite red to very pale pinkl/white. Is this normal or is there anything wrong with the oxygen levels or water flow?
 
Don't wirry about it . It's normal. When they are more active the gills will get briter.
 
my leucistic tends to go very pale before he poos,
after they return to bright red,
i havent noticed it with the wild types just him.
mind you he starts throwing himself around and allsorts when he needs to go lol, the wilds are more laid back about it all.
 
Thanks for the replies. It's put my mind at rest a bit, although today I've noticed that the gills aren't as full as they usually are. There doesn't seem to be many filaments on the gill stalks compared to normal.
 
What is the temp in the tank? What are the levels at ?
 
Temperature is between 19 & 20 degrees & all the water levels are within the usual parameters. He's still eating normally & is showing no other signs that anything is wrong. I don't want to do anything until I know what is wrong with him but at the same time I'm worried that by doing nothing I could be making him worse.
I wasn't sure if he had a bacterial infection but the rest of his body is normal, it's just his gills. I thought about putting him in the fridge for a bit but not sure if this will help or how long to leave him in there?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as im fairly new at this.
 
Nope, sounds completely normal. They'll often go pale when the axolotl is 'sleeping' or resting. They'll get brighter during more active periods (like eating). This is because when axolotls are resting, they need less oxygen, so there is less blood flowing through the gills. When they have higher oxygen demands, as when they're more active, more blood is flowing through the gills to pick up more oxygen from the water.
 
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