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White spots on gills?

S

Salina

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Hi!

so i might be paranoid but my axolotl, who i just got recently, has white spots on his gills and i'm not sure if that's just his colouration or not because i haven't had him that long but tell me if it looks unusual. Also I only just started using children's playground sand as substrate for him today, he's about 6 inches and i've seen him spitting out sand. Is he gonna be alright?
 

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Wysper

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The lighter spots on his gills appear to be iridaphores due to his coloration.

Spitting out sand is a good thing, just means he got some in his mouth or while feeding. It will happen from time to time when he eats, nothing to worry about. He is old enough and big enough to pass sand without issue.

Younger axolotls can still become impacted from sand, so they shouldn't be kept on sand substrate until at least 4-5".

He is a very pretty golden with lots of speckles!
 
Skudo09

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Reiterating as already mentioned above, the white spots are iridophores and part of the colouration. He should be able to pass the sand. However, it is best practice to minimise how much sand they consume by hand feeding well above the surface of the sand or feeding them using a dish or jar.
 
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