How long does it tank to regenerate limbs?

How long does it take for axolotls to regenerate limbs?

I had an unfortunate incident that effected all 3 of my axies

A fish (american flag fish) that was not suppose to be very aggressive and had been with my axies for a couple months went psycho, came home to find all three of my axies huddled in the top missing their limbs. Fish is gone, I'm extremely embarrassed and upset. He was in there to eat blackbeard algae, and I hadn't seen any aggression.

The tank is very clean and I plan to do everything I need to keep them from getting fungus.

Oh wow poor buggers Least you didn't come home to them being well... Gone. How are they now? Future note; No fish in Axolotl tanks.

When I bought my Ax's they were both missing their arms and legs. I'm assuming the small tank that my 2 along with 6 others, led to serious fighting. When we bought ours home it took roughly 2-3 weeks for full rejuvenation of arms and legs. Absolutely no gravel or sand was in the tank with them during the growing period because I read they could cut themselves on it and once healed I added the tiny rocks back in to the tank.

So yeah 2-3 weeks depending on how much has to grow and diet I'm assuming.

Tails are mostly gone too, I'm assuming the same time frame on tails growth. They're doing alright, actively eating. I wanted to do horrible things to that little fish, but I took him back to my friends pet store unhurt. Now I need to get them eating earthworms, they only want blood worms and fish(maybe not anymore ).

Axyfriend said:

Oh wow poor buggers Least you didn't come home to them being well... Gone. How are they now? Future note; No fish in Axolotl tanks.

When I bought my Ax's they were both missing their arms and legs. I'm assuming the small tank that my 2 along with 6 others, led to serious fighting. When we bought ours home it took roughly 2-3 weeks for full rejuvenation of arms and legs. Absolutely no gravel or sand was in the tank with them during the growing period because I read they could cut themselves on it and once healed I added the tiny rocks back in to the tank.

So yeah 2-3 weeks depending on how much has to grow and diet I'm assuming.

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once healed you added tiny rocks back into the tank

No gravel is ever a good idea for axolotls! Please remove it before you're dealing with ingestion impaction problems too!

As for regrowing limbs I've seen full limb regeneration in a 3-4 week period. Keeping the water clean & cool is essential. You could add an almond leaf to the water to ward off fungus or try adding some strong black tea to the tank water - this adds helpful tannins to the water which helps aid skin repair & healing while keeping fungus away. You'll still have to check parameters regularly & do normal water changes - either adding more tea or just slowly diluting it with water changes.


If you have lots of loose skin or hanging limbs - it could be worth a quick trip to a vet so they can amputate - leaving clean wounds for easier regeneration with less risk of fungal infections.

Please keep us updated & post any pics of your little ones.

I'm glad they are still alive after such an horrific thing happening to them



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Nikki71 said:

If you have lots of loose skin or hanging limbs - it could be worth a quick trip to a vet so they can amputate - leaving clean wounds for easier regeneration with less risk of fungal infections.

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Sorry bit of an off topic but do they cut the limb off while the axie is awake or do they put it under? Just curious.

Also like Nikki said, axolotls shouldn't be mixed with fish. The fish was probably hungry, just its natural behavior. Hope your axies recover soon :happy:

snuggly time said:

Sorry bit of an off topic but do they cut the limb off while the axie is awake or do they put it under? Just curious.

Also like Nikki said, axolotls shouldn't be mixed with fish. The fish was probably hungry, just its natural behavior. Hope your axies recover soon :happy:

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I believe they can sedate the animals - they can also work out if they are able to trim without sedation. Best to let the vet make that decision.





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