New Axies - Abe and Nessie

I got these little guys last week from Margie.



and Abe:


With a visitor:

Tried downloading the photos again ...

Sorry, the attachments didn't seem to come through. I'm trying again - hope this works.

They're eating well, moving around, seem happy, but my only concern is that their gills are flared forward a bit. I've used a baffle on the filter, and with the exception of one corner of the tank (20L), there's no noticeable flow - the plants don't move, bloodworms sink straight down. Do they look okay?

Beauties!

They look great. Curled gills aren't always a symptom of stress or illness - there are actually various reasons that will happen. As long as they're bushy, bright, and active I wouldn't worry.

But I can tell you for sure; there are a few users in these forums that like to police everyone's photos - they will tell you that gravel is "small enough to be ingested and create a blockage" heh heh; they will also point out that blood worms are not "nutritionally adequate". Some body might hassle ya I say, if you keep an eye on em and offer worms when they're bigger, then great! Worms are the best for em, if you can manage. Try frozen brine shrimp too, it's similar to blood worms.

The crystal-like gravel looks great beside your light colored Lotls though! I have never had problems with my Lotls eating anything but the food I give them, so don't let people give you a hard time

Heehee! They're so cute. Love the live plants and natural wood too, great choice.

If you decide to go with night crawlers/earth worms you'll have to mince them up small for your little guys. Also try feeding them "by hand" with reptile feeding tongs. You can wiggle the worm bits around and draw it away to play chase with them or entice them to hunt! :happy:

CheyenneAutumn said:

Beauties!

But I can tell you for sure; there are a few users in these forums that like to police everyone's photos - they will tell you that gravel is "small enough to be ingested...

Click to expand...

Thank you! Actually, that's sand though, not gravel. The photos are blown up quite a bit. I got these babies last week as 2-3" juveniles. I picked up the sand at a pet shop, so it's not play sand, which is a finer grain. I didn't get play sand because it comes in 50 lb bags and I have a bad back, and because play sand, due to its finer grains, apparently packs and is more likely to develop anaerobic pockets that can be deadly to fish. Although axies aren't fish, it didn't sound good. And I do like the color with the light - color axies. I will monitor them carefully. I do like their frilly gills.

I plan on feeding earthworms as soon as they are big enough. The axies, not the worms. Chopping worms up, though... Ugg! They're getting blackworms, too, but really like the bloodworms.

CheyenneAutumn said:

If you decide to go with night crawlers/earth worms you'll have to mince them up small for your little guys. Also try feeding them "by hand" with reptile feeding tongs. You can wiggle the worm bits around and draw it away to play chase with them or entice them to hunt! :happy:

Click to expand...

I will definitely try that (chase) - it'll drive the cat insane. Their tank is at floor level abd has become a kitty TV. She goes nuts sometimes and tries to reach under to get then. (The lid is secure so she can't get in and it's in the room with my husband, who is always there and would hear if she tried.)

Leslie said:

I will definitely try that (chase) - it'll drive the cat insane. Their tank is at floor level abd has become a kitty TV. She goes nuts sometimes and tries to reach under to get then. (The lid is secure so she can't get in and it's in the room with my husband, who is always there and would hear if she tried.)

Click to expand...

Haha! That would be a thing to see. My dogs notice and watch the Lotls when they're particularly active and cruising around the tank.

Even if your kitty got into the tank all she would get is a shock of water when she tries to get at them, haha

These look lovely! How old are they? I really like the bogwood setup in the tank!

I think they are 3-4 months old (they're about 3.5 inches body length). They've definitely grown since I got them, and have little tummies now, too. Here are some photos I took yesterday while they were eating a bloodworm snack. They now get their main dinner (Repashy freshwater meat pie) from my fingers (which is pretty cool), then munch on bloodworm snacks for a bit. They're very active, and always hunting, but with those bellies I don't believe they're starving. They've been swimming a lot lately, too. Abe Sapien is the leucistic, Nessie Goldenhair is the golden albino. Nessie is developing a lot of those iridescent spots lately, and in certain lights they really flash.