New Axolotl- please put my mind at rest

I have recently purchased an Axolotle and have had it now for just over a week, much to my suprise on the first day it laid eggs all over the tank, these are fertalised and growing happily. The problem I am having with my Axolotle is that it won't eat non-live food. As well as this I am worried it is going to or has already eaten the gravel supplied by my local pet shop- they told me it was ideal. To add to my worries, the Axolotle is moving a lot less than it did a couple of days ago and seems more reluctant to swim, some advice on whether you think these are serious problems or just first time owners angst would be brilliant.

Finally. It has some small black spots on the top of it's head. Earlier I consulted the Axolotle website though and read that some white Axie's do show this. I bought it as an albino but am now starting to think it's leucstitic (I know it's spelt badly). Are my suspicions correct or could this be the sign of another problem?

Sorry to write so much but answers to any of these questions would be a great help.

Hello and welcome. Does your axolotl have black eyes? If so it is not an albino its just leucistic. If you think your axolotl has eaten gravel the best thing would be the fridge. This will help your axolotl pass any stones. Dont try and raise too many babies they are very demanding. You need to have a food source ready for when they hatch. Mel

Got any pictures of your axolotl/tank? These could help us provide assistance in her well-being and may gives clues to what the issue may be.

Hello and welcome to the forum.
If you still have gravel, please remove it . The axolotl gulp their food and accidently ingest everything...the gravel could build up in their digestive system and cause a blockage.
Axolotl tend to feed on movement. Live food will encourage your axolotl to feed . Non live food will ideally (?) need to be dropped in front to stimulate your axolotl to feed. My axolotl tend to eat live earthworm, I was slow this year in storing earthworms so my gang are offered pellets. They will happilyn eat these if they are caught in motion.

I'll upload some pictures as soon as possible. I did know about them eating gravel, but the shop insisted it would be fine. I've been feeding it Tubafex lately and have still had no luck getting it to eat the pellets. How would you suggest the best way is to remove all existing gravel and replace it with a suitable alternative? Also, what is the best alternative?

Thanks for your advise so far.

I would put the axolotl in a large tub and just remove all the gravel. If you think its impacted give it a holiday in the fridge that'll keep it stress free while you're sortin the tank and will help it pass any gravel. Mel

The best alternative is either childrens playsand or bare bottomed tank =]

Blaze

I'm still unsure whetther it's compacted or not, but I'm going to fridge it I think, just to be sure, and like you said it'll help give me time to re-do the tank. on a seperate topic, she keeps swimming upto the top of the tank, gulping air then diving down again and realeasing the air. Is this normal behaviour? It's been doing it since I put it in the tank.
I'm determined to get this sorted, I thought I'd done enough research etc, I feel terrible!

hi haydenjames

a fridge holiday sounds good to me......it is hot here and i think i would like to get in there with it..........they do swim up the the surface and gulp air....what are you water parameters..........you could put a air bubbler in there and this might help put the oxgyen back in the water.......

lea

Regarding the feeding issue... my axies LOVE frozen bloodwroms. You can buy them in packs of small cubes at just about any fish store. I have tried earthworms too, but they would just spit them out. They have grown from 2 inches in July to 9 inches today on a diet of mainly bloodworms. My pair is even breeding now which is exciting.

When using bloodwroms it can really help if you have some sort of "food bowl" to contain the little worms as the axie feeds. I put mine in the cyclinder vase that my axies like to hang out in.

I hope this helps!

Black speckles on the face can be just part of the axies pigmentation and completely harmless. I have seen various healthy, light-colored axies with these black freckles.