Axolotl hasn't grown any in almost 5 months?

I have an empty 10gal I could set up tomorrow and put in my bedroom where it's air conditioned and a lot more quiet. I feel like the cooler temp and quiet could help him thrive.

I plan to start a 100% earthworm diet tomorrow as well for both of the axxies, now that I know they cannot choke, so my worries are much less...

I would do bare bottom, with suction cup silk plant as "floor" in one area, since his favorite place is the large silk plant you see in the picture, and use a Tetra Whisper rated for a 10gal, very minimal outflow.

Let me know if this sounds like a good/bad idea or not.

Is there now a significant difference in size between your 2 axies? If so I would separate them.

They both look pretty small for 5+months old, how much are you feeding them? At 6 months you would expect an axie to be 5+ inches unless they had serious injuries or problems. (my January babies are 4-7")

Maybe earthworms will give them the boost they need?

auntiejude said:

Is there now a significant difference in size between your 2 axies? If so I would separate them.

They both look pretty small for 5+months old, how much are you feeding them? At 6 months you would expect an axie to be 5+ inches unless they had serious injuries or problems. (my January babies are 4-7")

Maybe earthworms will give them the boost they need?

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Yes, Slender (the skinny one) looks like a tiny baby.
Hellven (larger) has gotten chunkier, and longer, her body is the width of her head, and she has a large appetite to match her growing size.

She's not very big, but she is growing. The earthworms should boost her and she'll be bigger in no time...

Slender eats much less than her, no matter how long I stay at the tank feeding them. I usually try to wait a while to see if he'll eat more, but he usually doesn't.

I was feeding them twice a day, the bloodworms, but dropped down to once, and either way, Slender remained the same size.

He also used to have frills on his gills, and they have since kinda, shriveled up? While Hellven still has frilly gills and looks plenty healthy.

The only think that has happened to Slender is that he lost one toe and it regenerated in about 2 weeks so I expected that to "stunt" him a bit, but not THIS much.

I'm going to start the full earth worm diet, and move him today to see if everything can help (cooler temp, bare bottom, earthworms) and when/if he puts on some weight I would re-introduce him to the 20gal, if he doesn't start gaining some weight/growing, should I consider the 10gal being his home?

I actually just realized that I've only had them around 3-4 months, not 5. But the growth still is an issue, especially for Slender.

This picture shows their size differences.

Personally, I would stick a tank divider and separate the two of them. My general rule if it looks like it can fit in an axolotl mouth, it most likely will end up there. Just to be careful and avoid any possible traumas, I'd separate them.
As for feeding, I highly recommend chopped up nightcrawlers. Bloodworms are okay, but I like to switch to nightcrawler worms as soon as possible because they are much more nutritious. Also, I'd ditch the meat pellets altogether.

Edit:
I read that you've separated them, so that's good. Lol, sorry about that. I'd just keep him in the 10 gallon until you feel he's big enough to hold his own with Hellven. I had a similar situation with size difference and I just kept the smaller one in a 10 gallon until he caught up with the larger axies. Also, I would take the smaller one out every feeding into a smaller tupperware and feed him in that. That way, I could see how much he was eating and also it was a smaller space for him to find the food in. I'd leave him in there for about an hour and then put him back in his tank.

ArdyBay said:

Personally, I would stick a tank divider and separate the two of them. My general rule if it looks like it can fit in an axolotl mouth, it most likely will end up there. Just to be careful and avoid any possible traumas, I'd separate them.
As for feeding, I highly recommend chopped up nightcrawlers. Bloodworms are okay, but I like to switch to nightcrawler worms as soon as possible because they are much more nutritious. Also, I'd ditch the meat pellets altogether.

Edit:
I read that you've separated them, so that's good. Lol, sorry about that. I'd just keep him in the 10 gallon until you feel he's big enough to hold his own with Hellven. I had a similar situation with size difference and I just kept the smaller one in a 10 gallon until he caught up with the larger axies. Also, I would take the smaller one out every feeding into a smaller tupperware and feed him in that. That way, I could see how much he was eating and also it was a smaller space for him to find the food in. I'd leave him in there for about an hour and then put him back in his tank.

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Yeah, I just want him to thrive.
My local Petco sells 55ct "red wigglers" for $3, would those suffice? I live near the woods, and although I've fed them both a worm from my yard, I feel nervous with the train coming through and they (haven't in a long time) spray for Mosquitos every 5 years without warning, I don't want anything possibly being contaminated or poisoned.

Edit: my husband is a police officer, so they get the notifications about the big spraying, he said our neighborhood isn't on that list any more.

It's rainy today, so off I go to dig up some earth worms!

I find a small one or two for Slender, he had bloodworms for breakfast, but only about... I'd say 10? Hellven ate at least 30.

Poor little guy. He kept the first worm he's ever eaten down, and just kind of acted like his head was a rock for awhile? Then went back to normal.
So I think if he keeps at least one small worm a day down, he should benefit.

Adding a couple smooth rocks, and this is his home starting tomorrow morning, I actually didn't get to move him. I have a 3 year old and a frenchie pup, plus a 75gal fish tank, lots always going on here!

But little Slender should be happy here!

Unless the tanks cycled I'd keep a close eye on the parameters while he's in there until it cycles, assuming the filter is new and the tank is unicycled and you plan to cycle it with him in there.

I think your's was the post about not swimming because their head looked heavy..? and if it was right after eating maybe their head was down looking for more food? mine do that sometimes and then snap like they're trying to suck up some more invisible food

AxolotlboyxD said:

Unless the tanks cycled I'd keep a close eye on the parameters while he's in there until it cycles, assuming the filter is new and the tank is unicycled and you plan to cycle it with him in there.

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I have TSS to add.

I did a TSS cycle with both of them in the 20g long & it was successful, no signs of stress.

Does anybody else have any other suggestions for the tank? I'm hoping that within a month or two he will grow and show progress so he can get back to the 20gal.

My hallway is dark (even with the stair case chandelier on) and quiet, also cool from the AC in my room, thermometer is reading 67-68F steady since last night. The own downstairs is stable at 69-70F never raising, so I know the cooler temp will do him justice.

Note: I do have a fan that blows on the 20gal to keep the temp from ever rising above 70F, and I check constantly, and on a cooler day it's at about 67-68. Never big fluctuations. I've been paranoid since I've bought them about their temp.

Finished product with a hidden axolotl...