Hey! New owner and need advice.

[baster55]

HI ALL!
My partner and I have recently bought two lotls. I bought a rather large tank. Have hiding holes, a low output filter. It was all running three weeks before we introduced our new babies to their home. At first our leucistic (stanly) stayed hidden in the cave and our wild type (Phyllis) roamed around like a queen strutting her stuff. A week in stanly came out and would chill next to me while watching tv(their tank being right next to my couch). I had read what I though was everything in preparation for them. Learned how to clean. Check tank water parameters, bought live plants, had hiding places. Only to later found out the rocks we had were a big mistake. Anyway! Since I've changed to fine sand and that's where I am now. The troubles just keep adding on. Since the sand. Stanly has retreated back to his cave. Phyllis is stealing all the food and tipping at stanly if he comes near when she's eating. And to make matters worse for poor stanly his tale is bent. I did my weekly water change and test. I checked my filter. And I just can't comprehend what's going on. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
(Side note. There's a hiding hole that attaches to the glass and a mossy log cave not in this photo. But we do have more than one in most the time. Also the light is next to never on)

 

[SammyTheLotus]

Welcome to the forum!
You're definitely in the right place for some good advice and fellow lotl lovers, haha!
How old are your little guys? If you're not sure of the age, about how many inches each are they? If they're juveniles it's no surprise that there's some nipping going on, especially during feeding time.
I have two of mine in a 50 gallon long and I'm able to feed them on separate sides so that they don't bite at each other or hog the food!
I have a third smaller little guy and since he's more than an inch smaller than my other two he's living separate from them until he catches up!

 

[baster55]

They are both almost two years old. The boy hatched August 2014, the girl November 2014. I'm just more worried with how my stanly has gone back to being a recluse, has a curved tail and the female not letting him near the food when I feed. I decided I'm buying earth worms tomorrow and trying hand feeding. But I'm just really nervous. Like. He is such a funny little dude when he's happy.

 

[baster55]

And thanks for the welcome haha! Much appreciated. I've used this site and a few others like a bible before buying them. And reading up on them after work and see how everything in my tank is lining up.

 

[SammyTheLotus]

They are both almost two years old. The boy hatched August 2014, the girl November 2014. I'm just more worried with how my stanly has gone back to being a recluse, has a curved tail and the female not letting him near the food when I feed. I decided I'm buying earth worms tomorrow and trying hand feeding. But I'm just really nervous. Like. He is such a funny little dude when he's happy.

That's actually what I was just going to suggest! That way you can hand feed them each worm and you'll have an idea of how much they're getting. I'm sure Stanly will be just fine once he's able to get a little more food! I was nervous at first too, but I find that if I run the worm under really hot tap water for a few seconds before I cut it up it helps dramatically, it doesn't wiggle around and I feel a whole lot less guilty for using it as food! :')
It's refreshing to see someone who actually did their homework before buying their lotls, so many of them are impulse buys who don't get the proper love and attention they need!
You should post a pic of them! We love pictures on this forum haha!

 

[baster55]

I tried attaching photos before. After my partners movie is over I'll pop them on my laptop and try that. And live food? I think that's the coolest part! My mother had fish with hers and it was fun watching the lotl hunt it down. I'm kinda tempted to start a breeding tank of mollies or guppies to feed them. But I'll try to find worms tomorrow. Is there a length I should want? And how many said length worms should I feed? And you think it's just the food stressing him?

 

[SammyTheLotus]

I tried attaching photos before. After my partners movie is over I'll pop them on my laptop and try that. And live food? I think that's the coolest part! My mother had fish with hers and it was fun watching the lotl hunt it down. I'm kinda tempted to start a breeding tank of mollies or guppies to feed them. But I'll try to find worms tomorrow. Is there a length I should want? And how many said length worms should I feed? And you think it's just the food stressing him?

Hahaha, I personally feel a little bad about the live good thing but they really seem to enjoy it so that's what matters!
Any length should be fine, since mine are still young I have to cut mine into small pieces but since yours are definitely full grown you should be able to drop a 5 or 6 inch worm in and hand feed each one with it. Just feed them as much as they can eat in about 10 minutes! Once they start spitting it back out or lose interest it's safe to say they're full haha.
If your other gal seems fine, I'd say it's just the food! See if his tail straightens out once he's got a little more access to food.

 

[baster55]

She doesn't stop eating. I was told to only feed them half a cube of these frozen blood worms every two days. But reading on here their stomach should be as wide as their head. And both being fully grown I started doing a full cube. But doing that the female still eats it all. I'm really starting to dislike her tbh. Stanly is my homie when he's happy.

 

[baster55]

i think this will work
heres my babies and my tank

 

[SammyTheLotus]

She doesn't stop eating. I was told to only feed them half a cube of these frozen blood worms every two days. But reading on here their stomach should be as wide as their head. And both being fully grown I started doing a full cube. But doing that the female still eats it all. I'm really starting to dislike her tbh. Stanly is my homie when he's happy.

Yeah, whoever told you that was really misinformed... Adults only need to eat every other day and they should be eating a combination of earthworms and pellets at their age, bloodworms are okay for a treat now and then but they really lack the nutritional value that an adult needs.

And you're right, aim for the body to be as wide as the head!

 

[SammyTheLotus]

And they're super cute, awe! Here's mine:
Jabu the wild type and Kipp the leucistic!

And Gideon the copper type!

 

[baster55]

Your copper is gorgeous! and heres a photo of stanly from today, poor little guy

 

[SammyTheLotus]

Your copper is gorgeous! and heres a photo of stanly from today, poor little guy

Awe thank you!
Stanly is so cute! I think with some more food he'll come around and go back to his social little self!

 

[baster55]

Awe thank you!
Stanly is so cute! I think with some more food he'll come around and go back to his social little self!

Thank you for all the reassuring words! these two little dudes have helped me with home sickness and stresses, and in turn given me more to stress about.
only bad this out of this whole experience is my partner now thinks im mature enough and will care enough for a child. =(

 

[SammyTheLotus]

Thank you for all the reassuring words! these two little dudes have helped me with home sickness and stresses, and in turn given me more to stress about.

only bad this out of this whole experience is my partner now thinks im mature enough and will care enough for a child. =(

Of course! I'm happy to help I'm still a fairly new owner myself but I'm more than willing to share what I know.
Haha, what, your partner wants to have a child with you because of the axolotls? I'm not exactly sure owning a pet and being able to care for a baby are on the same level..

 

[baster55]

Of course! I'm happy to help I'm still a fairly new owner myself but I'm more than willing to share what I know.
Haha, what, your partner wants to have a child with you because of the axolotls? I'm not exactly sure owning a pet and being able to care for a baby are on the same level..

I thinks it's just her watching me do everything with the tank, all the research, how I'm on top of the tank and googling absolutely everything. I'm normally more laid back at a wait and see kind of person. So it's surprising to her to see this side of me.

 

[SammyTheLotus]

I thinks it's just her watching me do everything with the tank, all the research, how I'm on top of the tank and googling absolutely everything. I'm normally more laid back at a wait and see kind of person. So it's surprising to her to see this side of me.

Right, makes sense! Taking good care of a pet that requires such specific care certainly is responsible!

 

[Donna001]

Hi there. :happy:
Have you considered putting more plants into your tank, and possibly even a divider until Stanley establishes himself again. Sometimes the more cover they have the more confident they are about being out and about. A divider might be handy for a while, especially if you have any problems feeding them separately.
Sammy is right about the feeding of earthworms and pellets for adults, the nutritional values are so good.
When I got my older axolotls from a local person who needed to rehome them, they were being fed bloodworms because she didn't like dealing with earthworms. I already had some juveniles who had been moved onto a combination of earthworms, pellets, and prawns. I offered prawns to the older guys in their tank and there was such a commotion that the wild type went for the prawn and frightened one of the leucistics so much it jumped out of the water and landed on the top of the filter. Frightened the life out of me, and the leucistic went into complete hiding for several days. A few months later, and having been moved into a larger tank again, that leucistic is still the most timid, and will often be fed whilst still in a hide with his head poking out. However, I have also seen him, when feeling frisky and laying spermatophores, push the wild type and the other leucistic all over the tank. In fact, if all 3 males are laying spermatophores the whole tank can be a little bit over active and a tad scary.
I hope that Stanley settles back down soon, it would be great if you eventually posted a picture of Stanley and Phyllis getting on as well as Jabu and Kipp in Sammys picture.
:happy:
And if you want to put your partner off the subject of babies for a little longer, you can always suggest that you would be fine with it as long as you could keep the baby in a tank.
Best of luck with Stanley and Phyllis and please keep us posted on progress.

 

[baster55]

Hi there. :happy:
Have you considered putting more plants into your tank, and possibly even a divider until Stanley establishes himself again. Sometimes the more cover they have the more confident they are about being out and about. A divider might be handy for a while, especially if you have any problems feeding them separately.
Sammy is right about the feeding of earthworms and pellets for adults, the nutritional values are so good.
When I got my older axolotls from a local person who needed to rehome them, they were being fed bloodworms because she didn't like dealing with earthworms. I already had some juveniles who had been moved onto a combination of earthworms, pellets, and prawns. I offered prawns to the older guys in their tank and there was such a commotion that the wild type went for the prawn and frightened one of the leucistics so much it jumped out of the water and landed on the top of the filter. Frightened the life out of me, and the leucistic went into complete hiding for several days. A few months later, and having been moved into a larger tank again, that leucistic is still the most timid, and will often be fed whilst still in a hide with his head poking out. However, I have also seen him, when feeling frisky and laying spermatophores, push the wild type and the other leucistic all over the tank. In fact, if all 3 males are laying spermatophores the whole tank can be a little bit over active and a tad scary.
I hope that Stanley settles back down soon, it would be great if you eventually posted a picture of Stanley and Phyllis getting on as well as Jabu and Kipp in Sammys picture.
:happy:
And if you want to put your partner off the subject of babies for a little longer, you can always suggest that you would be fine with it as long as you could keep the baby in a tank.
Best of luck with Stanley and Phyllis and please keep us posted on progress.

So he's back out exploring the tank. Not so much in the hiding hole. I'm just more worried about the bent tail at this point. Now I've seen some things and read a lot more and still not fully clear on what I'm looking for. Whether I'm looking for a bent tip? Or bent almost immediately after the the back legs. I also noticed him standing in a way I've not seen. I googled it and saw a similar picture of a lotl that had swallowed a stone and with a infected cloaca. But this is all since I've had put in the sand. So I put my hand in the tank and lightly and softly held him in a spot to see if it was a cloaca issue. But that looks all the same aswell( side note, Phyllis watched this all happen and swam into my hand when I put him down) should I try fridging him at this point?

 

[Donna001]

A bent tail tip is a sign of stress (see picture in link).
Axolotls - Health & Diseases
The slight stress could just be the change in the tank, which should resolve as he explores. Or it could be water flow, so it may be worth checking that, and it may also be worth checking your water parameters every couple of days now that you have changed the substrate, because you will have lost some beneficial bacteria when removing the old substrate.
How was he standing? The picture of another lotl standing the same way may just be a coincidence, so don't fridge yours yet. Has Stanley pooped recently? Is he eating the same as before? Keep an eye on his eating and pooping, fridging is usually a last resort for constipation or impaction, so be sure that this is the problem before resorting to fridging. If you do need to then there is a guide in a sticky in the "sick axolotl" section.

Phyllis sounds as if she likes some attention too, swimming into your hand after you've held Stanley.