Advice please

[karl]

I have 3 axies 2 are leucistic (male & female & 1 wild type (male) .
This morning I found my wild type (male) crawling on his front legs & on closer inspection I noticed a nasty injury on one of his back feet. His tail is also quite frayed at the end.
I'm pretty certain that there was agression of some sort & it probably came from the larger leucistic male tank mate.
The wildtype has only just recovered from a similar front leg injury. I have not seen any fighting occurring ,but the nature of the tail damage brings me to the conclusion that its not an ornament or stone in the tank causing the injuries. I have considered that there may be mating occurring but no sign of any sphores so im not too sure. I know the procedure for an injured axie so no sweat there I’ve already taken him out of the tank (again!).My main question I guess is what next ? While they aren’t living in what you’d call cramped conditions a larger tank may be the solution, although they seem to group together in the same area no matter what so Perhaps not??!!
The other solution of course is accept that one of them is being a jerk & to remove somebody to a separate tank,but who??

any advice gratefully accepted

 

[anne-marie]

Isolate whoever you feel is responsible for the damage.

When I first got two axies, I found out that they were male and female about two months later. I have to say, she was a really aggressive female - always biting and hunting. The male, which I still have (Quetzal) used to end up sore and sorry in the morning! I got a glass-maker to make a tank divider. This stopped the problem. It may not look great, but it stops a living thing from being victimised - and that's gotta be good.

 

[anne-marie]

btw, I just looked at your profile, specifically age - good one! Is it from Ghost World?

 

[karl]

Its not from ghost world but its the truth!
Thanks for the advice.

 

[karl]

Shouldve also mentioned that this is only a recent problem these axies have been sharing a tank "peacefully" since I got them 18 months ago.

 

[anne-marie]

I would first make sure that there are lots of hiding places where they can have some time-out from each other. See if this makes a difference. And, don't discredit the female as causing the damage either

. If all else fails and you've got some spare cash lying around buy a bigger tank. But then you'll need to fill up the old one - axolotls are addictive.

 

[karl]

well,i came home from work last night & found my female in a worse state than the wild type.
she has a badly damaged front & back leg & seems to be keeping her entire back end afloat on purpose
so my suspicions are confirmed really .
i now have my 2 patients in a large tub while they recover.
seperate tanks me thinks..........

 

[aaron]

How long do axolotls live for?
My oldest one just died he was 6 years

 

[cynthia]

Arron - as with all living things "your milage may vary".

Axolotls can live up into their teens.

I believe I read somewhere that there is an axolotl that is 20 something. But I can't remember where I read that, and can't really say if it is true.