Axolotl colour - wildtype or what?

[skylar]

I bought a new axolotl, Stanley (an adult female, ignore the name lol). She's outwardly wild type but under certain light she has yellowy gold patches and gills - i was thinking that she is heterozygeous to albino or golden albino. Does anyone else know of this colour type and what it is called?

 

[jarred]

Skylar, are you determining that your axolotl is heterozygous for albinism by its phenotype, because it is not possible to do this. It is a normal characteristic of wildtypes to have yellow/gold speckles, this is probably what you are seeing.

(Message edited by jazza on March 19, 2006)

 

[joan]

One of the characteristics of defining a wildtype versus a melanoid is whether or not they've got gold on them. Wildtypes have gold (usually shiny on the gills, and yellow on the body). Melanoids are lacking the yellow.

 

[skylar]

I meant, that she has big patches not just speckles (she has them too). the patches are about 3cmx3cm at the smallest and only appear under certain light. I asked the person my mum got her from and she is indeed heterozygous! she said she had previously bred and produced goldens and albinos so i was wondering if the patches are because of the fact that shes heterozygous or not..

 

[joan]

She very well may be heterozygous, but you can't tell that by looking at her. If the patches only show up in certain light, they're probably patches of iridophores, which has nothing to do with any sort of albinism. The patches are probably just normal wildtype coloration.

 

[tom]

My axie is a bit like that. I thought at first she was a wildtype but now i am not entirely sure.
She is gold brown, i don't mean albino gold it's are more brownish shade, with big black blotches all over her back. There are so many she is predominantly black though. But the strangest thing is her gills are redish pink and i always thought wildtype gills were black. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[tom]

<center><table border=1><tr><td>

Axolotl colour
axolotl.doc (30.2 k)</td></tr></table></center> This is exactly what she looks like except her gills are pinker and bigger.

 

[joan]

Axolotl gills are always pink underneath because of blood flow. This may be masked by dark skin coloration (just like my skin is so pale it looks pink from my blood flow, but I have friends with dark coloration which masks their arteries). Wildtype coloration is HIGHLY variable. Axolotls with any black on them are NOT albino.

 

[kapo]

She looks like a wildtype to me, one of my friends has a light coloured one like this. WE have 4 wildtypes - all are dark along fins and heads with dark red gills, tho 2 have brownish colourings on sides and other 2 are greyish on sides and underneath with greyish lips/mouth