Axolotl has eaten the other ones foot

[andrews87]

Hi all,
im fairly new here. I brought 2 axolotl around 3 weeks ago. They were both from the same tank at the fish shop. One is ever so slightly bigfer than the other and when i first got them the slightly smaller had a sore on her mouth which has now completly healed up.

However this morning i was doing their water change and i noticed the smaller one is missing her front leg! Its almost certain the bigger one has eaten it.
I was wondering if maybe he is just hungry as it seems he has an endless appetite but ive not wanted to over feed or maybe they just dont get along.
Im unable to seperate them at this current time and im wondering what i should be doing?
Any help would be much appreciated

Thankyou

 

[auntiejude]

Welcome aboard!

How big are your axies? How big is your tank? What and how much are you feeding them?

Axies aren't that smart and will snap at anything that moves, including each other. If they are still small their legs are weak and lack strong bones, so limb loss is not uncommon.

For now you need to separate them until the injured one is all healed, but its leg should grow back in a few weeks. Well-fed axies tend to snap less, so maybe you need to increase their food.

 

[andrews87]

Thankyou for replying.
They are roughly 14/15cms, they are in 106 litre tank. I feed them every morning, usually 2 cubes of frozen stuff i have in the fridge (bloodworm/daphnia/white worm) and then perhapd twice a week i give them a few live worms.
Today they had 3 medium sized worms each and the bigger one was still searching for more. The thing im worried about with the blood worm etc is it just floats all over the tank and it probably makes it more difficult for them to eat enough that way. Any tips on how to make it easier? I have tongs that i use to feed the worms with but i find it difficult to get the other bits with those. The slightly bigger just seems constantly hungry!

Many thanks

 

[Asevernnnn]

I would suggest switching from mostly frozen stuff and some live worms, to mostly live worms and the occasional frozen food.
And you can make feeding frozen food easier by putting them in feeding jars in the tank

 

[andrews87]

Thankyou. Do i need to defrost them then put them in the jars and then into the tank?

After that big feed this morning, as soon as it goes dark he's eaten her other foot!! Going to sort out a temporary tank for her but it has no filter. Do i need to get one or can i just do 50% water change daily. The bigger one always has to be so close to the other that im hoping he's just mistaking her for food and its not anything else. Once she recovers what are the chances it will happen all over again? Will it get better or is my bigger one just doomed to be a single pringle?

 

[auntiejude]

If you have a small shoesbox sized plastic tub that is fine for a week or 3, change the water daily. If you have the cash and space a separate tank is good too, but you'd need to cycle it.

 

[Jgreen84]

It is very common to see limbs and gills missing when they are younger. It is suggested to not put axolotls together until they are adults. When young they are triggered by movement, when they are older they are triggered by smell. If they eat limbs and gills of other axolotls when young they may carry that trait on to adulthood and continue cannibalizing their tankmates, so it is recommended to stop this cannibalism early on. It has also been proven that salamanders that cannibalize develop different head shapes and whatnot, which in my opinion is gross and weird. I have 2 that are siblings and have been together since they were less than 2 inches. They picked at eachothers gills very frequently when kept in a 35 gallon, but I didn't want to separate so I chose to put them in a 50 gallon with many hiding spots and fed them more frequently. I give them nightcrawlers, frozen food(thaw the food in a cup and then pour it through a net to get the gross colored waste water and salt out), and other items as well. I would not worry about overfeeding so long as you take all uneaten food out. They will stop eating when they are full and when they are young they eat quite A LOT and quite frequently(2 times a day even!). I use tweezers to feed them worms and when they refuse more I assume they are done.