Axolotl not growing, other issues(?)

[AbysmalAxolotl]

Hi,
I have a golden-albino axie that I got in late December. Since then he has only grown maybe an inch; currently about four or five inches long. He has no other tankmates and eats earthworms about every other day.
Also, he recently had a bit of columnaris (I believe) that has been cleared up with salt baths, and is acting more active and normal than he was before I treated him. However, for about a month (long before I saw any columnaris) he has been very pale, skinny-looking(even after he gets fed), and his gills are now very small.
Does anyone have any clue about why he isn't growing, and also his sickly looks? Has it just been an effect of the columnaris that wasn't apparent until recently?
Thanks for the help.

 

[Quentari]

How big is the tank? it it's a little small it could stunt his growth. Or if you have an over-stocked tank. What are you feeding him? perhaps extra food would boost his size.

Sometimes you end up with one that just doesn't grow right, it might be genetic, but it might also be the other things I mentioned.

 

[pookiewn]

Sorry for the onslaught of questions, but it sounds like the water quality isn't that fresh to me. Could you post pics of the tank and your axie please?

Do you mean he had a fungus infection? Did you follow the sticky on this thread on how to treat it?

How old is he? How many earthworms do you feed? If he still looks skinny perhaps you aren't feeding enough, If he's under a year I would still be feeding a couple of worms everyday

How big is the tank? What are the parameters please? How often do you do water changes and was the tank cycled? Do you have a substrate?

 

[AbysmalAxolotl]

He has a 20-gallon long tank with sand substrate. He eats earthworms. I change about 20-30% of the water once a week, he has a filter, and all the parameters were fine last time I checked.
Yes, a fungus infection. I did read about how to treat it.
Not sure how old he is, but he was about the same size when I got him. Every other case I've read about an axie not growing either has a greedy tank-mate or doesn't eat earthworms.
I'll have pictures soon.

 

[emmyk]

I would just try to get him to set earthworms every day. Every other day isn't good until they reach about 8-9 inches. Also, try going to the market and getting some shrimp/prawns then defrost them in clean water, cut them up, and feed little peices. My guy loves it as long as its small enough. But earthworms are the best, as you know

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[AbysmalAxolotl]

Here is a picture of him in July:

And a picture of him today: (zoom to see correct image)

 

[emmyk]

I can't see the pics

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[AbysmalAxolotl]

Sorry; here they are. The first one is from July and the second one was taken today.

 

[PatchworkClocks]

As everyone else stated, he does need to be fed more often. Earth worms are always the best diet for axolotls, but it's also not a bad idea to mix it up with frozen (not freeze-dried!) shrimp or soft salmon pellets. If you really don't have the time to feed him every day, feed him just a little bit more on the days you do feed him and he should be able to hold over until the next feeding day.

Of course, some 'lotls do turn out to be runts. It's a lot more common with albinos than any others. My own albino is a runt for his age, he's about 5 months now and has only grown about an inch since I got him. He's about the same size as your guy here, the size he was in the first picture, not the most recent one.