Axolotls fighting

[evelyn_003]

I have two axolotls a leucistic and wild type (marshmallow and spinach). I raised them from eggs (in a college class) so they are pretty much the exact same age and have never had more than maybe 1/8 inch apart in between their sizes, marshmallow's usually only being the slightest bit smaller. They have lived in a tank together for the whole six months of their lives and have never fought (even when others pairs in the class have). Today I saw them fighting and upon closer inspection saw that Marshmallow had bitten off Spinach's left hand and bit their right. I immediately separated them (one is just in a container with water I am cycling every couple of hours until morning when I can buy another tank and filter) but am curious about any insight on what could have caused this out-of-character fighting. Should I work on eventually introducing them back into the same tank (when they are bigger?)? Thank you!

 

[Bellabelloo]

Axolotl will bite each other and damage one another. It may be something as simple as a sudden movement will cause them to bite. I've noticed when feeding th I may happen as they mistake them for moving food. I had mine in a big tank with lots and lots of live plants and caves and this greatly reduced missing parts. As they got older the nippiness episodes more or less stopped.

 

[AMurry24537]

Could also have been caused by them being a bit hungrier than usual. If the feeding schedule has been consistent, I would look at temperatures. Generally speaking, the higher the temp, the higher their metabolism. If you have had a recent temperature hike, I would probably credit that