PeterTse
New member
Hi! I am fairly new to this website though I have used it for answers a while. I had no knowledge of axolotls and wanted to get one two years ago, so I did. I have done a lot more research now but am wondering if I went wrong from the start (most likely). I am 15 and have a 27 month old axie (about 2 years and 3 months). Theoretically, from what I've seen and heard, he should be full size by now (around 8-12 inches if I am correct). He is only a little more than 4". I was concerned about this after a year, and when I asked my local store where I purchased him from, they gave me some "good" advice and told me not to worry. So I didn't. But I feel like this is an extremely bad case growth wise.
I was also concerned about him changing color on me. When I purchased him, he was the muddy brown color. But over the course of about a month he lost his coloring and is now an albino. I've never heard or seen a case of this when I looked online and was just wondering if he had chemical burns/a reaction or if this is just an adjustment to water/environment.
Water: He has pretty excellent water parameters, nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia stay at 0 ppm all the time, and his pH level is about ~7 or more. He is in the lower floor of our house so his water temp stays around 55-65 degrees, maybe up to 70 in the summer. I change his water about every two weeks (should I do more? please let me know). I have a 20 gallon tank. I use dechlorinated tap water.
Feeding: I started him on bloodworms, which is what the pet store recommended, then I grew concerned about his size and switched to mysis shrimp and have been feeding him that for a while now. I also have pellets but he seemed to have floating issues after eating them so I try not to use them (idk if that's what I should do or not) but it could be because he is so small. Should I switch to bigger worms? Is it too late for him to grow?
He's had issues with bubbles before, his rear floated sometimes, but recently (for the past week) he has had bubbles inside of him. He has been upside down and not eating so I just moved him to a small container with shallow water. Should I put him in a bigger one for now? I don't really know any of the chemistry or chemicals or anything I should or could use and frankly don't have the money for it either. If I should take him to an exotic vet please let me know.
Thank you to anyone who reads this post, and please be kind. I am an amateur and yes that isn't an excuse for laziness but I just want advice here.
I will take some photos if that would be helpful. Thank you!
I was also concerned about him changing color on me. When I purchased him, he was the muddy brown color. But over the course of about a month he lost his coloring and is now an albino. I've never heard or seen a case of this when I looked online and was just wondering if he had chemical burns/a reaction or if this is just an adjustment to water/environment.
Water: He has pretty excellent water parameters, nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia stay at 0 ppm all the time, and his pH level is about ~7 or more. He is in the lower floor of our house so his water temp stays around 55-65 degrees, maybe up to 70 in the summer. I change his water about every two weeks (should I do more? please let me know). I have a 20 gallon tank. I use dechlorinated tap water.
Feeding: I started him on bloodworms, which is what the pet store recommended, then I grew concerned about his size and switched to mysis shrimp and have been feeding him that for a while now. I also have pellets but he seemed to have floating issues after eating them so I try not to use them (idk if that's what I should do or not) but it could be because he is so small. Should I switch to bigger worms? Is it too late for him to grow?
He's had issues with bubbles before, his rear floated sometimes, but recently (for the past week) he has had bubbles inside of him. He has been upside down and not eating so I just moved him to a small container with shallow water. Should I put him in a bigger one for now? I don't really know any of the chemistry or chemicals or anything I should or could use and frankly don't have the money for it either. If I should take him to an exotic vet please let me know.
Thank you to anyone who reads this post, and please be kind. I am an amateur and yes that isn't an excuse for laziness but I just want advice here.
I will take some photos if that would be helpful. Thank you!