Fading gills.

[ArloAxolotl]

Hey,

I've had Arlo for a few months now and I noticed not long ago that the tips of his gills have faded to white. I've done my research and I don't believe it looks anything like fungus, but more the skin itself is losing pigment. I read that this can happen with stress and whatnot, and his tank is just a touch warm, but nothing has changed otherwise in his environment.

I also am having a rough time keeping his temperature below 70 degrees. With the fan I have, it seems to maintain 69-70. His tank is already on the ground. Texas might not be great for a happy little axolotl ?

Help on either of these would be appreciated.

 

[ArloAxolotl]

Oh! I also forgot to add that he seems entirely unphased and his gill strands even look to be growing. He is an active little guy and eats 1-2 cubes of bloodworms a day.

I was thinking that perhaps the white tips meant that he's growing, as my rescue betta's fins were white-ish as tissues regrew in his fins.

His water parameters all look great, as he gets about 50-85% water changes a week (depending on his food amount).

If you're wondering what he's doing in the photos, he always swims up to the surface of the water when he sees me. I no doubt mean food, haha.

Attached his another photo.

 

[Hayleyy]

I'm not exactly sure what can cause loss of pigmentation, but keeping the temp in check will fix a lot of issues. Keeping tanks cool here in Australia is hard too, so lots of people will use chillers. If you are having a hard time keeping it cool I would highly recommend investing in one. It'll make like so much easier

 

[tammyaxie]

When I got one of my first axies, the gill fronds were bitten at the tips. When they started to regenerate they were white. Over time they changed to the normal color.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[RoreyRoreyRorey]

With axolotls of this color, sometimes the color of the gills is the result of blood under the skin, since he seems to lack pigmentation in general. In my best guess, his gills have grown but the blood vessels have not grown in as much. Or maybe the water is just well oxygenated so there isn’t as much need for as much blood flow in his gills. In any case, I wouldn’t worry too much about it for the time being.