Found some weird stuff in my tank last night.. Spermatophores? (apologies if I spelled that wrong)

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CrazyForLotls

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All right. Here we go. I have an adult male black melanoid and a juvenile unsexed leucistic. They're in a 45 gallon tank with a homemade divider. (plexiglass custom-sized for the tank with a lot of small holes drilled in it.) So- two nights ago I cleaned my tank, and because it was late, I just put my axies' hides in and sent them home. I figured I'd do their plants the next day. Fast forward to yesterday evening, a member of my family is yelling at me to come downstairs- quick. Said family member told me that the divider fell and they didn't look- they didn't want to know what happened. I keep my axolotls separated because I don't want them to attack each other due to size difference. When I got to the basement, both of them were on the same side. Thankfully, both were perfectly fine. When I went to stand the divider back up and catch my leucistic, I noticed something weird on the sand of it's side. I think they may be spermatophores, but I just wanted to confirm. Here is a photo. So, is my baby a boy? Or do I have a problem? Any help or comments would be great. Thanks for your help! I can also post a picture of the axolotl in question. (I doubt anybody remembers but when I had first got it, it was sick and gills were shrinking on one side. They've fluffed out but haven't grown too much. The rest of the axolotl sure has though! :) )
IMG_20220208_185527599.jpg
 
It seems like sperm from the axolotl, you should find out what sex they are almost instantly, its not good, as that means you will have 400-900 babies in there now.
 
SpeckleTheAxolotl said:
It seems like sperm from the axolotl, you should find out what sex they are almost instantly, its not good, as that means you will have 400-900 babies in there now.
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Or they are both boys.. Which i dont know.
 
SpeckleTheAxolotl said:
Or they are both boys.. Which i dont know.
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Hi. Thanks for your response. My adult male has only ever left 1-2 spermatophores, or something like them. He has a deformed tail so I assume something isn't quite right inside of him as well. However, the 'baby' (that's what we call it due to the lack of name) is unsexed. I am trying to figure out the gender. I believe it is male, and the recent appearance of the stuff above further adds to my suspicions. I know they are not eggs, but thanks for your concern. I suspect both my axolotls are male. Do you know if they are spermatophores in the picture? Or do I have some sort of weird fungus growing on only the juvenile's side of the tank- right after I cleaned it?
 
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CrazyForLotls said:
All right. Here we go. I have an adult male black melanoid and a juvenile unsexed leucistic. They're in a 45 gallon tank with a homemade divider. (plexiglass custom-sized for the tank with a lot of small holes drilled in it.) So- two nights ago I cleaned my tank, and because it was late, I just put my axies' hides in and sent them home. I figured I'd do their plants the next day. Fast forward to yesterday evening, a member of my family is yelling at me to come downstairs- quick. Said family member told me that the divider fell and they didn't look- they didn't want to know what happened. I keep my axolotls separated because I don't want them to attack each other due to size difference. When I got to the basement, both of them were on the same side. Thankfully, both were perfectly fine. When I went to stand the divider back up and catch my leucistic, I noticed something weird on the sand of it's side. I think they may be spermatophores, but I just wanted to confirm. Here is a photo. So, is my baby a boy? Or do I have a problem? Any help or comments would be great. Thanks for your help! I can also post a picture of the axolotl in question. (I doubt anybody remembers but when I had first got it, it was sick and gills were shrinking on one side. They've fluffed out but haven't grown too much. The rest of the axolotl sure has though! :) ) View attachment 91510
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Also- when I cleaned two evenings ago, the water was a bit colder than my axies are used to. In the winter it's about 62 degrees F with a fan on it. The axolotls were tubbed on the floor while I cleaned. When I put them back in I noticed the tank was on the cold side, but not dramatically so. As I mentioned, it was late at night, so I forgot to put the fan back on. I checked the temperature the next day and it was 65F, which is okay. Perhaps the cold of the tank then slightly warmer-than-usual temperature of the tank induced my leucistic to release spermatophores? I didn't do it on purpose, I'm just trying to think of what could have caused this to happen, as I've never seen it before.

Also- when I found my juvenile with my adult, neither of them showed any signs of stress. (no curled gills, tail, etc.) They were a few inches apart and looked just as happy as always. They were both unscathed as well. I do not believe my adult could have gotten to the juvenile's side and left the suspected spermatophores- he's pretty lazy. I have also only seen 1-2 from him, and that was before I had my juvenile.
 
CrazyForLotls said:
Hi. Thanks for your response. My adult male has only ever left 1-2 spermatophores, or something like them. He has a deformed tail so I assume something isn't quite right inside of him as well. However, the 'baby' (that's what we call it due to the lack of name) is unsexed. I am trying to figure out the gender. I believe it is male, and the recent appearance of the stuff above further adds to my suspicions. I know they are not eggs, but thanks for your concern. I suspect both my axolotls are male. Do you know if they are spermatophores in the picture? Or do I have some sort of weird fungus growing on only the juvenile's side of the tank- right after I cleaned it?
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It seems that your axolotl may have worms, Take it to the vet.
 
CrazyForLotls said:
Hi. Thanks for your response. My adult male has only ever left 1-2 spermatophores, or something like them. He has a deformed tail so I assume something isn't quite right inside of him as well. However, the 'baby' (that's what we call it due to the lack of name) is unsexed. I am trying to figure out the gender. I believe it is male, and the recent appearance of the stuff above further adds to my suspicions. I know they are not eggs, but thanks for your concern. I suspect both my axolotls are male. Do you know if they are spermatophores in the picture? Or do I have some sort of weird fungus growing on only the juvenile's side of the tank- right after I cleaned it?
Click to expand...
It also could mean, well, sickness in the axolotl, AKA throw up.
 
SpeckleTheAxolotl said:
It seems that your axolotl may have worms, Take it to the vet.
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From where? Also- I do not have a vet near me, nor would I be able to take it there. I highly doubt that it's worms.. My axolotl has been perfectly healthy for months. There has been no behavior change at all and it does not appear stressed or bloated. (It's a little on the chunky side but that's my fault. I'm working on it.)
 
SpeckleTheAxolotl said:
It also could mean, well, sickness in the axolotl, AKA throw up.
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Thanks for your input, but I do not think it is vomit. It was scattered around the tank and was a mostly clear cone with a white cap. My axolotl showed no signs of stress or illness prior to or after the incident. It was also fed last on Sunday. (I fed it yesterday evening after I put it back on it's side and got my axolotls situated- Tuesday)
 
CrazyForLotls said:
From where? Also- I do not have a vet near me, nor would I be able to take it there. I highly doubt that it's worms.. My axolotl has been perfectly healthy for months. There has been no behavior change at all and it does not appear stressed or bloated. (It's a little on the chunky side but that's my fault. I'm working on it.)
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Okay. Could be.
 
CrazyForLotls said:
Apologies if that sounded snappy. I'm just curious where they could have come from, even though I highly doubt my little guy has worms. Thoughts?
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No no! You didnt sound snappy at all! Although, it could just be general sperm.
 
Also, what is that big red spike in your tank???
 
SpeckleTheAxolotl said:
Also, what is that big red spike in your tank???
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It's a volcano :) I have an airstone under it so bubbles come out the top. The volcano also slowly changes rainbow colors (it's soft lighting though, no worries. My little guys aren't bothered by it at all.) My adult male likes to play in his bubbles actually, as have another stone on his side. They're gentle enough to not cause a stressful current though. He also has plenty of hiding places. (even though he likes to literally sit in his bubbles and let them wiggle his gills lol)
 
CrazyForLotls said:
It's a volcano :) I have an airstone under it so bubbles come out the top. The volcano also slowly changes rainbow colors (it's soft lighting though, no worries. My little guys aren't bothered by it at all.) My adult male likes to play in his bubbles actually, as have another stone on his side. They're gentle enough to not cause a stressful current though. He also has plenty of hiding places. (even though he likes to literally sit in his bubbles and let them wiggle his gills lol)
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Wow! Is it on petco? it look so cool! also, yeah. i researched the white, and its sperm from the WHITE axolotl
 
SpeckleTheAxolotl said:
Wow! Is it on petco? it look so cool! also, yeah. i researched the white, and its sperm from the WHITE axolotl
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They have something similar. I got it from pet supplies plus (they have a website) which is a store near me.
 
UPDATE: so apparently it was sperm. But not from my lucy. I now have a whole bunch of eggs. I don't know what to do with them, since the parents are imperfect. I know the offspring should not be bred. Should I try to raise some for pet-only sale? Should I give away or sell the eggs and notify the receiver of the parents' condition? The father has a deformed tail. The mother, my lucy, was a bit on the young side. (16 months) she also has short gills and a weird small eye on one side. The gills are from when I received her and she was ill. Her gills were shrinking only on one side. I'm not sure what happened to the same side's eye. I really do not want to cull the eggs. Please keep in mind that I did not intentionally breed my axolotls. I do not have space to raise all of the babies. I also had no intention of breeding my axolotls, due to my deformed male and a lack of space. I was under the impression that my lucy was a boy. I am aware she will need a separate tank now or I will have this problem again, even with my divider. I am looking for advice, please. I would appreciate not being yelled at for the accidental breeding. I will listen to reasons why I should cull the eggs, but I most likely will not do so. I just can't kill the babies of my beloved pets. In a perfect world, the offspring would not carry over any deformations, and I would be able to raise a clutch of healthy babies. I am not so sure this will happen though. Is it possible? I'm not the best with genetics. If anybody knows of people looking for pet-only axolotls, (and may even want to raise them from the egg) please send them my way.
 
CrazyForLotls said:
UPDATE: so apparently it was sperm. But not from my lucy. I now have a whole bunch of eggs. I don't know what to do with them, since the parents are imperfect. I know the offspring should not be bred. Should I try to raise some for pet-only sale? Should I give away or sell the eggs and notify the receiver of the parents' condition? The father has a deformed tail. The mother, my lucy, was a bit on the young side. (16 months) she also has short gills and a weird small eye on one side. The gills are from when I received her and she was ill. Her gills were shrinking only on one side. I'm not sure what happened to the same side's eye. I really do not want to cull the eggs. Please keep in mind that I did not intentionally breed my axolotls. I do not have space to raise all of the babies. I also had no intention of breeding my axolotls, due to my deformed male and a lack of space. I was under the impression that my lucy was a boy. I am aware she will need a separate tank now or I will have this problem again, even with my divider. I am looking for advice, please. I would appreciate not being yelled at for the accidental breeding. I will listen to reasons why I should cull the eggs, but I most likely will not do so. I just can't kill the babies of my beloved pets. In a perfect world, the offspring would not carry over any deformations, and I would be able to raise a clutch of healthy babies. I am not so sure this will happen though. Is it possible? I'm not the best with genetics. If anybody knows of people looking for pet-only axolotls, (and may even want to raise them from the egg) please send them my way.
Click to expand...
I KNEW IT!!!
 
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