Help! Very anxious first time axolotl parent!

[Catie1110]

Hello, I am very new to this blog as well as new to axolotl parenting. I have been very stressed since I bought my male leucustic axolotl David a week ago. He is very small and only about an inch and a half long. He seemed to be ok and eating fine, pooping etc however, the air conditioning in my apartment was broken and the tank water was warm. I since got the ac fixed and have been cooling his tank to below 70F. All of his water parameters are fine, he has plenty of hides, very low lighting, a sand substrate and there is little to no movement in the tank. I went away for 2 days and came back and noticed he was a bit jumpy and now he is hiding under a plant and I noticed his tail is curved a bit at the end and I also noticed some dark speckles on his head and along his spine. Is he going to be ok? Did I stress him out from scaring him? Should I change his diet? He's currently only eating bloodworms because I thought he was too small to eat anything bigger.

 

[Hellvetica]

Wow! What a tiny pal. While that is certainly a rough start, the things you are describing don't seem entirely out of line.

Most leucistics tend to be speckled, but maybe some might have been missed since you (presumably) weren't actively looking for any strange markings prior to this incident. If they seem to be a strange color, I would recommend gently handling your axie and softly rubbing some markings. If they visibly disappear/smear/etc. it might be something fungal. However if these marks seem to be red as if they were a sore or a rash, I wouldn't touch or rub them.

Right now I would say the biggest indicator of health would be their gills, if they are breathing normally and haven't lost any frills, you're probably okay.

The skittish behavior might be bizarre but not really completely out of character for quite a lot of axies. I wouldn't worry too much about that unless he is actively trying to get out the water, or taking very frequent gulps of air at the surface. Also sometimes axies will pick a favourite hiding spot, so long as he looks relaxed while hiding, all should be good.

Right now maybe changing diet would be a case of "if it aint broke don't fix it". If your axie is already eating bloodworms when offered, that's probably fine as is. You could consider feeding brine shrimp which shouldn't be too big, but if not, i really wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Caesar]

If the tank temperatures were over 75f, keep an eye on his gills for any fungus.

 

[Catie1110]

Thank you so much! This really helped to put my mind at ease. I'll definitely keep an eye on his gills and keep monitoring the tank.