Light Brown Spots?

[NevermoreRoses]

Hello, I've had Poe for just over a month now, and a week ago he moved from a 28L tank to a 120L.
The parameters are:
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
PH: 8.0
As he is quite young still (around 7 months old), he has been growing very rapidly since moving tank.
I have noticed that the bigger he gets, the more noticeable these little brown dots on his head and body become.
I assumed he was an albino due to the red eyes and so didn't think he could have any colouring except for the red gills?
He is behaving completely normally, quite active, great appetite, etc.
So have I been wrong and is this just his colouring, or is there something wrong?
I will attach photos, thank you very much.

 

[NevermoreRoses]

I had to put my camera flash on for the camera to even vaguely pick up the spots / dots but hopefully you can see them a little here.

 

[NevermoreRoses]

You can see them the best in this one I think:

 

[NevermoreRoses]

ALSO: I've looked through some past threads and other people have described them as "freckles" which I think is a better description than spots for what Poe has. They're mostly on his head, more on the left side.

 

[Petersgirl]

You're right - he's definitely an albino, as his eyes are white. Leucistics usually have freckles (leucys aren't true albinos as they have black eyes) which are tiny black or brown bits of pigment, quite often concentrated on the head to create freckles and 'masks.' (Snuggly Time/Beks has Wooper - in his pictures he goes from faintly freckled to a very masked face as he gets older!)

Are the spots shiny or are they reddish in colour? My Golden has lots of tiny reddish dots, usually on her tummy. They don't appear to be dangerous. I am thinking these spots are likely pigment (which I know sounds odd, as your Poe is albino) or possibly spots where he has been leaning against the tank glass/ornaments.

If they don't appear to be bothering him, I wouldn't worry overmuch.

 

[NevermoreRoses]

You're right - he's definitely an albino, as his eyes are white. Leucistics usually have freckles (leucys aren't true albinos as they have black eyes) which are tiny black or brown bits of pigment, quite often concentrated on the head to create freckles and 'masks.' (Snuggly Time/Beks has Wooper - in his pictures he goes from faintly freckled to a very masked face as he gets older!)

Are the spots shiny or are they reddish in colour? My Golden has lots of tiny reddish dots, usually on her tummy. They don't appear to be dangerous. I am thinking these spots are likely pigment (which I know sounds odd, as your Poe is albino) or possibly spots where he has been leaning against the tank glass/ornaments.

If they don't appear to be bothering him, I wouldn't worry overmuch.

After looking more closely, they appear to be a very pale pink/red colour, and aren't shiny. He hurt the end of his tail when he was in his old tank and it now seems to be trying to recover, could that affect anything?
He often leans against his cave but these dots seem too tiny to be pressure marks.
He doesn't seem bothered at all! The only thing he's ever bothered about is when he's going to get fed.

 

[Smoxolotl]

Unless the brown spots start spreading rapidly and/or symptoms of unhealthiness appear, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Its probably genetics, and possibly diet. Just get him in some nice clean water and plenty of places to hide his sensitive eyes :happy:

 

[NevermoreRoses]

Unless the brown spots start spreading rapidly and/or symptoms of unhealthiness appear, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Its probably genetics, and possibly diet. Just get him in some nice clean water and plenty of places to hide his sensitive eyes :happy:

Thank you. I feed him earth worms, if that affects anything? I'm hoping it is just genetics.

 

[NevermoreRoses]

Actually, since posting this thread I've noticed that his gills have curled forward and his mouth is open a bit.
I did feed him about an hour ago so it could be digestive issues I suppose, but I worry very easily.
I've been noticing the freckly things for a couple of weeks now so hopefully this new development isn't related, but I'm so new to all of this I have no idea.

 

[Smoxolotl]

Earthworms can definitely affect color in axolotls. One of my Leucistics has a nice golden glow from his worm diet. I read that it is the Riboflavin in the worms that causes that.

 

[Petersgirl]

Another suggestion I found is that you might be seeing skin pores: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...help-my-axolotl-isnt-right-am-so-worried.html

I freaked when I saw my Golden's tiny red dots too but she's perfectly healthy and she's had them for ages. To be honest, I can barely see the spots on Poe's face. Like Smoxolotl said, it's probably genetics, but keeping an eye out for unusual behaviour is never a bad move.

Earthworms from pesticide-free sources are great too They're usually recommended on here as the staple food for axxies.

 

[NevermoreRoses]

Earthworms can definitely affect color in axolotls. One of my Leucistics has a nice golden glow from his worm diet. I read that it is the Riboflavin in the worms that causes that.

Oh wow, so I have a freckly albino, that's pretty cool.

While I'm here, is there any way to definitively work out the age of the axolotl?
The people at the aquatics centre had no idea so I guessed he was 6 months at the time I got him by his length.

However, I have a friend with an albino axolotl who is 4 years old and smaller than Poe, so this method doesn't seem to be particularly reliable?

I am also DYING to know what sex Poe is but I know he's too young at the moment.

 

[Petersgirl]

Ooh, and Smoxolotl, is there a chance that you actually have an axanthic albino?

This is what axolotl.org says about axanthics: "The second kind of albino I will mention is the axanthic albino. It has normal pigment cell migration but is homozygous for the albino gene and the axanthic gene (a/a and ax/ax), meaning it lacks melanophores, xanthophores and iridophores. It is almost white, but becomes yellow with age due to the accumulation of riboflavins from its diet."

Pretty cool. But then if it's a Leucy it won't be axanthic. I just thought the link was cool.

 

[NevermoreRoses]

Another suggestion I found is that you might be seeing skin pores: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...help-my-axolotl-isnt-right-am-so-worried.html

I freaked when I saw my Golden's tiny red dots too but she's perfectly healthy and she's had them for ages. To be honest, I can barely see the spots on Poe's face. Like Smoxolotl said, it's probably genetics, but keeping an eye out for unusual behaviour is never a bad move.

Earthworms from pesticide-free sources are great too They're usually recommended on here as the staple food for axxies.

Ohh okay, thank you!
My camera didn't pick them up at ALL but they're more noticeable in real life.

 

[Petersgirl]

You could always post a picture of Poe's...ahem...hindquarters and people could give a guess, but if he/she is very young you will most likely be told he/she is female and they might not be. My Toothless was 'female' for nine months!

Also, age is tricky. Little Jack actually has a full male cloaca but was much smaller and skinnier than my current male, so I couldn't guess his age reliably. Even 1 inch per month doesn't quite work because of genetics and such - and the fact they often stop growing after a while. Diet may be a good way to guess, or behaviour. I call a year old axolotl an adult just for the sake of easy maths - at this age they move less and, in some cases, eat much less. My adult male will eat once every two days or every day if the worm is small.

Either way, captive axolotls can live for up to fifteen years, so rest assured you have plenty of time left with the little guy/girl

 

[NevermoreRoses]

You could always post a picture of Poe's...ahem...hindquarters and people could give a guess, but if he/she is very young you will most likely be told he/she is female and they might not be. My Toothless was 'female' for nine months!

Also, age is tricky. Little Jack actually has a full male cloaca but was much smaller and skinnier than my current male, so I couldn't guess his age reliably. Even 1 inch per month doesn't quite work because of genetics and such - and the fact they often stop growing after a while. Diet may be a good way to guess, or behaviour. I call a year old axolotl an adult just for the sake of easy maths - at this age they move less and, in some cases, eat much less. My adult male will eat once every two days or every day if the worm is small.

Either way, captive axolotls can live for up to fifteen years, so rest assured you have plenty of time left with the little guy/girl

Thank you.

I know he's still fairly young because he's still growing quite quickly. His tail has become magnificent since I brought him home.
He has black toe tips which apparently can indicate sexual maturity, but I've also read that that isn't always the case.
His cloaca seems a little bulgy but nowhere near as big as the photos I've looked at. His cloaca looks more like a female's right now but I have no idea if that's just because he's still too young to have his 'big boy' cloaca yet, haha.
His tummy seems kinda rounded too but that may be my fault, as I'm still working out the right number of earth worms for him per feeding. Usually I give 3 medium sized or 4 little earth worms every other day.

Could I post a quick photo for you to look at here? Or is there somewhere else on the forum that would be more appropriate?

 

[Smoxolotl]

"Ooh, and Smoxolotl, is there a chance that you actually have an axanthic albino?"

Hi Petersgirl, I don't actually own one of the axanthic albinos but check out Dark Mavericks lotls on his profile, he has one!

 

[Petersgirl]

@Smoxolotl: Awesome! The problem with axanthics is they don't seem to live very long and seem prone to health problems, but even then, that lotl will be in the best hands with Dark Maverick.

@Nevermore Roses: It's totally fine to post a picture here We get 'gender ID' requests all the time on here. It's so tricky to tell because the rounder axxies with smaller cloacae often appear female, and I've noticed boys have very long bodies with a lot of tail.
We can give it a go but bear in mind what we see now might not be entirely accurate

 

[kjnorman]

Just wanted to toss in my 2 cents here and say that your pH seems a tad high. Not dangerously high, but you'll want to keep an eye on it in case something in the tank or the water in your area is making it more alkaline.

I have found in the past that live plants and real wood ornaments help keep pH down, as they tend to leach acidic tannins into the water.

Don't want to freak you out though! I'm sure it has nothing to do with the spots, which seem harmless, and your axie is adorable.