My Axolotls have started biting each others faces but i dont know why

[mkw]

My axolotls have been in the tank for a couple of weeks now and when feeding they sometimes nip at each other but they have now started biting each others faces, locking jaws and shaking each other about.

Any ideas what will cause this?

 

[Shizeric]

What size is your tank, how many axolotls, and if you provide a picture of your setup, we would be able to provide some more detailed info.

 

[Azhael]

Some degree of agression during feeding time is perfectly normal. These are not the cleverest creatures that roam the earth, so they tend to just snap at anything that moves. During feeding time they become frenzied by the smells of food and so if one moves, the other will think it might be food..so just in case, a testing bite is in order.
As long as there are no serious injuries i wouldn´t worry. You can try to minimize this kind of agression by feeding them separately with tweezers. Also, providing more space, and visual barriers such as plants and logs works well too.

 

[mkw]

Its a 60l tank with 2 white axolotls, around 8cm each at the minute. They have been fine up to now but i noticed this yesterday and it looks pretty mean!

I've got a couple of plastic plants in and some fake wood ornaments with a few pebbles scattered around on a sand base. Currently feeding them frozen bloodworm and try to spread it around the tank as much as possible.

Another quick question, what live foods are good for them when they are this size? Meal worms look a little too big but im not sure.

Cheers.

 

[Shizeric]

Blood worms or black worms are best at this size...and do you have any areas for them to hide?

 

[mkw]

Ive got a couple of places for them to hid but to be honest they tend to just hide under the filter together.

I got them about a week apart and the newer one seems to be the aggressive one. My original one has got black tipped toes and the newer one hasn't so i assume the new one to be younger? It is a little fatter though which makes it a little bigger.

 

[Shizeric]

An axolotl shouldnt have black tip toed at only 8cm...they clearly aren't sexually mature at that size, so it just may be a part of their pigment. Juveniles do tend to be more aggressive than adults, but as long as you have a lot of visual barriers in tank and places for them to hide, there isn't a whole lot more you can do. I suppose just try to keep them seperated at feeding time so they don't get confused with what is food and what isn't.

 

[sherrisixxx]

Oh no, another pair of biting axies. I have 2 siblings that are about 4 years old now. I have had them since they were 6 months old. First everything went ok, but for the last 2 years I have kept them separate, as the melanoid female keeps biting the golden albino. My golden albino has lost gills, toes,parts of tail etc, so its not possible to keep them together. Sometimes I try to put them together, but the melanoid one starts stalking and biting, so the only way is to keep them separate.I made a tank divider from nearly see-through plastic for them,and they seem happy enough. Hope yours aren't as bad,though! But a divider is always an option...