My Axolotyls have suddenly started fighting. What should i do?

[kieva]

Dear all.

I have three Axolotyls. I have had them for about one year and they all got along fine. The tank is has more than enough space for them and the water is fine and they are fed well, however, they have started to fight and quite violently too. One Axolotyl keeps bullying the other two. He puts their feet in it's mouth and shakes them violently. Two axolotyls now have cuts on their feet and i am really concerned about them. They are all the same sex and they aren't any bigger than they were when we got them. I can't understand why they are fighting. Is it a dominance thing? I don't want to have to get rid of the culprit as he won't integrate with other Axolotyls if he doesn't get on with mine and i don't want to seperate him from the others for a solitary life. What do i do? I have thought about putting perspex in the tank to seperate them, but this may reduce too much space for the others and again it keeps one solitary which will further cause aggression if they are re-integrated. One is smaller than the other two and i'm concerned the big one might kill him. Please help.

Kind regards

Leanne

 

[melfly]

Hi Leanne
How big is your tank? Do you notice this behaviour at certain times such as feeding time?

Mel

 

[kieva]

Dear Mel,

I am not sure on the total capacity but it is far bigger than the tank that was in the pet shop, which held around 10 axolotyls. It's a huge tank and they have lots of space to swim and quite often do so. I don't think size is an issue unless i split it is two to seperate the axolotyls to stop them from fighting. They have only started fighting lately and it's before and after feeding time. I have even fed them a little more than usual to try and combat this problem, but to no avail. The tank was slightly acidic a few weeks ago but i resolved this by doing regular water changes and cleaning the filters accordingly and changing one at a time every so often. The tank has had plenty of time to cycle though. When the tank was acidic, their gills started to burn in the acidic water. Their gills have grown back now though and the water is good. I can't fathom why they suddenly don't like one another. I don't know if it's a dominance thing but i don't think axolotyls have a heirarchy. If i have to seperate the bully and put him in another tank once it's cycled, will he be okay on his own?

Could the fighting be something to do with breeding times etc? i.e. could they be getting agitated over having no females in the tank? I read a lot of conflicting information on other sites and i am reluctant to follow most advice as all too often, people claim to know about axolotyls, when they don't know much at all. Our pet shop was one of those people who claimed they "knew about axolotyls". They were wrong about a lot of things which surprised and shocked me!

Thank you for your help and your reply.

Kind regards

Leanne

 

[Bellabelloo]

What colours are your axolotl? My wild type is likely to be more aggresive than my melanoid or leucistic. Also what size are they,and how much smaller is the smallest one. As you have had them a year they should be mature.
I have 3 males in a tank, and if I am not careful at feeding time they will nip each other. I tend to feed mine at random times of the day and they are all fed in different spots . Axolotl will be ok if kept solo.