New Axolotl

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Just wanted to make a post about the baby axie that I received from Margie.

It's name right now is Ragnar. If he(?) turns out to be a she, then it will change to Lagertha.

I think his coloring is so interesting right now, but I'm excited for him to darken up a bit as he grows.

 

[A1ecia]

Very cool!

 

[Margie]

It's so interesting to see how different juveniles can look in different environments! This one was jet black at my house, but he was over a black substrate here. He'll darken up eventually regardless.

 

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He was even lighter when I first unpacked him. Almost that I thought you'd sent a leucistic. But even within an hour he was this bluish color.

 

[sde]

Beautiful coloration!

Sorry for an off topic question, but what plant is that?

 

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It's cyperus helferi. I've also got it in my H. orientalis tank.

 

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I gradually added a layer of darker substrate, and he's darkened up quite a bit.

 

[sde]

Stunning....

Wow...I am at a loss for words, that is a beautiful axolotl! Very unique. Uncommon colors. Big gills. White flecking. Simply beautiful....

 

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Re: Stunning....

I wish I had measured him more closely when I first got him. He obviously hasn't grown that much but it's been enough that my dad has noticed he's larger. He's about a little less than 4 inches now, I think.

 

[Cacique]

Re: Stunning....

Beautiful axie. They really do grow fast the first few months, up to about 8 inches.

 

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Re: Stunning....

Is it at four inches that I stop feeding him daily? I don't want to start feeding him every other day too early?

 

[keiko]

Awesome gills!

You can feed him every day until he's fully grown. They don't get too fat easily as juveniles when they're still growing. Some people feed their juveniles 5 times a week or so and that is fine too if the axie keeps growing nicely and doesn't get too thin.

 

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Ragnar is nearly five inches long now.

I can COMPLETELY understand how people tend to anthropomorphize their axies now. He's seems really friendly. He's starting to swim up to the glass when someone walks up.

 

[Leash44]

Wow, those gills are amazing! I'm going to be getting axies from Margie in a few weeks and these pictures I keep seeing of her beautiful babies are making me so impatient.

 

[j42echo]

He is a really unusual and pretty colour. It will be interesting to see what colour he turns out to be.

 

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He's at about 5.5 inches now. He'll be ready for the larger tank soon, I think.

 

[JayFaye]

I can't get over how great he looks! Very cute

 

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Although I am slightly concerned about his gills. They look to have shrunk a bit as he's grown...

 

[Petersgirl]

What a handsome boy! He looks like a blue melanoid ( although I know he is probably just a very light shade of black). I see he has dark speckles on his tail. Does he still have the white markings on his side, or have they become iridophores?

Gills can shrink for all sorts of reasons - one theory is that increased oxygenation causes gill shrinkage (I have an air stone in my tank to stop my water stagnating). My zookeeper friend also reckons that water changes are a key factor in gill size, and the size of axxies generally - he noticed that axxies getting more water changes grew larger, including the gills, and LingKong (another user on here) has some gorgeous pictures of her axolotls, which receive a lot of water changes to keep their gills lush.

 

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If I increase the frequency of water changes, will they grow back out?