Axolotl Guidance Needed =)

[Elliriyanna]

1. Is it normal for axolotls to float tail first? Much like a semi-head stand but mostly just the tail float. He does swim back down once his tail touches the surface though.
Sometimes they do this when they have to poop, My girl does it regularly but if she is not pooping it could be impaction or constipation

2. I did a partial water change yesterday and he seemed to scratch his gills? I'm pretty sure that this is not normal. I will see to it that water conditions are back to normal. Any thoughts why?
I have never seen gill scratching, Did you use water conditioner?


3. He seemed okay now but i notice that he kinda flaps his gills. I know they do shrug their gills to expel carbon dioxide but do they need to flap it that hard? Lol

Dont worry they flap their gills sometimes ... it looks like an elephant flapping his ears lol


4. His water was clear but i noticed what appears to be 'oil blots' on the water surface. I'm feeding it earthworms, chopped/boiled/skinned freshwater shrimps and cultured blue bottle flies. All are live/fresh/gutloaded upon feeding.

I would recommend only earthworms and there is no need to gutload. earthworms provide all nutrients they need although I understand adding variety sometimes.

5. Should they be more on the slim side or the chubby side? I feel as if he should be much fatter. He is exactly 5 inches long

The rule with lotls is their body should be a little chubbier than their head or at least around the same size. I have two 4 inch babies and man do they look lean compared to my 11 inch girl. Don't worry too much as long as your little one is eating and pooping


That's pretty much it for now. Thanks!

[Tongue Flicker]

Earthworms are not sold here and bait stores are a thing of legends here as well.. My earthworms come from my own backyard, dug up from my leaf litter compost for my millipedes. So i could only give a couple of earthworms a day. He's perfectly fine now though. Just does the flapping every now and then and is getting chubbier now. The thickest part of his abdomen is almost as thick as the head. I'm so happy

[AnimalEnthusiast]

So, axolotls only need earth worms, and nothing else to eat? I've read that there's salmon pellets, or something like that, that people feed to them. But, earth worms sound easier to come by possibly.

1. Is it normal for axolotls to float tail first? Much like a semi-head stand but mostly just the tail float. He does swim back down once his tail touches the surface though.
Sometimes they do this when they have to poop, My girl does it regularly but if she is not pooping it could be impaction or constipation

2. I did a partial water change yesterday and he seemed to scratch his gills? I'm pretty sure that this is not normal. I will see to it that water conditions are back to normal. Any thoughts why?
I have never seen gill scratching, Did you use water conditioner?


3. He seemed okay now but i notice that he kinda flaps his gills. I know they do shrug their gills to expel carbon dioxide but do they need to flap it that hard? Lol

Dont worry they flap their gills sometimes ... it looks like an elephant flapping his ears lol


4. His water was clear but i noticed what appears to be 'oil blots' on the water surface. I'm feeding it earthworms, chopped/boiled/skinned freshwater shrimps and cultured blue bottle flies. All are live/fresh/gutloaded upon feeding.

I would recommend only earthworms and there is no need to gutload. earthworms provide all nutrients they need although I understand adding variety sometimes.

5. Should they be more on the slim side or the chubby side? I feel as if he should be much fatter. He is exactly 5 inches long

The rule with lotls is their body should be a little chubbier than their head or at least around the same size. I have two 4 inch babies and man do they look lean compared to my 11 inch girl. Don't worry too much as long as your little one is eating and pooping


That's pretty much it for now. Thanks!

[limnologist]

So, axolotls only need earth worms, and nothing else to eat? I've read that there's salmon pellets, or something like that, that people feed to them. But, earth worms sound easier to come by possibly.

Axolotls will eat slugs, roaches, worms, grubs, water animals of decent size, fish, and baby mice. Try to vary the diet a little.