Question: Axolotl Questions

[Scargrim]

Hello all, i've been a axolotl owner for the last 3 years, and have had alot of great moments and sad moments with some..

i now have 2 axolotls (Leviathan & Brimstone)
Both two gorgeous axies

i have had Leviathan for over a year i assume, and brimstone was only purchased the saturday!

i just have questions about the tannins in the driftwood being released into the tank water.
now i have researched this many times and still do alot, though i might have been trying to get everything right for these exotic little guys, i'm now in the process of getting the hang of it and maturing into it, but i am still always looking for new info on the little ones.

I have researched tannins, which is also used in tea baths, so i am just wondering because the tank water is brown, that it won't irritate or affect the axolotl? (i gave the driftwood a good wash before i chucked it in) just pondering on it is all, my tank is only a light brown colour and i will be doing my regular water change this week when the time comes!

I also have these axolotl blocks i feed them on, they seem to enjoy it alot and i do have earthworms though i am waiting for my earth farm to blossom so i can feed them some live stuff. i'm not too sure if they seem underweight but they don't look so skinny, but if they do, i'm going to go buy another worm bulge and fix that up quick time!

i have 1 fake plant in the tank and tried live plants before i went on a holiday for 20 days (i had about 6 plants in there) and a few feeder fish, unfortunately the plants seems to be striped when i got home and leviathan' gills had been attacked by a few of the nasties but i have fixed it all up (no more feeder fish.) i am just wondering what plants would look nice and go well with the axolotls in the tank (some nice soft plants for them)

i will post some pictures for you all to look at, so anything to help me out with having a bit of fun with the tank and making the lotl's happy would help me greatly, and meeting some new people!

p.s.
all water levels are amazingly accurate and on the level needed to be, as i did a massive water change before i left for my vacation, and have been water changing since i got back home.

P.S.S
Brimstones legs came stubbed from the pet shop, all the albino's seemed to be like that, so i got the healthiest little guy/gal i could
could any also tell me if they are wild types or anything like that? i would love to know
Thanks guys

 

[Skudo09]

The tannins in the driftwood should not cause any problems at all

Good looking setup and nice looking lotls . One suggestion though is to remove the little blue stones in the sand. They could be potentially dangerous if the axolotls ingest them.

Looks like a wildtype and an albino to me

 

[Scargrim]

Sweet, thought so

Thankyou! i'm planning on putting some live plants in there with another piece of Driftwood, as for the blue pebbles i am slowly but surely getting rid of them, every syphon of the tank i do i get some out, seems as though they keep pulling up from the sand, but being hand fed axolotls they don't forage so much

what would the albino be? what's the difference between lecaustic and albino?
i know leevi is a wild type ,I really want one that glows under a black light, as i have one (marine light) for my tank that would look amazing.

 

[LSuzuki]

Albinos have two recessive genes for albinism. That prevents the axolotl from making brown pigments, including in their eyes, so they typically have pink eyes. Usually albino axolotls still have yellow pigments and iridophores (shiny spots) and are called "golden albinos".

Leucistics have two recessive genes for leucism. That prevents pigment forming in the usual location on the skin. So, leucistics are usually white, with a pinkish tone from blood vessels under the skin. Sometimes they will have freckles of the color that the animal would have been if it weren't leucistic. Leucistics usually have dark eyes.

Your picture doesn't show any yellow pigment, so yours might be both albino and leucistic. There is also a gene that eliminates yellow pigment, but I don't hear much about that, so I think it is uncommon (or not commonly recognized).

I can't see a iridescent ring about your albino's eyes or iridophores on its skin (but I'm not good with pictures), so your axolotl might also be melanistic - has two recessive genes that eliminate the iridophores.

And here you though it whould be a short answer.

 

[rachel1]

The short answer is "white albino". :happy: That's the common name for several different combinations of genes that give you a white animal with pink eyes.
As mentioned above, leucistic animals have dark eyes, and because it is a mutation that only affects migration of pigment over the body, they also lay pigmented (dark) eggs. Albinos will lay white eggs.