Question: Do axolotls become more aggressive during breeding time?

[Lora Cottom]

I have 2 female axolotls who have been tank buddies for some time. They are a wild-type and a leucistic (spelling?) of the same size. I have never noticed any problems between them.

Yesterday the wild-type attacked the white one, and took off a significant portion of her foot- the bones are showing! I separated them, of course!

My question is: do axies become more aggressive during breeding season? Do the colors of the animal have anything to do with aggression? I house my axolotls in pairs, and I would hate to see any more of this. Thanks for the help!:happy:

 

[Shizeric]

As long as the tank is large enough with plenty of hides/visual barriers you should be fine. I have HEARD that wild type axolotls are more aggressive, but I have never experienced that personally.

 

[melfly]

I've also heard wilds are more agressive but I haven't noticed this either as my gold is the aggressive one.

Was the 'attack' during feeding time? Sometimes they will accidently bite each other thinking that they are snapping at food. If so you could try to feed them at seperate ends of the tank.

Mel

 

[Lora Cottom]

The bite occured overnight, so feeding was not an issue. I separated the two ladies and Casper's foot seems to be healing.

 

[melfly]

How old are they?

Mel

 

[Shizeric]

And what size is the tank they shared?

 

[Lora Cottom]

In answer to both Mel and Eric's questions, my wild-type is one year old and the leucistic is approximately 2 years old. They were sharing a long, narrow 12 gallon tank (it is homemade and an odd size). I had included 3 hiding places and plastic plants. They have cohabited from approximately 6 months with no problems. Thanks so much for your help, it is good to talk to other axie owners!

 

[Spartacus]

I've noticed my wildtype gets aggressive a few times a year. I can only assume its her fault because she is always involved in scuffles. I once literally saw her dive bombing another axie, it was terrifying!
But I've noticed it isn't a constant thing. She just gets moody every now and then.

 

[Kaysie]

Lora, your tank is too small for two adult axolotls. You really need to upgrade to a bigger tank for a variety of reasons: your axolotls need more room to themselves to get away from each other, and you will have a very hard time maintaining water quality in such a small tank.

 

[Lora Cottom]

Okay, maybe crowding is the problem. The wild-type has really grown in the last few months. Anyway, I am now separately housing them. If I put them back together in the future, I will upgrade to a larger tank. Thanks!