First Axolotl (A few little questions)

[Herodes]

Hello! I'm new to the axolotl community but I've had aquariums for a long time now and am a very experienced hobbyist but I've never had an axolotl or any type of salamander before. I did a lot of research and didn't plan to buy one but the other day I went to a fish shop to pick up some blood worms and saw a tank full of baby axolotls that looked absolutely horrific so I took one home with me. (They seriously had about 30 baby axolotls in the same 10 gallon tank!! ) It's about 1.5" and still a bit transparent.
I've been feeding it blood worms twice a day with tweezers to make sure he doesn't accidentally consume any of the sand. I feed him until the width of his head matches the width of his belly. The aquarium is cycled and I've been keeping it in cold water with a low dim light. It's 20 gallons so I think it's okay for him for now. I read that they can swallow gravel or thicker substrate so I got him very fine sand. He doesn't seem incredibly active except when I come over to the glass and as I've never had one before I'm not sure if this is how they're supposed to act. He also seems so skinny.
Am I feeding him enough or is there anything I'm doing wrong? Is he supposed to be so inactive?
I hope someone can answer some questions about him! I'll post some pictures of him below. The pictures aren't the best of quality because I didn't want to leave that bright light on him for more than a minute or two.

 

[Felixtacat]

Well, first off I'd try and get rid of that substrate. It's definitely too big. Bare bottom is probably best for babies. Sorry about that

Second, what's the water temp? The colder the temp the less active the axie. I've heard that babies are more active but I've never had babies that small so I can't speak from experience.

Bloodworms are good for babies but you should switch to earthworms when he gets around 5 or 6 inches. Twice a day is good for babies too, but I'd probably do like, once a day at 3-4 inches, and then try every other day at 5+ inches. Babies tend to look a little skinny, they don't really plump out until they're bigger.

As long as he's eating good I wouldn't worry too much. He might just still be settling in or something. Just keep an eye out for signs of stress like a curled tail tip or forward turned gills and you should be good ??


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[bekallcroft]

First time Axie-Mum here too! I am almost worrying in the other direction - of my two new friends, one seems fins and swims form time to time and seems fine and happy but the other does laps of the tank for hours at a time! Is George just checking out his new surroundings or should I be worried about his constant activity?

 

[Holly12]

Babies are normally active. What is your water temp? If it's 12 to 14 he may be slower.

The sand you have isn't fine. I had sand like that for my axie and when he got bigger, his weight on his feet caused the skin to wear off the toes, exposing the bone. I switched him to super fine sand. It's almost a powder. You are going to need to switch it out.

 

[emdalliance]

Switch it out for a bare bottom for a baby.


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[Meerna]

I just got two 3" babies myself and they aren't super active all the time, but I never thought that was anything to worry about. Sometimes my wild will swim around but my lucy doesn't do much, then again I'm not watching them all day so maybe I'm just missing most of the action. They are very skinny looking to me compared to pictures I've seen of adults, but every time I feed them they end up super fat. I think that's normal for babies as well.

 

[HecticDucky]

i know that axolotls like to be in pairs i had a single one when i first bought one and he acted them same if you have a chance i would look into getting a second one. just make sure the water flow inst to much and the temp is around 65F - 70F degrees i also bought some ammo Lock and a Ph tester wheel that sits in the water. They also don't like bright light if have a chance change out the bright light with a cooler light. also don't put any type of fish in with them or any thing alive that can fit into there mouths.