Odd Axolotl

[KatieM]

I raised this guy from an egg, and he has never grown top gills. Ever. His is healthy (other than the gill issue). His siblings are normal and healthy. Has anyone seen this before? I have search but can't find anything.

 

[axolotl nerd]

I raised this guy from an egg, and he has never grown top gills. Ever. His is healthy (other than the gill issue). His siblings are normal and healthy. Has anyone seen this before? I have search but can't find anything.

this is super interesting to me- i've never seen anything quite like it. however, that isn't to say i've never seen something similar, one of my old axolotls (she was a rescue that i rehabbed and gave to someone else) had a split gill ever since she was hatched. sometimes they can be born with normal gills, then get injured somehow and the new gill grows back improperly. other time they can be born with extra gills, or, in your case, missing gills. i've never seen it be so symmetrical though, which is very odd

 

[Autistic Catholic]

I raised this guy from an egg, and he has never grown top gills. Ever. His is healthy (other than the gill issue). His siblings are normal and healthy. Has anyone seen this before? I have search but can't find anything.

It's probably a genetic defect.

 

[wolfen]

as he/she gets older the middle and top gill stems may grow in length, stems might be bare (looking like horns) or they might grow sporadic tufts of filaments (looking like pig tails), provided the bottom gills perform their job of absorbing oxygen it won't effect him/her at all.