Spermatophore, age indication?

[Peter]

Hi people,

I found this Spermatophore in my tank today. It's the first time I spot this... Can this indicate the age of my axolotls? Because when I bought them I wasn't told how old they were. I always thought I had 2 males. So I don't think I will get some eggs.

Greetz
Peter

 

[Bellabelloo]

Lovely photo!!

It is indeed a spermatophore, which indicates at least one is mature.
This bit I am less sure about. My male would deposit these probably every month or so while I had my female. Since she has been rehomed he hasn't done this at all. This leads me to think that one of your axolotl may well be female and producing pheromones to indicate that she is ready to reproduce. I may well be wrong on this . But if I am correct you may find your tank decorated with eggs very soon. I would remove any spermatophore when found , but I was too late on one occasion and she laid eggs with in 24 hours.

 

[Peter]

0kee thanks!

Greetz
Peter

 

[Kaysie]

I had 3 males in a tank, and would occasionally find spermatophores, usually after a cold snap, or a significant water change.

 

[Letitluce]

From my experience you don't need a female for this to happen, and as for the age thing I think they can start at as young as 5 months. I've just found some in my younger axolotls tank...they're only half the size of my fully grown ones!