Axie gone mad!!

Hey everyone I'm kind of new to this, I've only had Salsa for about 5 days and I still have so many things I want to know about her.
I've been watching her in the morning and at night and this seems to be when she is most active, I understand this is because Axolotl's are partly nocturnal, but when I watch her I get worried because she seems to go crazy, almost madly trying to swim up the side and out of the tank. She swims really fast and then rams herself into the glass and then tries to swim up the glass. Is this normal? It's really upseting to watch because I keep thinking that something is wrong with her, and I don't know how to help.
I've been feeding her meal worms and chicken so far, shes such a pig and eats at least 2 a day. I try and feed her around the same time too, and of course at night.
I'm also not sure about when and how I should go about cleaning the water, tank and filter. And how many times a week/month I should do it.
Any any any tips at all would be great, I just want to make sure she stays healthy and I can learn as much as I can from her.
Also Salsa is black/grey and you can see the black tips on her fingers, I read this might mean she is matured enough for breeding, but she's only about 10 cm. Is there something wrong with her?
I also bought her with 5 and a half gills, another axie at the pet shop attacked her.
Any help would be great thanks.

Do you have a light on the tank? How warm is the tank? Do you ever turn on the light suddenly and she flips out over that? What size is your tank?

Mealworms and chicken are not the best choices of food. Mealworms can be hard to digest. A better food choice would be earthworms. I feed mine approximately 2 inches of earthworm two or three times a week.

Have you cycled your tank? An appropriately cycled tank needs 10-20% water changes weekly. The filter should rarely be cleaned, and when it is, only rinsed in tank water to release trapped debris. I siphon my sand with a gravel cleaner every or every other water change.

The toe tips are a sign that it's maturing, but not necessarily indicative of sexual maturity. The gills will grow back.

I don't know what causes it, but my axie does the same thing occassionally. Its like it thinks a shark is chasing it sometimes! One time I noticed after it freaked out that it has cut its tail in the process. It really worries me, but I can't find a reason for why this woulod happen. Sorry I have nothing helpful to say!

Black/grey (wildtype) axolotls when they mature the toetips tend to go pale rather than dark toetips, which white or albino maturing axolotls get.

Here's the cycling article: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

Any questions and ask, I've a feeling if your tank wasn't cycled then the problem could be water related (ie cycling tank).

You might need to get your tankwater tested. If you don't have freshwater test kits then take a sample of tankwater into your petshop and ask them to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Make sure the petshop writes the figures down for you and most importantly DON'T buy anything the petshop suggests to clear/fix things up in your tankwater.

If your tank is cycling, then your ammonia and possibly nitrite levels may be toxic, ie anything above 0 for ammonia and nitrite is considered toxic/unsafe (which is normal in a cycling tank).

If this is the case, you need to do daily or every 2 day waterchanges (20%-30% only). This will keep the tankwater safe for your axie/s to reside in.

My axie has used to do something like this. It would swim across the tank and bump its head into the glass. It has stopped doing it now. I don't know why they do it. Only some off them do this.

I use clear water and ammonia tablets which take everything out.
I got it 5 days after I had the tank set up, which allowed the good bacteria to grow inside it.
I'm feeding her meal worms for now, until I can buy the things I need.
So for tank water changes I just take a little out and put a lilttle more in?? Every once a week??

madhatter - stop using the clear water and ammonia tablets.

Your tank is cycling now, from the time you introduced and started feeding your axolotl your tank started cycling. 5 days is not long enough for it to cycle (it can take from 3-10.5 weeks to cycle) or establish good bacteria.

Ammonia is needed in the tank, by using the tablets you are throwing out the cycling tank and causing problems which can stress your axolotl.

When an axolotl poos/regurgitates food etc... ammonia is introduced into the tank, to keep the toxins down you only DO frequent partial waterchanges daily or every 2 days.

You do not add things to fix it, as the frequent partial waterchanges will sort things out.

Stop feeding mealworms as they aren't good as a staple. Do you chop their heads off as they can damage the insides of an axolotl (their jaws still bite away). You can feed things like slugs, slaters, earthworms, crickets just make sure where ever you get them from they don't use any garden pesticides.

So, when was the last time you added/emptied any tankwater from the tank?

The only chemical you need to use is a water ager/water conditioner or water dechlorinator. Something that removes chlorine and or chloramines from tapwater. Nothing else

So I went to the pet shop again today.
I got a thermometer( can't spell) and the temp is ok.
I got the water checked and it was fine, except had a bit of calcuim in it. Which I don't understand how it got in there.
I got a real air rador thing. For air and oxygen.
I got a gravel and water cleaner, which rotates and cleans the gum out of the gravel.
I bought some small fish and placed them in the tank for Salsa to swim around and hunt. She already ate one.
I'm going to do the first water change tomorrow. Only a 30% change.
She already seems alot happier. She has stopped swimming up the tank.
If I change the water partially, the pet shop lady told me to use the tablets again. They take the chlorine out too. But along with the ammonia.
I could only cycle the tank for 5 days because I bought Salsa, and they were holding her for awhile untill I started the cycle, but they wouldn't hold her for any longer that 5 days.

You need ammonia, to cycle your, and ammonia can be managed with partial waterchanges.

You should

a) stop using the tablets, your tank will never cycle properly if you don't do it the right way
b)- buy a water ager or water dechlorinator or water conditioner to treat the tapwater before its used for the waterchange, nothing else! Treated tapwater will also need to be left at least an hour in the same room as the tank to come to the same temperature and also degas.

c) You shouldn't use feeder fish, unless they're from a healthy known source (ie: not the petshop). Anything bought from the petshop (fish/axolotls) have to be quarantined for 30 days to ensure they're healthy Remove the fish if there's any left - Feeder fish excrete a lot of waste and may also carry parasites. Being thrown into the tank without being quarantined means your axie could get sick. They also nibble on gills, slimecoat/fin and tail, causing your axie to stress. If they have any spiny bits they can get caught in an axolotls throat.

d) I'd also advise you to remove any gravel and undergravel filter if you have one, see: www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48132

e) Cycling the tank with animal/fish/axolotls can be done you just have to be rigorous about both testing (or if you don't have the tests) the key is frequent partial waterchanges every day or every 2 days. I've cycled tanks both with and without axolotls.

If you asked the petshop woman about cycling chances are she would try and sell you a product that "instantly cycles" your tank (they don't), or say it's not needed and sell you the product similar to the tablet to get rid of chlorine and ammonia that you have.

Did you read the cycling article I posted?

BTW did she give you the actual figures of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

In a cycling tank those ones are the MOST important ones over anything else, and for her to say just fine means absolutely nothing. The figures are needed so you know when the tank is cycled. If your ammonia and nitrite are showing at 0 as the moment then your tank is not cycling properly so you have to stop using them.

I've been watching Salsa for the weekend and she has settled down alot. I've changed the water and partially cleaned the tank gravel.
She seems happy now, and isnt swimming crazy around the tank. I want to put I rock in the tank but I don't know if it's safe to put a rock from my back yark into the tank.
I've also been watching her legs and she's been doing this funny thing, like lifting them up when she's resting. Could there be something wrong with them?

Madhatter, it seems as though you are ignoring great advice. Please listen to kapo and read the supplied link info and of course www.axolotl.org !

In summary (in case you'll take it from me, instead):

No chemical tablets, no meal worms, no gravel, no "buddies" (esp. pet store fish).

Yes 20% water changes.
Yes Stress Coat (popular brand of dechlorinator/water conditioner if you need help choosing one).
Yes earthworms (or the very easy, very healthy, very cheap, salmon pellets from Un. of Kentucky: http://www.ambystoma.org/AGSC/food.htm).

Find out the exact numbers on your ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH, and let us know and we can direct you on how to fix it without harsh chemicals. Also, what is your exact temp read on your thermometer?

Please, please listen to people on this forum (esp Ed, Kaysie, John, kapo, the other mods/admins/and specialized enthusiasts). This is THE PLACE to be for axolotl care. I hate to say it, but most pet stores know nil about axolotls and just pretend using info they know about species that they believe share the same habitat characteristics.

Good luck with everything.

One more thing- about the rock from your backyard: If it is porous then there might be (in short) bad things that might be released into your axolotls water even if you sanitized it. If not, please boil whatever rocks you plan to use (in a pot, on the stove, 10 mins or so after it starts bubbling to be safe, let cool COMPLETELY on clean surface [wait a day to, again, be safe], then place in tank).

Do not change 100% of the water at any one time (there are exceptions but this isn't it). This also prevents the tank from cycling correctly.
The feeder fish are going to cause the levels of ammonia, and nitrite to go really high which will cause problems for the axolotl potentially leading to its death..
Read the links and information provided above.


Ed

Kia Ora Mad Hatter I have to agree with ziggypie, "Any help would be great" these are your words everyone is trying to help. Heaps of excellent advise has been offered.

Please take the help you have asked for.

Best of luck

heyaz
ive had my axolotl for just over a week now and she does the same thing, swimming madly across the front of the tank and bumps her head on each side. I think its just something she does because everything is fine in the tank.

i dont think thats normal, cause mine use to do that but then i changed the filtre and he stopped doing that

Did you cycle your tank before introducing your axolotl? check the links out in the above threads I left.

If you didn't you need to test your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates and do partial waterchanges (ie if ammonia or nitrite levels are above 0) as this can cause your axie to swim madly round, ie stress from water quality.

oh ok! how do u test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates? i check the ph levels everyday and i use de-chlorinator.

Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate all have their own separate test kits. You can purchase these at pretty much any pet store. The best kind are the ones where you add liquids to a test tube of aquarium water. These are more reliable, cheaper and last longer. The dip strip type are not very accurate, go bad faster and are quite expensive.

If you can't afford test kits currently most pet stores will test your water.

Ok thanx i'll purchase a kit on the weekend!