My Axolotl is stuck on his back

Hi, Im very confused and I desperately need help please.

I brought an axolotl recently and he has just got sicker and sicker, I have done everything the pet shop told me to do (although after reading some of the advise experts have given was all wrong!!!)

Poor little boy, I gave him prime position on my servery where all my children could enjoy him. ALl sides of the tank exposed as to give him plenty of light, made sure he could see the entire room (yes complete with party of my 7 year old and 20 kids dancing around him!!!) etc etc , anyway, as you all read this, and shake your head in disbelief at my stupidity.... the poor little thing started floating. So I quickly ran to the pet shop who gave me chemicals and more dumb advice. His water got so bad that I was actually doing 80% water changes daily (yes daily!!!) to try and drop the ammonia reading (yes I realise now the poor thing was probably having a complete stress attack ...I know that now!)

ANyway, long story short, I found you guys and I really want to start again. As we speak he is in my fridge (gosh I hope that wasn't a joke to see if any fool will actually do it!) I completely cleaned his filter, water, hidey log and took out all his gravel. Have moved his tank to a back corner of my desk, where no children go. (Weird as this sounds, it is almost like he knows me cause he comes up to the glass to see me, not sure if I am imagining it or not) He hasn't eaten for 5 days now, but I'm not totally stressed about that yet.

So in the new tank I have put in 10 litres of water (to save the stress of him floating) He looks drunk most of the time at the moment. I added tap water conditioner which removes chlorine (although I have a choice between Aqua plus tap water conditioner for fresh or salt water use and some crystals called Showmaster water conditioner for goldfish and tropical fish!!1 which one is best to use for axolotls please.

How long should I leave him in the fridge for please and when can I put him in his new tank water with new conditions please?

By the way, he doesn't have those 3 fluffy things off his head like everyones pictures do? Why is that please? Is he deformed?

Please help me, I think he is really on his last legs and would like to know that I have done everything I could possible try.

Thank you,

Janeen

Well, first off, glad you found us when you did!!

You'll have to cycle your new tank. Read http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml and http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/waterquality.shtml for tips on starting that.

How big is your tank? What substrate will you be using? You will need to use tap water conditioner.

When you say he doesn't have 'three fluffy things' (gills, by the way), do you mean they're very small, or they're actually non-existant, and there is no gill slit? Can you post a picture?

hi sorry to hear of your trouble,
firstly you should have just enough ware in his container to stop him floating or turning over, make sure you cover the tub with something darkto stop light and temp fluctuations.make sure you have a bottle of dechlorinated water in the fridge with him for water changes.
fill his tank to the level you are going to keep it and only add dechlorinator, nothing else is necessary.
i know you have already done it, but you should only clean his filter and bits and bobs with tank water as you kill all the good bacteria by doing otherwise.
when you are happy he is not floating anymore pop him back in the tank and just keep an eye on him.
you will need to do regular water changes on the tank as well as spot cleaning daily.
make sure he has plenty of places to hide and some plants.
as long as the children arent putting their hands in the water it wont hurt them to be around him its just light and heat that are a concern.
i would vivit axolotl.org for all you need to know about cycling ect.
good luck

Thanks for that. This morning when I woke up and checked him, he was upside down again and it looked like he had vomited brown stuff or something, there was still remnants of it around his mouth so even though it looked like poo I'm assuming it was vomit.

He looks really skinny and very very sick. I manged to find some blood worms (although freeze dried because that was all there was) and thought maybe if I gave him something different than earth worms (he actually gets quiet mad when I put them in his face backing away and shaking his head now) he might actually eat something!! No go yet unfortunately, don't think they are exciting enough for him floating around the top.

I have put him in my study where only I get to peer over the tank (which is probably scary enough!) and will just leave him quietly for a couple of hours and see how he goes.

His gills (thanks for that) a short little stubby things, and I have just noticed his two back legs are pulled into his body!!!!

Do you think I should try some beef heart? He looks really hungry nad very skinny. Will post a picture of him this afternoon when I am finished work.

Once again thanks for all your help.

Janeen

Hi Janeen, sorry to hear about the little axy, would you be able to make space in the fridge for him? If you can put him in a lidded container of water ( dechlorinated) with enough water to cover him, put the lid on, cover with a tea towel and put him in the fridge ( a back up bottle of dechlorinated water in too) . The fridge needs to be no lower than 5 degrees. The colder temps help destress the axolotl ( doesn't work on me though) and also it'll enable you to see if / what he may pass. Do warn family members that he is having a little holiday there to help him relax and that you haven't been buying something exotic for tea!.

LOL thanks,

I put him in the fridge last night, and tried taking him out this morning and he wasn't too happy about it so I have put him back in. I have him in a container but I didn't put a lid on him cause I thought he might need air (is that silly?) I have a tea towel wrapped around him and no lid is that fine? Or do I need the lid?

I have taken photo's of him, but I can't work out how to load them as they are too big apparently!!!! He is looking alot more relaxed, but really very sick.

Pardon me for my ignorance but what is dechlorinated water? is it tap water with water conditioner in?

hi
yes a tea towel is fine thats all i put over mine.
and yes dechlorinated water is just that,just make sure you dont use to much conditioner.
some times i dont use the conditioner i just leave water standing for 24 hours.

I use plastic food-storage bowls with holes in the lid as fridging containers. Be sure your fridge is warmer than ~5C.

Leave him in the fridge for a few days. This will hopefully get him upright again. Continue to offer food. Freeze-dried bloodworms are worthless. Try more (or different types) of earthworms, frozen bloodworms, beefheart, etc.

You say he vomited. What is your substrate? What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels, and temperature)?

Before he was sick (please give me a break here I knew nothing about axies and was just going by the advice of the so called expert in the fish shop), He had a tank, set up in full day light, surrounded by lots of windows complete with plenty of sun. His tank had small gravel on the bottom, a fake plastic plant and a log for him to hide in. I constantly struggled with the high levels of ammonia, so did probably a 90% water change daily to keep it down to .025.

When I found this site cause he was getting sick (I wonder why!!!!!) I moved him into my study which is dark and quiet, removed all of his gravel and left him with minimal water to stop the stress of his floating doing 20% water changes to keep the ammonia levels down. I kept the temperature around 20.

He has been in the fridge for 5 days, no poo or vomit for 4. He hasnt eaten for around 9 days now and has become very very skinny.

I maintain the PH at 7.00 and I am afraid I do not know anything about nitrate and nitrite levels as have never been told about those.

Someone told me he may have ammonia poisoning, how long does it take them to die with that please? and does being in the fridge stop or delay ammonia poisoning? Should I bring him out of the fridge and try him back in his newly refurbished gravel free tank to see what happens with him? Do they eat their food (Im stressing that he is starving to death) when they are in cold fridge water?

Please Im getting desperate now, every day when I rush to see him I am constantly suprised that he survived another night and now I am really determined that he is going to live!!!

p.s I just noticed his tail and legs have white blotches on them!

hi
are the splotches furry, it could be a bit of fungus,which you can treat with salt baths,1 - 2 teaspoons per litre of refridgerated dechlorinated water for10 mins 2 -3 times a day
if poss a pick would be good.
he will not be harmed anymore by being in the fridge as it slows metbolism and the body heals better at lower temp.
just rember you have to do complete water change in there daily.
as for food just try to tempt her with different things some go a long time in the fridge without food as they are not expending any enegry it is not to much of a worry for a while.
it is best to get a water testing kit that test the parametres of everything, the test tube ones are best, they are a bit more expensive but will also last you a very long time.
i would leave her in the fridge until you are sure her tank is fully cycled, but you need toincrease the water level in there as well unless you are willing to do complete water changes everyday when she is in there as the ater will become polluted very quickly with little dilution.
hope this helps some. good luck

Hi Janeen

I know it probably is very stressful to you going through this all and wondering if your axolotl will survive another night, almost scared to open the container in case the worst has happened.

I use icecream containers and margarine containers for convalescent fridge containers (with lids). The chilled water actually has more oxygen in it than warmer water. This fridge container will of course need to be changed 100% daily with chilled dechlorinated water of the same temperature. (By the way, in our town even leaving the tapwater 24-48 hours sitting here does not get rid of the chlorine, hence the need to use dechlorinated water. Some parts of the country use tank or spring/rain water and have no problem, but not sure how whether you're on tapwater or tankwater) The lid, I prefer lid as well as teatowel, will stop the axie jumping in case it ever takes fright (some people have posted on here that they've found their axolotl in the bottom of the fridge as it flipped out), the towel wrapped round the lid and container is to stop light and temperature fluctuations from normal fridge usage.

If you do saltbaths I would keep a separate container of water already prepared with the salt solution in the fridge so the temperature is the same as its fridge container to do the saltbaths if needed. What type is your axolotl? If not sure what type, what colour is it and what colour eyes? The splotches if not fungus could be a type of colouration.

Attached is link to an online aussie aquarium site http://www.aquariumsuppliesaustrali...earch_results&search=nitrite+test+kit&x=0&y=0 , on it is a freshwater master test kit which can be used to test things like ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If you can't get one of these master test kits then try and buy the API brand individual ones for ammonia and then nitrite. While your axie is in the fridge you will not need to do any waterchanges on the tank test the water. Don't buy the all in one strips or dip strip brands (sorry not sure of the names of them but the test tube variety - API brand amongst others is far more effective). If you're getting a bit confused, just take a sample of tankwater to the petshop, ask them to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and ask them to write the figures down for each one. Then bring it back, don't buy anything they advise, and post the figures here and someone will help you to understand it.

Surprisingly, the number of axolotls that have survived both temperature and ammonia/nitrite poisoning are quite a few. Most of the aussie (as well as other country) axie owners that are currently visiting this site could probably tell you very similar stories to your own and their trials and tribulations in learning to care for their axolotls.

You guys are amazing, thank you so much for your help. I feel so silly worrying about Eddy so much, but I am and I can't help it!

He went back in the fridge tonight. He spent a day in his tank and I discovered he can't actually float. If he tries to get up to the top of the tank to take a breath he can't do it, loses his footing and lands on his back. A couple of times he managed to roll himself back over and a couple of times I have had to flip him over myself. He had a lot more movement which is actually really good for how he has been, but looks really drunk.

He is yellow and it is not fluffy white on him. Sorry I have tried to load some pictures on and it keeps saying it is too big, and when I decrease their size they come up as blank!!!!! I noticed there is a small amount of white fluffy stuff either coming from his mouth or from around his mouth that I havent noticed before and his fingernails are dark brown which I am not entirely sure they were before, I can't be sure!

I am going to leave him in the fridge for another week which will give his tank a week to come right again, and I will start again, providing he lasts that long, at least you have given me some hope now.

Once again thank you so much for all your advice, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it. I will also get the $30 odd dollar test kit as would be good for my other 3 aquariums as well.

Janeen

I noticed after rereading one of your posts that you stated you maintain the pH level at 7. How do you maintain it? If you are using pH up or down then quit using them. Axolotls are ok in pH levels of about 6.4-8.0 (ours range between 7.0-7.8 in our tanks); there are other more natural methods to raise/lower the pH if it gets lower or higher than the 6.4-8.0 range, and maintain it without using those chemicals which are really only temporary fixes and can be more stressful. While the tank is cycling the more important things to worry about are ammonia/nitrite and nitrate levels, which are managed (while your axolotl is in the tank) by frequent partial waterchanges.

edit:
Also Janeen, if he continues to float, even in his fridge container, then lower the water in the fridge container so his feet rest on the floor and he doesn't float. This will also help him to destress (chill ) a bit. Sounds like you may have a golden albino, look in the photo gallery section they sort of have white type splotches on them (colouration). Are the eyes reddish/pinkish/goldish looking or dark centred? Hold off doing the saltbaths for the moment and keep him in there for a week at least.

Don't strip your tank down though, leave it as is and no waterchanges, fill it up so it's 3/4 or nearly full! Do you have a lid or mesh type lid so when you eventually place him back in it and he doesn't jump out? Once he goes back in then start testing the water regularly and do the frequent partial (20-30%) waterchanges if ammonia/nitrite levels are over 0.

We also cover some of our tanks, hubby is a dab hand at making bamboo covers that cover the top as well as roll up individually (like blinds) to bare/hide, and for feeding, the tank if it gets too bright (some are in the lounge - high traffic area), others are in the spare bedroom, on the floor in the dark (curtains closed).

Good luck and keep us posted!

Also, continuing to take him in and out of the fridge is only adding to the stress.

Yes I was worried about the stress taking him in and out, but again pardon my ignorance how do I tell if he is well enough to come out and go back into his tank?

I am learning and following instructions on cycling my tank, so will leave him in the fridge for a week while I am doing that. So how do I know if it he is ok to put in after a week?

i would gradually increase the amount ofwater in his tub to see if he still floats or is willing to sit on the bottom

Thats the problem, he can't float anymore, he is stuck down the bottom of the tank and cannot make it to the top to take a breathe of air and loses his balance if he tries and that is when he lands on his back.

i have 3 adults 1 loves going up and taking air every couple of days [ normally when he needs a poo ]
the other 2 do it very rarely and always have difficulty, they find it a bit easier now as they are in 6ft tank and have a good run up so to speak. they run across the bottom gaining speed and the push off, it seems to be the only way they can get up there, but i have never really thought it a problem?
why dont you try to put his hide or large pebbles maybe close to one of the tank walls as this will give him something to push up from.