We Are In Mourning

Hi,
If any body could please explain to me why we lost our daughters Axie Alecia Moore, it would be greatly appreciated. She went on a hunger strike. She last ate food five or six days ago, and she gulped down five small pieces of prawn. That was the last time we were able to feed her. She rejected all other attempts to feed her. She was also very skinny she had been since the day we got her. We were never able to help her to gain weight. The water was tempt was cool, PH was neutral. Her water was clean. My daughter is devastated. I do not have the heart to go through this again. Were we just unlucky or are all Axies that hard to keep.

It might be worth mentioning that out axie never had very big gills they were always just a couple of milimeters long. She was adult when we bought her she was pink with grey toes. I should also mention that she was pink but her tail was much darker than the rest of her body. Is this a sign that she was old maybe older than we though? What does an old axie look like, are there any visible signs of old age?

Please if you have any idea's why she died I would like to hear them, my kids want another one.
Thank you
Morathi

Sorry about your daughter's axie It could be many reasons why your axie got sick - if she was skinny when you bought her perhaps she was already ill and there was nothing you could do?

However, it would help if you posted up all your water parameters if you know them. Temperature, PH, and more importantly ammonia. I am not sure if you have tested for ammonia from your post - it just says the water was clean. Was the tank cycled when you bought your axie?

Also what else were you trying to feed her besides prawn? Often it is better to feed axolotls what they are used to and slowly get them adjusted to something else.

Without knowing more, it sounds like your axolotl was ill when you bought her so next time maybe get one from a reputable breeder so you will know the axie is healthy. There is a section on this forum you can ask around http://www.caudata.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=51.

Thank you so much for replying so fast, I do not know the amonia levels in the water, my daughter would change half to three quaters of the water weekly, the ph was 7.1. Food was a variety of things prawns, calamari, worms, crickets, slivers of pork of beef. As for cycling the tank, I have to say being new to this I knew nothing about it. I was told buy this tank, it is the right size for her, feed her a cricket once every day or every other day. It is better for them to be a bit hungry than to eat too much. I was not told her water had to be cold. Any information I got out of them I had force it out. Then information they gave me was also wrong. It infuriates me that addle the brained twits in pet stores are allowed to sell such beautiful little creatures and let the new owner walk away completely uneducated in how the animal should be cared for.
Morathi

Yes, you are right about many pet stores. It is very frustrating to hear the bad advice given out to many people about axolotls. Anyway, in future if you have questions lots of people here can help you out

A few suggestions for future:
-Only do 20% water changes weekly. 50-75% is too high and can make it stressful for your axolotl as the water is changing too much and it won't let the tank cycle
-Cycle your tank before you get another axolotl. Here is some information about how to do it: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml. You can cycle your tank with your axie in it but it is more risky and you have to be more involved in checking the water
-Do ammonia testing as a minimum. You can buy ammonia kits at most pet stores and aquariums. Ammonia should always be 0 once the tank is cycled - anything more and it can make axolotls ill. You should also test nitrate (should be 10-40) and nitrite (should be 0).
-Yep water has to be cold. Ideally under 20C... and if it gets over 24C for more than a day or so it can lead to death. You can get a thermometer to stick on the tank.
-Your food sounds pretty good. Crickets and worms are good. Beef heart or other meat can be fatty so should only be used as a treat. Not sure about prawns and calamari as I have not used them. You can also feed bloodworms, brine shrimp, salmon pellets, snails (with shells removed) and slugs.
-PH is fine. Anything between 6.5-8 is good. It needs to be stable so don't use any chemicals to alter it.

Anyway, hope that helps if you plan on getting another axie!

mine like prawns for a chnage, but prefer earthworms as a regular meal.... one went on a diet till i stopped feeding prawns on a regular basis..
I bought an axie from a shop and it died within a week, it had to have been ill before we got it, but it showed no signs of fungi or bacteria.. sometimes it can be a hit and miss thing..

Sounds to me as though the axolotl had a rough start to begin with and unfortunately it didn't really improve.
If you were taking out up to 75% of the water weekly then possibly the ammonia levels and healthy bacteria levels were all over the place.
As for the pet stores , they are in it to make money. I was lucky, i got my axolotls from an aquatic fish store. I know the breeder who supplies them and the store gave me info on this site before i left the shop.
I visit the shop on a regular basis and can't fault them for care.
Now you have more information on care of an axolotl, maybe you would like to try again. Read and re-read all the care information you can find.
Set up your tank and let it cycle.
Find a good store, ask around.
Look for a healthy looking axolotl, stear clear of the skinny one that just looks like it needs a feed and a bit of TLC, you could be bringing home more trouble then its worth.
Good luck....keep us posted

Thank you everybody for all the help and information you have given, you have been fantastic. I will not even buy a goldfish in the future without doing lots of homework first, I know I should have done the homework first with Alecia Moore, but after talking to the man at the pet shop I really thought all would be fine. This was really a very hard lesson for both my daughter and I. Taking the little body out of the tank was so much harder than I ever expected. I have four kids and they were all so in love with her, yesterday there were a few tears shed. We will have another axie eventually, not quite ready for another one yet. I will keep you posted. You guys are all fantastic. This site is second to none. Thanks for everything. I will continue to sticky beak around this site, it is one of my favourite.
Thank You
Morathi

In the future, you might look towards acquiring axolotl eggs or juveniles instead of adults from breeders. If you raise the axolotl itself, you're less likely to obtain poor specimens that you can't really help.