Axies going mental!

Hi all

I haven't posted here for aaaages. On the old forums to be exact. So I hope you are all well (both you and your axies!)

I had a MASSIVE problem over the weekend. My 5ft tank sprang a leak overnight (god knows how) and most of the water drained away. Well - not 'away' but onto our carpets etc. Which is a problem in itself. When I woke and discovered this the 4 axies in the tank were on JUST covered with water. Luckily I keep about 20 litres of water ready for emergencies so I got them topped up and the leak plugged. I filled some more containers and allowed them to stand to 24 hrs to remove the chlorine and then topped up the tank. Its not quite half full at the moment.

The axies seemed ok yesterday and fed as usual. But today they are ALL frantic. They seem to try and tie themselves into knots and swim erratically around the tank really quickly. Ive removed some large rocks and 'furniture' to avoid injury.

Does anyone know whats going on? All 4 of them are doing it. Are they just stressed?

Thanks for reading

Do you know any water parameters, especially ammonia and nitrite? I suppose that the temperature ist okay...
Did you change anything else, what about a filter, is there any and if so what happend to it when the water drained away?

Just checked the ammonia and nitrate levels (dont have a nitrite check kit). Ammonia is about 2ppm but the nitrate is through the roof for some reason. Temp is around 22deg So i've got them out of there for the moment. I have another tank which seems ok but there are close to a dozen young axies in that tank.

I have a large Eheim external filter which is working ok (think its the 2222 model)

Any ideas why the nitrate level should suddenly shoot up?

I suspect that because you have had to top up the tank with more water, the nitrates have come from the new water. Even though you have aged the new water, because there is more new water then old the nitrates are higher then should be.
Basically losing most of the water has affected the good bacteria levels and they need to become established again.
I would carry out 20% daily or every other day water changes and hopefully it will re balance things out.

Cheers Becky - I see where the problem is. Its basically like cycling the tank from new.

Since being moved for over an hour they seem to be less erratic though are still not themselves. Ive noticed that one of the Axies is floating on its back alot although its righting itself too. Is this anything to worry about?

Can exposure to high nitrate levels cause permanent damage? Or will they slowly revert to normal? Does this experience cause them any pain? (not sure i want to know the answer....)

Get the water changes going and hopefully they will settle. The higher nitrates may make them feel agitated so the sooner it comes down the better. Gasping at the waters surface and skin problems leading on to fungal infections can also be caused by this. If they havent been exposed to it for too long they should recover.

I do not think that there were this many bacteria in the water, but some would have been. Some will also have died with all the dried up decoration, plants and so on (whatever you have in your tank...).

Once again I have to ask for the filter - was it working all the time although there was a leak in the tank?
The concern behind my question is the following: If the filter was turned off or the water was not cycling properly, then the bacteria in your filter will have died and by turning it on again you would have blown all the dead biomass back into your tank. And additionally the filter will have to cycle again.

Well they seemed to be ok yesterday I only noticed their frenzied activity today after adding more water this morning. So hopefully they will only have exposed to the higher levels for a few hours rather than days.

They haven't (and arent) gasping for air at the surface and they all have absolutely fantastic skin! :lick:

Thanks for all the help and advice. Feel free to keep it coming

Phoenixtear said:

If the filter was turned off or the water was not cycling properly, then the bacteria in your filter will have died and by turning it on again you would have blown all the dead biomass back into your tank. And additionally the filter will have to cycle again.

Click to expand...

The filter was turned off for a period so this may well be part of the problem

In fact the more I think about it the more it makes sense.

Thanks for filling in the gaps Dan