stress

[BIG J]

How can you tell if an axie is stressed by something e.g. water movement or ammonia and nitrate spikes.

[Jennewt]

Possible signs of stress:
rapid swimming along the edges of the tank
gills pointed forward
gills shrinking
hyperactivity, or total inactivity
changes in color
loss of interest in food
floating for long periods

Maybe other people have some to add to this.

Please note: Excess water flow and ammonia are preventable (or testable). It is far better to prevent any of these things from happening, than to wait and look for symptoms of stress. Once the symptoms occur, the animal's life may already be at risk.

[Daniel]

Two more things to add:
- a curled tail tip (have a look at http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm there is a picture)
- especially in leucistic axolotls: clearly visible veins on tail and back:



The veins are often a sign for bad water conditions (too much ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate), so check your water and change it if this happens.