Illness/Sickness: Floating, not wanting food, help?

[Eric]

Mariah, have you recently discovered the ability to highlight/underline/bold and alter text colors!?! Seems you sure do enjoy it!

[Mariah]

Yes, I have. : )

Are you making fun of me?

[Eric]

Not at all.

But seriously...Lovely Axies...you need to figure out the parameters in the tank. Once those are found, it can either rule out or help suggest what may be the issue.

The kit should give you ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels. You may have read that floating can result from impaction, which can be due to ingested gravel. Do you know whether they have been passing waste or not?

And lastly, Oxygen levels should not be an issue (if you are still wondering about the sitting near the air stone or opening their mouths). How routinely are you doing water changes, and what %?

[Shannon]

LovelyAxies,

You have come to this forum seeking advice from those who are very experienced with axolotls. We all thank you for making that choice.

I know you believe you are doing the correct thing by adjusting the pH to remove the alkalinity and if you had fish, you would be doing EXACTLY right for them in more cases than not. However, as you know, an axolotl is not a fish, that's most likely one of the reasons you chose them.

Unfortunately, most pet shops treat them like fish because since they are fully aquatic, they should be. With axolotls, the pH actually isn't a big deal. Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and temperature are.

For example, pet shops will tell you that gravel is fine, well, if you don't believe us, do a search on the forum about gravel and see how many unfortunate souls you find.

We love all axolotls, that's why we are here. We already love yours and would love the opportunity to meet them in the Gallery. We are really trying to help here. We're not attacking and most of us wish that Petshops couldn't even sell axolotls because they don't understand their needs. We do. Let us help.

[Lovely Axies]

well, how do ypu test the ammonia, nitrate, nitrite then? Please elaborate as the saleslady in the aquarium said that the solutions for lowering the pH would sort out the ammonia etc.

[Eric]

You need a specific water test kit to test the ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites...to be honest pH has nothing to do with the toxin levels in the tank.

[Justin]

Originally Posted by Shizeric

to be honest pH has nothing to do with the toxin levels in the tank.

Oh but it does. The higher your pH is, the more toxic it makes ammonia.

[Lovely Axies]

thats what i thought, i will try to get the test kits tomorrow but I have no idea where my nearest aqaurium shops are. Does anybody live in Napier, Hawkes Bay, NZ?

P.S. This afternoon I got Nim-a-nim to eat. He only had one pellet but he ate out of my hand and thats an improvement. I will try to get him more interested in the food on sunday. Onyx is very greedy and happily ate around seven pellets out of my hand, also, Nim bit my hand!! It felt funny but the expression on his fae at the time was hillarious, he couldn't work out how to eat my whole hand so he steeped back and gave me a mournful look. Very very cute!!! Thanks again for all your advices

[Shannon]

Originally Posted by Greatwtehunter

Oh but it does. The higher your pH is, the more toxic it makes ammonia.

Changing the pH does not change the amount of ammonia that is in the tank. I.e. Lowering the pH does not lower the ammonia.

@LovelyAxies - Glad to hear he ate something for you! Please continue with the water changes as was suggested before. Are you using a de-chlorinator? Some of the brand names are Aquasafe, Prime, etc. This is necessary for all water changes. If you are, very good. The water in our taps has some scary stuff in it! Take care and please keep us updated.

[JetNess]

Originally Posted by Lovely Axies

well, how do ypu test the ammonia, nitrate, nitrite then? Please elaborate as the saleslady in the aquarium said that the solutions for lowering the pH would sort out the ammonia etc.

Sorry to hear your axie isn't doing the best. (Mine isn't either) I just wanted to say that the people on this forum are ace and really try to help. When I got my axie, Jet, the people at the pet store/aquarium seemed to know what they were talking about, but the truth was they knew little - if anything. I also had to get a test kit for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite - but it was pretty easy to find. Once you locate a pet shop or aquarium, you should have no trouble finding what you need.

Good luck.

[Mariah]

Justin, you are correct about the relationship between very high PH and ammonia toxicity, however Lovely Axie's PH is nearly perfect at 7.4. We are much more concerned about the other water parameters such as ammonia since her tank was set-up recently and has not cycled properly.

[Justin]

Originally Posted by dragonlady

Changing the pH does not change the amount of ammonia that is in the tank. I.e. Lowering the pH does not lower the ammonia.

Maybe you should re-read my statement. I never said anything about it changing the amount of ammonia. I'll give you an example of what I mean: Ammonia at a pH of 8.5 is more toxic than the same amount at a pH of 7.0. Most people don't realise this and that is why I put my statement, not because Lovely Axies pH was too high.

[Shannon]

My apologies, Grtewtehunter, I should have made myself clearer. I knew what you were saying and yes, you are absolutely correct. I just did not want Lovelyaxies to misunderstand your statement based on the misinformation she received from her Petshop where she was told that adjusting her pH would correct the ammonia, etc.

[Lovely Axies]

I do put dechlorinator in the water, and you say i should do 10L water changes daily? Thank you for your congratulations on feeding Nim finally! I wll trry get ammonia, nitrate, nitrite testers today

Thanks again, Lexii

[Mariah]

Any updates on your little guy? Did you discover any water quality issues when you did your test? I like to understand the conditions that cause health issues for axies, so I can take preventative measures for my herd.

[A. Macxicanum]

ARAV

Good place to find Vets that are interested in, and have knowledge for Herps. More Reptiles of course.... as they are typically less delicate than Amphibians........ but a good resource and or starting place none the less. Would like an update!