Fridge temperature

[Rachel]

It sais in the fridging tutorial that the fridge should be between 5-8C, and no lower than 5 degrees.

Axolotl Sanctuary

My housemates do not want the fridge over 4C because at that point apparently food starts to spoil, and we have a lot of food in there. I popped my axolotl in there last night after i salt bathed her because she had a little bit of gill fungus that i want to kill before it gets any worse. I have heard axolotls can live under ice on ponds or lakes so i thought she would be OK. However today she is still in there and i'm starting to worry. Is under 4C too cold for fridging an axie? What if i turned her into an axolotl ice block!
i'm really stressing out, i cant get back to check on her untill this arvo after work. Will she be ok?

[blackdog]

Havent you answered your own question?

It is recommended an axie should go no lower than 5 celc. Wishing it to be different doesn't make it so.........

Your house mates are technically correct about food potentially spoiling over 5 celc, but it is a fine line. You would be very very unlucky to have food go bad if it had been handled correctly while cooking, and the fridge is left closed etc etc

However, lets assume that your housemates can not have their mind's changed (as is their right)

Have you tested the fridge for some "hot spots"?

* Away from the fan?
* Close to the light?
* Close to the door?
* at the top?
* At the bottom?
* in the middle?

Try moving a thermometer around the fridge to try to find a spot in the fridge that is warmer than the rest, they all have them.

Is it really vital to fridge the axie? Based on what i've seen around the forum, salt bath treatments plus clean cool water in the tank is the best treatment for fungus. Is fridging really helping that much anyway?

I've been lucky enough to not need to treat my axies for anything, but frankly i would be reluctant to fridge my axies unless i absolutely had to

thanks
Bren

[Rachel]

no i hadn't actually that’s why i asked... i was wondering if it would cause damage to her, and a lot of people here have had fridge experience and are willing to give friendly advice on the subject.

Kaysie's tutorial on salt bathing recommends a combination of salt bathing and fridging for fungus, and based on what I have read on the forum fridging seems to be the first line of action for many sorts of axolotl illness because it slows down metabolism, kills any nasties and encourages the axolotl to poop. Look at most of the threads in this section, a lot of the replies are along the lines of "put it in the fridge, just in case".

good thinking, i will check for "hotspots"

[Jacquie]

Hi Yellowpebble,

We recommend above 5C, as temperatures lower than this can cause cellular damage. This thread is well worth a read through, particularly the last few posts that highlight the risks involved:

Help im worried ahhhhhh

[Rachel]

thanks thats great!

[Rachel]

She was totally fine. I actually measured the temp of the water itself and it was around 7C... even though the fridge was at 4. Our fridge is really old though and melts sometimes

Her fungus dropped of and she is looking very happy.