But i just got him...

Hey guys im new here and i just bought by first Axie today..
he was doing allright at first... but right now, he just had a float and had some trouble getting back down and now is sort of neutral, he is either floating or not.

I have never owned a fish or anything that lives in an aquarium before, and as a kid ive been known in drowning animals. yes as we all once were lol

Ive been given a small 13 litre tank only just for a little while, this week im getting a much bigger tank and its a deffinite as ive allready been looking at them.

The pet store man grabbed a hold of a few items as a start for me and i bought it all and he or she is allready chilling around the tank. The pet store guy gave me a "ELITE" underwater filter, it says its max flow rate is 220 so i got the settings down to the bare minimum in case little Axie was floating because of the flow rate. im not used to this little guy so im hoping its ok... hes spazzing out a little bit, keeps kicking his gills and then settling down. he swims up to graba a hold of air and then goes back down to chill out...

ive read right through your forum, and of course i do have gravel covered base. the pets store gave me the gravel bag, the "ELITE" mini underwater filter for my allready 13L tank and some grozen meat which im guessing is good. i asked him to tell me everything i need to know to keep the Anxie happy and he said "thats all u need"
so i went ahead and cleaned the tank with clean water, and put gravel in it that ive washed through thoroughly and put some clean shells in to keep it decent.

im getting some sand tommorrow, as its 6pm now its kinda late... so i want thig guy to live for a long time. i havent been told when he was last fed, so jsut for the sake of it i will feed him tomorrow morning when the gravel is out, so he doesnt accidently eat the grave with the meat (if he does eat anything i hope).

im stressed out, because its a living thing and i want him to live... so he seems ok, and by the way i dont even know wether its a he or a she. i know there should be swallen glands between his hind legs but i aint picking him up yet, i want him to relax first lol

first thing tommorrow morning, hes out of the tank so i can clean the tank and put bare big sized shells in so theres no gravel... and where do i get the sand from? i read a few posts on the sand issue, but nothing really answers...

sorry for the long novel, i have a dog and this is nothing like it lmao

Hi. not sure what you mean by "ive been known in drowning animals. yes as we all once were lol" but that statement worrys me a little.

axies are swimmers. they will swim around now and then. what is the floating like? does he stay at the top for 1 minute, 5 minutes, how long?

a 13L tank is much too small. good to hear that you are upgrading to something bigger. The filter flow ratte probably isnt causing him to float but it could quite easily cause stress in such a small tank.

you don't need to pick him up to see what sex he is. just take a few pics of where his tail meets the body and post them, people will be happy to tell you.

What sixe is your axie?
Was he on gravel in the pet shop?
Did you cycle your tank before putting the axolotl in?

oh sorry, that statement was lame, i ment as in.. all of us were little at one stage and did silly things, just as i did.

anyway... i have no idea what cycling is :/ ok all i did was put this labelled "Complete water treatment" apparently rapidly neutralises toxic chemicals and conditions the water to make it safe for all aquatic fish as it says on the back of this product.
and i just witnessed Axie eat a bunch of gravel but spat most of it out and managed to eat one and as he was doing it i shook the tank so he got distracted but he went along and ate it.
so i took him out, and got rid of the gravel, cleaned the tank again and put the "complete water treatment" drops of two a Litre as the product states, then put shells in, and tried to feed him in the separate tank but he didnt budge, i got a pair of tweesers and beef heart (as most of the websites say...) and tried to wiggle it in front of him in case he was hungry, but i nothing... i stood there for a good 30 minutes trying. he kept looking up at me, then loking right down and then moved back. so i put him back in the tank with the shelves and so far he is quite happily chilling on the bottom of the tank again, i think he will be ok, just stressed about him...
should i try feeding him again with the tweesers trick? i have no idea what to do here :/ i know ill end up going to the pet store tomorrow and abusing the bastards and of course getting some fish for him to pray upon on if it works

oh and another thing.. he gulps for air and keeps scratching his gills, and i think i can see some white form of tiny little dots on his right gill, only tiny. looks like dirt but its too bright and small to be it?

cycling is a process that lets the "good bacteria" build up in the water to break down ammonia to make the water safe. the process usually takes about a month. because your tank isn't cycled you should be doing 25% water changes daily with de-chlorinated water. you can use a liquid de-chlorinator or you can leave a bucket of water to stand for 1-2 days to disperse the chlorine.

as for feeding, i think the likelyhood is that he is full up with gravel. keep an eye out for gravel that he has passed and try and remove it asap so that he doesn't eat it again. keep trying to feed him, he may just be a bit stressed from all the moving about.

scratching at his gills could mean parasites or other problems. this isnt an area that i'm confident with so i'll let someone else try and help you with that 1. gulping for air isn't a problem. most axies do it now and then.

excellent advise!
ill deffinetly need help witht the gill issue though... i just did it twice as i was typing this message...
any help is so appericiated, this guy is so precious and only so new

Was he eating beef heart at the pet shop? If not then it might take him a few days to start treating it as something edible (i.e. you'll have to try it several times over a period of a few days while not feeding anything else). My experience with beefheart is that unless axolotls are raised on it you've a 50/50 chance of them ever becoming reasonably happy with it. Worms (earthworms) are far easier and more natural (axolotls generally don't catch a lot of cows in the wild).

He will gulp from the surface occasionally - he has lungs you can't see as well as the gills you can. This is called cryptic metamorphosis. If he has a little gravel in his gut this can disrupt his buoyancy. Just keep him in a tank without gravel for a few days and he should clear that out of his system.

Make sure your filter flow isn't very strong - flowing water stresses axolotls and they will succumb to illness after a (very variable) period of time exposed to it.

Make sure the water temperature is below 24 degrees Celsius. These guys need cool water. Too hot for more than a day or so and they will start to get sick.

Regarding the messing with its gills, see if you can see any tiny tiny worms in the tank, on the glass, on the gravel. Some aquariums are infested with these (they're generally harmless) and when they land on axolotl gills they can be irritating. Other than that there shouldn't be a reason for him/her to be messing with its gills.

Good luck.

Keep reading here and http://www.axolotl.org .

-John

Axies are great animals and i can tell that with a bit of extra knowledge you will make a great owner. I'm glad you think he is precious. too many people see pets as disposable. Axies make very good long term pets and a great conversation point.

morph said:

Axies make .... a great conversation point.

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Hehe most people think I'm crazy when I try to talk about them .

The greatest thing to do is get 1 of your friends to feed them by hand. scares the hell out of them every time. people dont realise just how fast they can move when food is involved.

And john, crazy is relitive. we are all crazy compared to someone else... its just some of us are more crazy than others

haha i like it

ive had the light off in my room since sundown, and only the computer screen lights up the room so he is pretty happy. he's still on the bottom so im guessing he isnt as sick as i thought he would be i think he was just swimming... and about the worms, i will deffinetly look at the tank and a close look at him in the morning. the worms are visible to the eye? i wont need a magnifying glass or something? i guess we will find out :/
ive allready got a bucket of water ready next to the table to get cycled and to change in a few days, good to know im going the right way.
just hope the pebble falls right through him! i want to see him feed, and feeding him from my hands is gonna b hard i think.. il have a go at it every once in a while. i kinda noticed hes god big ribs, maybe he's been underfed so he's skinny? i noticed hes got a missing "feather" (gill?) lol mind you, he was in a tank full of 7 other or so axies... so im sure he got into a fight.

the weird thing is that let me tell you, the pet store told me to feed him twice a day. and so i find out you should feed him every two days...
mayeb theres something im missing in knowledge? so exactly, how often and how much? :/

In general, pet shops know very little about the animals they sell and they give you the advice that makes them the most money.

Feed him once every 2 days and he should be happy. Try to get hold of frozen bloodworm blocks. They are convenient and easy to feed and much closer to an axies natural food.

his gill may or may not grow back. its not an issue either way. it just makes him that little bit more special

sezz said:

the weird thing is that let me tell you, the pet store told me to feed him twice a day. and so i find out you should feed him every two days...
mayeb theres something im missing in knowledge? so exactly, how often and how much? :/

Click to expand...

How long/old is he? If he's a juvenile or under 10cm they are generally fed twice a day. over 15cm every 2 days. over 20cm every 3-4 days. This can vary according to season/temperature (usually summer/warmer months they tend to eat more).

Amount will vary according to size. You may need to chop it small. Earthworms are best to feed them if you can get them. Otherwise live bloodworms or blackworms; or alternatively try frozen bloodworm and axolotl pellets.

Don't use fish, they excrete a lot and can carry parasites making your axie sick.

If you intend using meat in the meantime, cut all tendons and fat off, then slice it in thin wormlike slivers (about an inch in length). If it's too long just cut in smaller pieces (1/2 or 1/4s)

You'll know if you overfeed it, if after about an hour you find regurgitated food lying around - which will need to be cleaned up (Invest in a turkey baster, these are helpful little tools to aid in sucking up any poos/uneaten food/waste).

Check out this http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml article

Merged posts

haha more special, i agree

the feeding thing, you'd be happy to know i just fed him a little piece of beef heart and he took a fraction of it. i will get some bloodworm blocks tomorrow and come home and feed him, see if he eats more (considering theres a pebble in there...)

u guys give great advice, this little buddy is pretty happy, ive just gotta get my hands on that bigger tank.

thanx lots

p.s im gonna get a photo of him as advised and put it on here so ucan work out wether its a male or female...

oh and he is about 20 cm? so id gather ure right, feed him once every 2 days?


EDIT: Sezz, if you need to add to your post within minutes of posting then just click the edit button rather than posting a separate post.

damn, he is still scratching. do u think i should do this salt bathe thing u guys talk about? or leave it for a few days untill the tanks "cycles"?
sorry its just hard being a newb

Check out the cycling article I posted. The tank won't cycle in a few days. It can take weeks to cycle a tank.

Just wait for a few days see if he settles in.

The only water treatment you should be using is adding a dechlorinater/water ager/water conditioner to tapwater that removes chlorine and chloramines.

When you do a waterchange it may be easier to prepare your waterbucket of dechlorinated water a couple of hours or even night before, leave it in the same room as the tank so it comes to the same temperature.

The only time I've ever seen my axolotl scratch his gills was a day or two before he developed fungus. Keep a close eye on him and watch out for fuzzy stuff on his gills.

You don't need to wait until your tank cycles before salt-bathing him. Personally, I would start salt bathing now just in case it is fungus.

No. Do not do salt baths now!

Salt baths are not good for axies. They are only used for injuries/illnesses as it is better than parasites/fungus etc. They should not be used "just in case".

okay i wont bathe him now, and good news! he pooped the pebble out this morning lol! ive never seen such a huge rock go through a tiny creature :/

i put a piece of beef heart into the tank so he can anihilate it when im gone, as im going to work. i will be back at 12 lunch time (australia time) to take the meat out if he hasnt eaten it. yeah he keeps scratchign still, just saw him do it then...
so when do u think i should change the tank water? only 20% of it tonight maybe??

yes do 20% waterchanges on the tank - daily would be better (otherwise every 2 days but don't leave it for 4-7 days to change as the toxins will build up in the water too fast especially if tank is small and can harm or cause your axie to get sick).

4 posts merged

holy ****! i just got home and took the meat out, and now i notice most of his red feathery gills are gone and are replaced by some white stuff... damn it what to do!!!! its like as if hes gone bald!!!!

and one of his "gills" is black?! he isnt floating... hes just ... bald and has one black hill that looks like its being eaten away i have no idea what the hell this stuff is

he jsut died... i left the house for 10 minutes...

er wait.. no hes alive just really sick... argh! im going back to the pet store to get a water sample
will elt you know i think im freaking stressed