Check my levels!

[Animal_addict_88]

Current readings for my axolotl tank:

GH- 180> (that's the highest it goes to)
KH- 0
pH- 7.0
NO2/3- 0 for both

Any obvious issues?
I ask because this is normal for his tank but his gills are clearly unhappy (very little 'feathering').

It's been a bit of a rollercoaster with this boy and he's undersized for his age. Just trying to figure out what more I can do.
Only think I can think it's maybe the pH is a little low. Currently looking into adding bicarbonate of soda to raise both pH and KH??
Alternatively, I have calcium powder for my gecko already. Could I add a solution of that?
No idea tbh lol

Thanks x

 

[Animal_addict_88]

Ok. So!
I checked the water straight out of the trap and it's soft water, as expected. So CLEARLY it was something in the tank.
I did a bit of digging and saw several posts about black sand raising the GH of the water. Not positive it's that but figured it was worth a try.

Anyway, I have now removed the cast majority of the sand from the tank (not easy!). I didn't clean any other items and only did a very small water change, so it shouldn't have disrupted the tank's cycle too much. Still plenty of good bacteria in there!

Just letting it settle for now and will see what that does

 

[wolfen]

the ideal gh levels are 7° - 14°, with the sand in yours was 10°, although low gh can be bad and cause issues there is no documentation about high levels being harmful.
your kh is very bad and likely to cause ph swings which will be bad for your axolotl and filtration.
although test sticks are handy to warn about problems they aren't very accurate, plus ammonia also needs testing.
read about and use holtfreters solution Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity
for levels etc.. Water Quality Explained: How It Can Affect Your Axolotl's Health - WSAVA 2015 Congress - VIN

 

[Animal_addict_88]

I've read that before and can see I need to raise the KH and pH, without raising the GH.

But how exactly do I do that? What aquarium/household product do I use? Do I need to add cooled boiled water instead of tap?
I'm finding loads of background/detailed info online, but little advice on what to physical add to/ remove from the tank

 

[Animal_addict_88]

UPDATE:
I added half a teaspoon of baking soda to the water and left it 30 mins before retesting.
The KH is now between 40 and 80, and the pH is now closer to 7.5!

The GH is still off the scale, but I'm hoping that will come down in time with partial water changes now the sand is gone, though, as mentioned about, it doesn't seem to be too much of an issue.

Honestly, I'm not sure why the water levels in the tank are so different to water from the tap, but hopefully we're on the right track now.

Any other suggestions or advice is always welcome!
Could this have been the reason his gills are so small?

 

[wolfen]

for a male he is quite small, make sure he is getting a varied balanced diet.
always make sure the water is oxygenated, use 50% holtfreters + 0.1g/l magnesium sulphate, holtfreter etc.. contains the required salts/minerals to keep axolotls healthy and salt has been found to have a possitive effect on the growth of the gills, see attached file.

 

[Animal_addict_88]

for a male he is quite small, make sure he is getting a varied balanced diet.
always make sure the water is oxygenated, use 50% holtfreters + 0.1g/l magnesium sulphate, holtfreter etc.. contains the required salts/minerals to keep axolotls healthy and salt has been found to have a possitive effect on the growth of the gills, see attached file.

Yeh we've had a few issues with him to say the least. He went off his food for a long time and would bring up anything he did eat. He's eating much better now. We aren't offering anything new, he's just keeping things down better. Even now if I miss 1 feeding day, the next day he struggles to keep food down. It's been a big learning curve as I'm use to much hardier exotica whereas he is super sensitive.
Then again, if the water has been off all this time, maybe it's all part of the same thing. There was a suggestion he might be a dwarf though, so unsure at this date. Certainly he seems to have stopped growing at 11cm and he's over a year old now.

I added a little API aquarium salts a while back and that was when his eating got better. It's that similar to this Holtfreter's stuff? Or do I need to buy that separately?

 

[Animal_addict_88]

Levels all seem within range now and Ron (my axolotl) seems happy enough. He's exploring the tank in his quietly curious way lol.
I also grabbed some ammonia testing strips today (all I could get at short notice, but I'll order the more accurate testing kit) and the ammonia is reading 0, so that's good.
pH is up nearer 7.5, KH is between 40-80, Nitrite is 0 and nitrate is low, but not nothing. All this gives me hope that I haven't crashed the nitro cycle with the removal of the substrate

I added 1tsp (split over 2 doses) bicarbonate of soda yesterday, then an additional half TSP today, plus 2 heaped tbsp of API freshwater aquarium salts.
The levels seem to be holding for now, but I'll be testing daily for the next week while, and will do another partial water change (and try to sook up the last of the black sand) in a day or so.

Will keep ppl updated though as the new Axy arrives next Thurs!
Fingers crossed this is us finally getting to the bottom of the issues we've been having
Maybe Ron will even start growing now!

 

[Animal_addict_88]

This is him/the tank today x

 

[wolfen]

be careful and ready to transfer one axolotl into another tank if one becomes larger than the other as cannibalism may occur.
holtfreters is solution of mixed salts and minerals (bit like tonic salts for salamanders) and is used for general health and also for treatment of various ailments.

 

[Animal_addict_88]

Yeh that's deffo a worry for future me lol. Hoping ickle Ronikins will grow a bit better now I've got the water parameters more in line with his needs. Failing that, I have several empty tanks sitting around from animals who have moved on but I haven't actually cleared the space!

Thank so much for everyone's input!
Will update

Side note, axolotls are so much more complicated than is generally understood!