Curled gills after entering new tank and ammonia spike

[inuratus]

So I've had my axolotl for 3 months and for all of those months he lived in a tub until his tank was cycled. So when it finished cycling I plopped him in. His gills immediately curled forward. He's never done this at any time when he was in his tub. I thought hmm parameters might be off. So I checked the ph lvl and it was below 6.5. I thought that might be the culprit. So I did some water changes and it stabilized back to the high 7's. He still throughout that remained gills forward. I thought perhaps the flow of the filter was too high so I got a air valve and adjusted it. Each passing day he looked the same. His tank parameters have been great throughout the time of a week until yesterday. I see that I have 0.5ppm of ammonia. I did a water change and dosed with prime. Today I checked and it was at the same level as the day prior. This tank is new and has been cycled for about 2 wks. Is it normal to get an ammonia spike so soon? Should I keep doing water changes until it gets back on track or do I need to do something else?

Here are some pictures of him and his gills.

 

[axie owner]

i do know that young axolotls can get curved gills much more than adults. how much oxygen do you have inside your tank? the reason his gills could be curved is because of low amounts of oxygen in your tank. i used to have the same problem with my axolotl so i got a bubbler and that gave the water more oxygen and that his gills stopped curving. if he starts to float put him into a tub with a bubbler and keep an eye on him.

 

[Calgarycoppers]

What are all the tank parameters including temp

 

[inuratus]

What are all the tank parameters including temp

Right now :
ph 6.8
ammonia 0.5ppm
nitrite 0
nitrates 5pmm

Temp 64.5 F

I have been doing 50% water changes to get the ammonia down and then dosing with prime. I have stopped feeding (this would be the first day with no food ) as to not create too much additional ammonia.

 

[inuratus]

i do know that young axolotls can get curved gills much more than adults. how much oxygen do you have inside your tank? the reason his gills could be curved is because of low amounts of oxygen in your tank. i used to have the same problem with my axolotl so i got a bubbler and that gave the water more oxygen and that his gills stopped curving. if he starts to float put him into a tub with a bubbler and keep an eye on him.

I have purchased an air stone. Just have to wait til it gets to me.

 

[Calgarycoppers]

The fact that you have ammonia means your tank isnt fully cycled - you are better off tubbing your axos and adding more waste or pure ammonia to get it cycled faster without risking your axolotls health

Right now :
ph 6.8
ammonia 0.5ppm
nitrite 0
nitrates 5pmm

Temp 64.5 F

I have been doing 50% water changes to get the ammonia down and then dosing with prime. I have stopped feeding (this would be the first day with no food ) as to not create too much additional ammonia.

 

[inuratus]

The fact that you have ammonia means your tank isnt fully cycled - you are better off tubbing your axos and adding more waste or pure ammonia to get it cycled faster without risking your axolotls health

I jut want to emphasize that it was fully cycled when I put him in the tank. It wasn't til the ph crashed after a few days that it seemed like the cycle stopped.

And okay. I'll tub him again until the tank is ready. Thank you.

 

[inuratus]

Okay so I am trying to re-cycle the tank. I wrote another topic on this site about the ph of my tank. My ph has dropped and remained around 7.0. None of the ammonia has been processing. Is this related to the low ph? Is there something else I'm missing? I've heard people talk about hardness and such and not sure if it has to do with that. It seems like every time my tank processes large amounts of waste, the ph crashes. It took 3 months to cycle the tank and my little guy was so happy to be in his new home, but now he's tubbed again and I just don't want it to take another 3 months for it to cycle.

 

[inuratus]

The fact that you have ammonia means your tank isnt fully cycled - you are better off tubbing your axos and adding more waste or pure ammonia to get it cycled faster without risking your axolotls health

If you could read the post above this one and get back to me it would be greatly appreciated. I'm just at a loss for what to do.

 

[Calgarycoppers]

pH at 7 is fine and not considered low. It it drop tp 6.4 or lower you may need a water change as it can affect the cycle.

Add a heater to speed up the cycle and be adding nitrifying bacteria to help as well.

THIS is my cycling handout and tracking sheet - hopefully it helps

Okay so I am trying to re-cycle the tank. I wrote another topic on this site about the ph of my tank. My ph has dropped and remained around 7.0. None of the ammonia has been processing. Is this related to the low ph? Is there something else I'm missing? I've heard people talk about hardness and such and not sure if it has to do with that. It seems like every time my tank processes large amounts of waste, the ph crashes. It took 3 months to cycle the tank and my little guy was so happy to be in his new home, but now he's tubbed again and I just don't want it to take another 3 months for it to cycle.