Question: Axolotl setup and stress sigh questions, Worried..

Hello! I am newbie with axolotl and right now I have 2 axolotls, one leucistic and one gfp wild type. They are growing really fast and I am noticing some stress sighs and I can't seem to figure out what's causing them the stress

My tank setup is 40 gallon tank with fluval 406 with 30 inch spray bar facing upwards to the surface of the water with flow rate turned down to half which is about 200 gph and also it's connected with 1/10 hp aquaeuro chiller. For filter media I have basic foams on the bottom tray and other baskets are filled with biohome ultimate which is about a little over 3kg. I keep my water temperature between 60f~63f, the chiller automatically goes Into safe mode and the water temp goes up few degrees and then chills again after 30 minuets..

The water quality test indicates that there is no ammonia no nitrite but very very little nitrate, ph is about 7.8

The weird thing about it is that the leucistic's tail tip is curled but the gills are not and for gfp wild type the gills are curled but the tail tip is not so I am very confused what's going on, they eat really really well and active, specially the leucistic he/she swims around floats and chills on the tree and leaves. The gfp wild type is only active when I'm around him/her and follows me around when I move one side to another.

There is very little amount of water movement at the bottom of the tank but not enough to push them. The leucistic is little over 4 inch and gfp is around 4 inch, the leucistic is thicker than the wild type. They are almost the same age born In February.

Please help! And thanks for taking time reading this!

Pictures of the axies and tank might help us. Curled gills aren't always a sign of stress. For some axies it's normal for the gills to point slightly forward and if the gills are big then even low water movement can make them curl a little. If the gills are curled all the way close to the eyes then it's usually because of stress.

these are the pictures of my axolotls the gfp wild type`s gills seems to be very curled but leucistics aren't curled that much.. I tried to get pictures of the tail tip but the camera just won't focus on such small area, in the picture you can't see it but it is curled at the tip (leucistic)

Also my tank setup

the temperature is on 61~64, since it's getting hotter here the temperature changes and re chiles in like 30~1 hour

the 30 inch spray bar is facing up to the surface of water, not to much current, and very little movement at the bottom, from examining little dust particles in the water. its in around 200 gph

i feed them bloodworms and i use the turkey baster to put the food in the bowl and the food stays solid still, and that tells me there is not much movement at the bottom.

From what I've heard, bloodworms aren't suitable for adult axolotls and should be on earthworms by the time their mouths are large enough. That may be part of your problem, because the temperature seems fine, and they have a lot of space in there. Is there a lot of light in the area on a continual basis? They can also be irritated by excessive light, and really don't require it either. Hopefully they feel better soon, that can't be a good feeling for either party involved

Thank you for reply!

OK! So I found out that the flow rate was still a little too much for the Axies and I have wrapped sponges on the spray bar to reduce the out force and now the leucistic`s tail is perfectly stress free now!

But the Wild type is sick due to swollen throat by something and now in the fridge,, it`s been a day now and I`m already seeing the wild type healing.

Right now they are around 6 inches now and Im feeding pellets. soon i will be breeding worms for infinite food

Could you post a pic of the swollen throat, and maybe an earlier pic to show the difference between then and now? Is there anything in the tank the axie could have unsuccessfully tried to swallow? I can't see any pebbles or anything like that in your tank. There is another recent post (with pics) where someone's axie has a swollen throat - perhaps that thread may provide some answers.

And remember to do 100% daily water changes while it's in the fridge (fridge dechlorinated water for the water change so there's no temperature difference between the old water and the new) and to feed sparingly, as its metabolism will slow in the lower temperature (though interestingly, its healing may speed up). Ideal lotl fridging temperature is apparently about 10C but as that will spoil all your human food, you'll have to go with 5C to 8C.

Oh, and remember to avoid your fridge's 'cold spot' (usually in the middle, at the back, low down). Check how cold the part of the fridge your lotl is in by putting a thermometer in a glass of water. (I did read a horror story about an axie's bottom half freezing solid when the power went off and the fridge reset itself to a lower temperature, and I know bottles of water freeze in one part of my own fridge - cold spots are common.)

Good luck with your lotl. Please let us know how it progresses.

the first two pictures are when I first noticed the symptoms and the third one is the most recent one that triggered my paranoia...

so far I am Following the instructions on how to fridge the axie and since I do not know what the illness is I did not proceed the salt bath..

if anyone know whats wrong with her please help.... she came to me very stressed and I am trying and researching alot to fix her..

I thank you very much for taking time!