A week of inactivity followed by a sudden spasm. (Help!)

Hello everyone.

Hoping for some sound advice.

TL,DR: Axolotl was inactive for a week out of character, then seemed to get better for a few days, suddenly followed by a violent spasm and appearing to be dead. Then seemed okay again. Now in fridge.


We have a 18 month old Axolotl. Her name is Nibbles.
She is about a foot long and naturally coloured.

She has been happy and healthy up until a week ago.

She was very inactive all week, sitting next to the side of the tank where my partner and I sit on the sofa.

Struggled to swim, seeming heavy and working hard to swim to the top of the tank when she wanted to gulp air.
Preferring to walk around where she typically swims very actively all day.

She has been feeding fine throughout this time.

After not seeing her perk up after a few days and noticing her eyes seemed cloudy, I did a water change, around 20%.
Tried lights off for a few days with the hood off as the water was around 23 degrees Celsius.

After this she perked up and became more active and noticed an improvement in her behavior.

4 days later, my partner went to feed her with a live earthworm, Nibbles suddenly went into spasm which looks like a seizure.
She fell onto her back and turned completely White and layed stiff.

Convinced that Nibbles had suddenly died my partner called me, I rushed home to comfort her and sort our poor little lotl out.

When I got home (10 minutes later) Nibbles had come to and was sat in the tank okay.
She even went to try and eat the earthworm.

After putting her in a container though, she spat the worm out.


I have decided it is time to fridge her to make sure she has a chance to recover.
She's in a large clean tub in tank water as of today and the fridge is roughly 8 degrees Celsius.

Can anyone give further advice?
Is a salt bath necessary? (I cannot see anything that appears fungal)

The following has been the case since we bought her last September and we have had no problems up until now.
She lives in a 100 litre tank.
Fine sand substrate with large river pebbles.
No other tank mates.
Oxygenating plants and floating water lettuce.
A small pump is in the tank with the outflow pointed at the tank wall to diffuse the slow so to not cause a current.
Air pump with an airstone that is on occasionally.
One day light and one actinic light in the hood. They are on for about 10 hours a day.
Water changes typically every 3 weeks due to plants and filter.

She is fed every 2-3 days on either a live earthworm bought from a parasite free culture by a live petfood company, or a cube of freeze-dried tubifex worm

Have you tested the parameters for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH? What were the readings? The temperature is high in the tank so you were right to try to cool it. It would be best to get the temperature below 20celsius. I would suggest replacing the hood with a mesh lid as this would allow more air flow and evaporation which will help keep it cool and maybe invest in some fans as well. Water changes every three weeks doesnt seem like enough but it would be good to see what the readings are for the parameters.

I would not do salt baths as this would only irritate your axi further. Keep her a tub of cool, clean, dechlorinated water with 100% Water changes daily.

Didn't get a chance to do a test on the parameters as that requires me to take a sample to a local shop and never had time when I work during the week.
PH test was a 6.5 - 7

Instead I did a 100% change on the tank and cleaned the filter sponges. Leaving the tank to cycle whilst Nibbles is in the fridge. A week should be fine as existing bacterium will be living on the bogwood and filter.

Definitely need to sort out a decent cooling solution for her tank for the summer, mesh is a good idea.

I'd remove lighting, but it's kind of important for the plants. I do respect her life is far more important than any plants though so I might move the plants out for the summer I guess.


More importantly, has no one seen this kind of illness in an axolotl before?
I have read it cannot be a siezure because of their nerve system.
Possibly a heart attack?

She seems to be doing okay in the fridge. I gave her a small piece of food yesterday and she has kept this down well.
She doesn't seem too stressed, mostly idle or occasionally swimming around a little whenever I check on her.
Gills are back and relaxed and tail is straight unless I am moving her for a water change.
Been changing water with chilled bottled spring water so far and have started to leave tap water out for dechlorination for her daily changes. (She is normally in tap water in the tank and always has been.)