Axie help

Hi,

I have a few questions and worries about my new axolotls.

First of all I'm kind of clueless on how I should be cycling the tank. I figured it basically came down to changing water frequently enough to keep ammonia and nitrite levels down but I want to make sure there isn't anything I need to do that I am missing.

My water is well water which isn't chlorinated to begin with so I haven't added any dechlorinator or anything to it.

I had to leave town for a week and just got back today and had asked my mom to take care of them with feeding, removing wastes and changing some water. However I came back and the feeding part was the only part that seemed to have happened decently. There was a lot of waste in the tank and she said changed it about 50% twice. I tested the ammonia level and was at around 2.0 so I cleaned most of the waste out and changed about 80% of the water. Tested around half an hour later and it was down to .25.

However we saw what appeared to be shedding and quite a significant amount compared to their size and some of the gill frilly part was missing on one of them. The others gills look normal still. The picture of the gill is linked here:



Is this most likely due to the ammonia level and should get better with the fresher water?

Also just kind of curious as to the white eyes of my other axolotl as I haven't seen many that look like her. Is that normal and is she just leucistic or albino or just have white eyes?

This picture is them when we first got them for the gill comparison as well

Thanks everyone!

Unfortunately I can't view the photos. But yes it is likely that the shedding and gill filament loss is due to the high level of ammonia. It was good that you did water changes to get the ammonia down to a safe level. Keeping them in good quality water will aid in their recovery. You could also offer a black tea bath to help soothe their skin. It is important to understand how cycling works. Below is a link on cycling which may help. Give it a read. Whilst your tank is cycling you will need to do frequent water changes and check the parameters daily to ensure the levels of ammonia and nitrite are at safe levels.

Scales Tails Wings and Things, What is Aquarium Cycling? How to Cycle your Tank

Thanks for your response.

Here are the links to the image location if that helps to view them.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/0...snFBOuM-MUOvLL7_0RHQPBnl8eiCbT4uqQ=w1886-h849

and

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?u...91911691&rm=14e11f0faf5f3bb1&zw&sz=w1885-h837

If this doesnt work ill upload them to imgur or something.

Actually try these links my links started acting weird for me as well.

http://i.imgur.com/RTEhkuBs.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/PiWQcNvs.jpg

I can see some difference in gill filaments. The one with the white eyes is an albino.