Overfeeding? Depression?

ThisFish

ThisFish

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Okay, so today I went to this fish store to test my water. The guy there said there was a bit of nitrate (My tank is cycled). I feed my axolotl who is maybe 5 or 6 inches 1 bloodworm cube daily, Half in the morning half in the evening. The man at the store said I should only be feeding maybe four days a week at the max. Is this right? Have I been doing it wrong all this time? :confused:He says overfeeding may be the cause of the nitrate. Also when I went today I asked about getting brine shrimp sticks and he said to just stick to bloodworms. Ive read bloodworms are more of a treat though...:confused:

A little while ago my other axolotl passed away for unknown reasons. (the man at the store claims it was due to overfeeding). Him and my living axolotl used to play together and swim around but now after Herb passed away my axie Jupiter seems a bit slow. Is he depressed? Do I need a new tank mate for him?

Alright so say I do get another axie how do I introduce and bond them together? I get the feeling axies can be territorial and don't want any harm to come of mine. Any tips? Also how do I tell the gender? Mine is only about 5 inches so it's hard to tell. I don't want babies. Will a male and female breed?
 
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First, the fish store guy is wrong - bloodworms are not nutritionally complete for older axolotls. Earthworms are. Many carnivore pellets are.

Second, 5-6 inches - probably still not full grown. (Do you know how old he is?) Adults can be fed every other days, but if they are still growing, feed them as much as they will eat (but don't leave any leftovers in the tank.)

An axolotl's belly should be about as wide as it's head. (Juveniles tend to be a bit slimmer since they are growing.) So, unless your now-decessed axolotl was very much fatter, it wasn't that it was eating too much.

Third, was the nitrIte high, or nitrAte? Nitrate will go up between water changes. Nitrite shouldn't. (Ammonia and nitrite should both be 0 if everything is right in your tank.) I recommend getting your own test kit (the liquid ones, not the strips.)

If nitrite was elevated, it could mean something has damaged the biofilter (do you dechlorinate your water when you do water changes?), or some leftover food or poop got missed and is overloading the biofilter. Either way, you need to monitor the situation and do water changes to bring down the level if it is too high

If it is nitrate that is high (like, over 40 ppm), do more frequent or larger water changes to keep it below 40 ppm.

How big is your tank? what kind of filter?

Axolotls aren't territorial, but they do need a big enough tank. 20 gal for 1 and 10 more gal for each additional one is considered reasonable. Male and female will breed. Usually, axolotls will get along fine, as long as they are within an inch of length of each other. (Otherwise, the smaller one may become dinner.) However, some axolotls are nippier than others.
 
LSuzuki said:
First, the fish store guy is wrong - bloodworms are not nutritionally complete for older axolotls. Earthworms are. Many carnivore pellets are.

Second, 5-6 inches - probably still not full grown. (Do you know how old he is?) Adults can be fed every other days, but if they are still growing, feed them as much as they will eat (but don't leave any leftovers in the tank.)

An axolotl's belly should be about as wide as it's head. (Juveniles tend to be a bit slimmer since they are growing.) So, unless your now-decessed axolotl was very much fatter, it wasn't that it was eating too much.

Third, was the nitrIte high, or nitrAte? Nitrate will go up between water changes. Nitrite shouldn't. (Ammonia and nitrite should both be 0 if everything is right in your tank.) I recommend getting your own test kit (the liquid ones, not the strips.)

If nitrite was elevated, it could mean something has damaged the biofilter (do you dechlorinate your water when you do water changes?), or some leftover food or poop got missed and is overloading the biofilter. Either way, you need to monitor the situation and do water changes to bring down the level if it is too high

If it is nitrate that is high (like, over 40 ppm), do more frequent or larger water changes to keep it below 40 ppm.

How big is your tank? what kind of filter?

Axolotls aren't territorial, but they do need a big enough tank. 20 gal for 1 and 10 more gal for each additional one is considered reasonable. Male and female will breed. Usually, axolotls will get along fine, as long as they are within an inch of length of each other. (Otherwise, the smaller one may become dinner.) However, some axolotls are nippier than others.
Click to expand...

I do mean nitrate. I do have a liquid test kit. Ammonia and nitrite are at zero.
30 Gallon tank. Sponge filter.

Actually the axolotl herb was very skinny.

I have not fed Jupiter for the past few days because of the guy, will he be okay???
Thanks so much!:D
 
Nitrate is fine as long as you keep it low. Axolotls are a bit more sensitive to it than fish, so you should keep it below 40 ppm for them - lower is better. And yay! ammonia and nitrates are 0! :happy:

Just start feeding Jupiter as much as he will eat and keep up the good tank care. Axolotls are tough - a few days hungry will not cause permanent harm. (For future reference, though, they are more likely to bite a leg off a tank mate if they get too hungry.)

Some people report bonding-like behavior in axolotls, but most experts say it doesn't matter if they have a tank mate or not. They do slow down as they get older.

You can't really tell gender "for sure" until the axolotl becomes obviously male or hits age 18 months. Top and side pictures help if you want people to give you opinions on what yours might be.
 
Yep they are good! Feed the blood worms and treats, and use the pellets as the staple diet.

Read these articles on the Nitrogen cycle:
Caudata Culture Articles - Water Quality

Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling

The cycling process can take from 3-6 weeks. For your tank to be cycled, a beneficial bacteria needs to be present to break down the Ammonia and Nitrites into Nitrates. Ammonia and Nitrites are lethal to Axolotl and are produced from your Axolotls waste and decomposing food. Nitrates are a slightly less toxic by product. During cycling the beneficial bacteria will colonize your tanks surfaces such as substrate, ornaments, filter, and begin to feed on the Ammonia turning it into Nitrites, then bacteria will break down the Nitrites into Nitrates. The bacteria is known as a 'biofilter', as it filters the ammonia and nitrites into less harmful nitrates.

Once this cycle is established by the beneficial bacteria colonizing the tank, the Ammonia, and Nitrites will always be filtered by the bacteria into Nitrates, all you have to do is monitor you cycle by testing your water weekly so that when your Nitrates build up to around 40ppm you can perform a 30% water change to lower the Nitrates.


Why were you getting your water tested at the pet store if you have a liquid test kit?
 
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