Gill flaring illness-related?

I'm new to keeping axies (I got my boy around 3 weeks ago) and so I'm just going to describe the situation! I'd appreciate some feedback on whether or not his late behaviors could be signs of illnesses or problems that need rectifying (besides the obvious ones) Thanks in advance for any help!

A bit of background: I had done lots of research for around a year and planned to get an axolotl soon. I walked into my local fish store to see about live plants for a betta tank and i decided to have a look at the axies. They were selling albino babies (around an 1.5 inches long) and I just had to pick one up.

He's currently in a food container (he refused to eat in a larger tank) and is getting 100% water changes every day to every other day, depending. He eats around half to 3/4 of one of those frozen blocks of bloodworms every day to every other day. I went away for two days this week, and after instructing a family member on how to feed him, and telling them to feed him BOTH nights, I returned to find he had been fed neither night. I.e he ate Wednesday, and the next time I fed him was today, around 9 hours ago.

When i came home today, he was arched (to the side, he was in a loose C shape. I mention it because apparently this is a sign of stress). I offered him food immediately, and he ate around 70% of what he usually eats. He appeared to have lost interest so I changed his water and went to work.

When I returned again, he appeared normal. He was slightly curved but he looked happier, if that makes sense. I went about my duties and when I glanced over at him, he shot around his container very quickly, and then was still (sort of like how cats do that random running thing)

I left him in the dark for an hour or so and then returned to my room and turned a nearby light on (not too bright, the ambient one hes always exposed to) and decided to watch him for a bit.

By that time he was completely straight and he appeared fine (pink gills, all his legs in order). I however noticed that he was flaring his gills? They normally sit at a 45 degree angle i'd say, and every so often he was flattening them against his head for a few seconds.

This may all sound a bit ridiculous or silly but I figured better safe than sorry and I know that often their signs of illness are very subtle. Thank you for taking some time to answer!

Bonus question: For water changes, I capture him in a plastic cup (he cant see it until it's too late lol) and dump his tank, fill it with tap water, use a dechlorinator/heavy metal neutralizer and then put him back in. The whole process takes around 1-2 minutes. Usually though, because he's captured in a cup, to put him back, I put the cup lip very close to his container and then scoop him over the threshold with my hand. I do this because his container only holds about a gallon of water and I don't want to pour dirty water back in. I'm also wary about netting him because of how delicate I imagine his gills are. Is this safe for him? I know he's safe from trauma (I can feel if he's in a weird position) but I know that a lot of salamanders can't handle the oils on human skin.

Most-likely he is fine. He is probably flaring his gills to move the water around to get more oxygen. This is quite common - I have a hard time getting photos of mine since they always do that right as I am clicking the shutter ...

It is best to handle your axie as little as possible, but your hands are not "the touch of death" for them. Some suggestions: 1) Get a big container to store the dechlorinated water, so the temperature can equalize and any excess gasses can out-gas. 2) Fill up his temporary cup with fresh water to dilute the old water then pour most of it out before pouring the rest back into his container with him. (Pour into another similar container, not into a drain, because sooner or later he will dart out with the water.) I avoid netting too - they are so tiny and I would hate to hurt a gill.

You may need to change water more often - it depends on the size of the container. You have your test kit, right? You can test the water in the container and decide if the ammonia is rising too much between the once-a-day-or-so changes.

Thanks for the reply. I figured I'd post this as an update to the thread.

I woke up this morning and checked on him. He was perfectly straight, gills normal and pink, moving around. I was actually pleased to see he had pooped! I left for work, and returned 5 hours later.

When I returned, I was alarmed. His tail was curled up and his gills were curled forwards. I immediately did a 50% water change. I was very surprised; his water was usually changed only every two days and he was still fine; active, accepting food, not curled up. The water he was in was fresh, having been changed the previous day (about 12 hours ago). I decided to sit and do some work and hope he'd perk up. If he didn't improve in an hour or so, I figured I'd have to look to the internet for further advice. He showed no signs of fungus or illness.

The water was at a completely stable ambient temperature for the hours he was in it. The water had no movement. Same light conditions, same everything, nothing different. He had been fed.

I gently nudged him with his feeding syringe and he didn't move, which led me to touch him with a finger. I then lifted him up out of the tank when he didn't respond, and he didn't move. I am very confident he has passed away.

I'm absolutely devastated by this. I'm so anxious to know what went wrong.

I don't plan to purchase another axolotl at this moment in time. Even close to a year of research and professional advice wasn't enough. This sounds very self-pitying but I'm very sad. I am so far taking this as proof that I don't have the ability to care for an axolotl adequately.

I'm very disheartened by how sudden this was. I checked him thoroughly before I left and he was fine. I returned less than half a day later and he was gone. I didn't get a chance to look up symptoms or fridge him or treat him.

Friends have suggested he may have been sick when I bought him. My friend bought one of his siblings and he has grown almost an inch in three weeks, whereas my boy didn't grow at all. We both offered the same food, same brand, same everything. My friend took the chance of cycling his tank with him in it and still, he got better results. It feels unfair.

Anyhow, this is getting a bit long. Just an update to the situation.

I am so sorry for your loss. If it is any condolence, it is unusual for an axolotl to pass away that quickly.

Had you changed your water just before you left, or had it been longer ago than that? My first thought was "the water". I have heard of several instances when treated water was replaced with untreated by an unknowing family member.

Assuming it isn't the water, perhaps it was a defect? Perhaps some of the more experienced keepers can better interpret the symptoms.

Thank you very much.

I changed his water last, more than 24 hours before I found him gone. I changed it with treated water and I imagine if the change of water was the cause, I would have seen distress. This morning I was feeling optimistic because he seemed to have been recovering from his strange behaviors the night before.

The water was never touched after that and was at a constant temperature. The only thing I can think of is ammonia? I noticed he had pooped and I left the poop in his container, figuring I would do a water change to compensate. I didn't think the ammonia levels would rise to any level he hadn't been exposed to but maybe they might have? I used up my last ammonia test strip on my betta tank last night and I was planning to pick up more tomorrow. I don't imagine having test strips would have done any good though, as I wouldn't have thought to test recently changed water.

I'll be visiting the store I bought him from tomorrow to see what my options are. I may pick up another axie, since the tank I was preparing for him should be ready in around a week or so. I may just pick up a heater and a betta for the tank instead.

He would have gone to a 5 gallon once the cycle was finished. Any axie I get will ultimately be in a 10 but I had a 5 laying around and I've read that a surplus of space for young ones isn't always good. I had him in a 5 gal for a few days and he couldn't find his food properly.

I digress.

What had you been conditioning the water with? Were you following the directions exactly? (Some are super-concentrated and axies are more sensitive than fish. But I don't think this is the cause unless you really over-did the conditioner.)

I don't know how fast it takes for ammonia to rise to toxic levels from poop. It would depend on the amount of poop, amount of water, pH of water, etc. I change water in the containers twice a day. (I raise the babies in containers.) A water conditioner like Prime will neutralize the ammonia for a while. How much water was in the container?

Given yours hadn't grown, maybe there was an underlying defect or illness. Typically, they will grow pretty fast at that age. So even though it could be ammonia or a mistake, I'm betting he wasn't healthy. I hope that helps.