Urgent Help needed

Hello everyone, this is my first post (after the introduction) but I always read you.

Unfortunately I find myself writing for a not so exciting reason.

Yesterday we noticed that the axie was swimming as he was trying to escape the water. He was not swimming frantically and then settling down as it usually happens at night but rather a continuous and quite slow gasping for air/swimming against the tank.
We have been away for the night, my partner did a water change before leaving and I did one at arrival, so I would say it must have been about 18 hours in between.
After a while I was home (5 hours or so), I noticed he was acting weird, as describe above.
We tested the water and I do not remember all the readings but it was pretty much like the cycling has never happened: ammonia around 1 and the rest at 0 or pretty much so.
We did another water change, tested the water again for ammonia which was at 0.25 at this point.
He didn't stop swimming and started to seem very stressed.
Since he wouldn't stop we decided to take him out of the big tank and put him in a plastic box we have, full of clean, cool, de-chlorinated water. He settled for about a couple of hours and seemed happier.
After that he started acting like that again and since yesterday, he basically hasn't stopped. He swims up and down, against the tank, very slowly, stops for a while (2 minutes) and starts again. He looks tired to me, very red (he's a leucistic), his back is also floating at times.

I do not know what to do from now, thus the post here...I basically haven't slept the whole night trying to read the internet for solutions. I hope someone can help us out, we don't want to lose him ...

Forgot to mention his usual set up: He is usually in a 2 ft tank, alone, no substrate, couple of aquarium hides, an interpet FP3 filter and feeds on sinking pellet.

Could you post some photos and maybe a video? Could you post current readings of the parameters including temperature?

Thank you for the reply!

I have attached a video of him right I took now. He seemed to have stopped doing that when I was there taking water samples out...

Readings of the tub he is now are:

Ammonia: 0.25 (changed the water 3 hr ago, should I change it again?)
PH: 6.7
Nitrite & Nitrate: 0

Temperature is 15degrees

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUvoxXnbjoo

Some pictures of him right now and the tank he is usually in.

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

Temperature is fine, but I see what you mean about it being as if the tanks has never cycled. When was it cycled? How much of the water do you change each time?
Has your axolotl eaten recently or is he off his food?

Sorry about all of the questions but I'm just trying to get some idea of what is happening.

Hi Donna,

definitely do not worry about the questions, the more the better if it can help him...

I guess the tank was never fully cycled but I can say we were around 90% of it done up until yesterday. I would get readings such as:

Ammonia 0.5 (no more)
Nitrites and Nitrates variable but (quite) high
PH around 6

And I was performing daily 50% water changes adding a bit of the API Tap water conditioner at each change plus a bio filter starter once a week.
Retesting after the changes would show lower levels of every value.

This happened after our previous filter died and had to buy a new one which made the whole cycle start from 0. I mean, we moved the old sponge from the old to the new filter and did not change ornaments but the readings were all messed up after that. Also, we previously performed a huge water change to get rid of the sand that was making everything more difficult. This whole thing happened more than 2 months ago, he was fine all along and we found some sort of balance by changing the water that often. This, up until yesterday.

He was eating fine, he is a bit lazy and will eat the pellets that falls in front of his face only but he was eating. I feed him every 2/3 days as he would not eat more often to be honest. So, I have not tried feeding him yet as the last feed was on Friday morning.

Thank you

It may be worth keeping your axolotl in a separate tub of fresh, dechlorinated water and do 100% water changes daily of the tub for now until you can get the cycle fully established. In the meantime, I would suggest a fishless cycling method to establish the cycle.

Have you noticed he is pooing normally? A floating rear end may mean he just ready to do a poo or may be an indication of constipation. If he has been pooing normally though I wouldn't be too concerned about this. I think the main thing is to get the cycle fully established safely as the exposure to ammonia and nitrite will be a cause of stress and irritation.

Yeah he is pooping normally, just picked up one yesterday before all went downhill. He actually does that a lot (floating rear end) and always makes me freak out although he usually goes flat after a while (minutes) so I stop worrying.

I will keep him in the tub for now and keep the tank cycling.

Any idea as to why he might be bumping his head on the tank side or swimming to escape even now he's in the tub?

Thank you a lot for all your replies.

Also, as I have read different opinions on this, what do you guys suggest it is best to feed him?

When he was a juvenile we were giving him brine shrimps and then switched to some sinking pellets. Our fish shop does not have sinking pellets specific for axolotls but he has been doing very well considering that he is around 1.5 years old now.
I mean, I am no expert but it seems to look quite healthy excluding the weird behaviour of the last two days...what do you guys think?

Thanks again

I agree with Skudo09. Keep your axolotl in a tub with 100% daily water change while you cycle your main tank.
He's probably bumping his head because their eyesight is not good and bumping into things seems to be their main way of finding out about their surroundings.
As for food, most people say that earthworms are the best thing for the main part of an axolotl diet. I feed mine on a combination of earthworms, prawns, mussels and pellets. I have axolotl specific pellets, which I bought off Amazon. I get my earthworms from a reptile centre, but you can also try a fishing bait shop, or order over the internet.
Your axolotl physically looks fine, doesn't look thin, but a varied diet is always useful.
Please keep us updated on his progress and on the cycling of your main tank.
Best of luck. :happy:

Thank you guys so much,

I will do as you said and give updates on him and the tank

Hopefully he will get stop his erratic behaviour soon.

Just a quick update:

my partner fed him a worm that he has very quickly eaten. He is now quiet at the bottom of the tub!

That's fantastic news. I feel that a good appetite is a good sign, and it is reassuring that he has settled well after eating.

Earthworms make a good staple diet . Your axolotl from the photo looks physically well.

Axolotls don't have the best eye sight and also don't particularly have good brakes so bumping or swimming into the walls is not abnormal by any means. If they are swimming frantically, this could indicate stress. Swimming more than usual may or may not be an indication of stress and it is always worth noting changes in behaviour as it could indicate something not quite right. I think it is just a matter of getting your cycle established safely to correct the water parameters and hopefully this should keep stress levels and irritation down.

Thank you, that is good news.

We intend to cycle the big tank without him in as you suggested.

He is still quite restless and has been for the whole morning but I think it might be more due to the fact that the tub is quite small compared to the tank he was in for basically his whole life. He is not bumping into it much more now than he is moving from one side to the other, walking or swimming.

I hope the cycling will not take too long so that he will not be forced to stay in there any longer than necessary.

Hi Everyone!

After a while I am back to update you on Voldie's condition

He seems to be much better now and has adjusted to the smaller tank, he eats regularly and mostly rests/walks at the bottom .

I am still trying to cycle the tank, I have dropped a shrimp to start and some fish pellet afterwards. Today I am thinking to add some more pellet.
The readings are:

PH: 6.6
Ammonia: 2
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 5

I was hoping this would not take that long but the nitrates seem to not go higher than this :/
Any advice on how to speed this up? Should I add more food to the tank more often?

Thank you