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Illness/Sickness: Deteriorating gills?

Mewtwo

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I mentioned this in another thread but haven't gotten any real results.
My two juvenile axies are wonderfully cute and playful, and the Lucy is healthy as a horse. But the little gold guy I have has been stricken with one issue after another, the poor thing.

Recently, the tops of his 'gill stalks' have become bare and white. I've tested my water twice a day for three days and nothing has changed. I use API master liquid test kit, the readings being,
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
40 nitrate
and a pH of 8.2, which it's always been.
The tank is a bare bottom 20g with a bar bubbler and false plants, and two large hides, and a filter. I can't recall the measurements of the tank at this moment,
I feed them both bloodworms, and their tank has stayed at about 75-76° F lately due to rising temps in Ohio.

I've seen very little aggression, and neither seems to be showing any real signs of stress. The Lucy is absolutely fine, and hasn't had this issue at all.

What could be causing this?
 

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SammyTheLotus

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I'm sorry you're having trouble! It must be frustrating.. You might want to consider a water change to lower those nitrates, 40 is a little high but the rest of your parameters seem fine! Maybe try pointing a fan at the surface of the water to lower the temperature by a couple of degrees, it's worked wonders for me! As well I made mesh lids for the top of my tank to increase evaporation and reduce temps as well.
I'm wondering about your filter.. Does it have a strong outflow? Because I've heard that a strong current from your filter output can have negative effects on axies, stressing them out and deteriorating their gills. I have a piece of mesh in the outflow of my Aquaclear 50 filter and it reduces the outflow dramatically so that they're not bothered at all by it!
 

Mewtwo

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I've never seen a proper sponge filter in my area as suggested with these guys =\
My filter is an Aqueon.

I've never seen them bothered by the outflow before.. =(
 

SammyTheLotus

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I've never seen a proper sponge filter in my area as suggested with these guys =\

My filter is an Aqueon.



I've never seen them bothered by the outflow before.. =(



Does the outflow tend to move their gills a lot if they're near it? They might not show any outward signs of stress but it's been known that a strong current might change the fluffiness of their gills a little. :(
 

Mewtwo

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I suppose it does shift them a little bit.

How should I go about helping this? =(
 

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SammyTheLotus

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I suppose it does shift them a little bit.



How should I go about helping this? =(



Well what type of filter do you have? :) Is it internal, waterfall style, canister?
Mine's a waterfall style filter and I wadded up some mesh and placed it in front of the outflow so that the same volume of water comes out, just more slowly so it doesn't disturb the water as much! :)
Some people use loofahs or bath sponges for the same effect!
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...8-sick-axolotl/55975-too-much-water-flow.html
A spray bar is also an option depending on your filter type! I had a spray bar on my old internal filter and it worked perfectly because I could just adjust it so that the outflow was pointing against the wall! :)
 

Mewtwo

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I do t know what any of those are ._. I've only had the hang-on-the-back filters.served me well in the past.....

I tried a bath sponge but it disintegrated after about a monthl and my grandmother said no more sponges.
 

SammyTheLotus

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I do t know what any of those are ._. I've only had the hang-on-the-back filters.served me well in the past.....

I tried a bath sponge but it disintegrated after about a monthl and my grandmother said no more sponges.



Well if it's a hang on the back style I can assume it's a waterfall! Wanna take a picture and upload it so I can see? :)
A bath sponge might not work but the loofah might be better or the mesh netting shower puffs! I don't think either of those would disintegrate and they're easy to find, Walmart sells them! :)
 

Canecorsonewt

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That filter is no good unless you stop the waterfall affect. You don't want much current under water. You can get a double sponge filter for 10 gallon of ebay for less than $5 too. The one in the picture is for 5 gallon was only $3. Works great cycled my 5 gallon aquarium two different times with one .
 

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Canecorsonewt

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I don't know if possible with your filter. But you could try to raise the water even with outlet of waterfall. It should move more of the top of the water instead of bottom. Might be less stressful for your friends.
 

SammyTheLotus

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I don't know if possible with your filter. But you could try to raise the water even with outlet of waterfall. It should move more of the top of the water instead of bottom. Might be less stressful for your friends.



Even if Mewtwo is able to take one of those sponge filters and cut it so it fits inside the output vent, that would work nicely! :)
 

Mewtwo

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The water is usually much higher, but I've been really sick and we hard a bad storm a week or so ago, so I haven't been able to change the water or add more, though I hate topping off if I can help it.
 

SammyTheLotus

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The water is usually much higher, but I've been really sick and we hard a bad storm a week or so ago, so I haven't been able to change the water or add more, though I hate topping off if I can help it.



So how often on average are you doing water changes? 20-25% weekly is recommended, maybe that's why your nitrates are a little high.
Try to keep on top of the water changes because your little one's gill stalks aren't going to get any better unless the water quality is near perfect. :)
 

Mewtwo

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I typically clean their tank every Friday, but I got absurdly sick last Thursday and have hardly been able to get out of bed, much less clean tanks =( I'm fortunately starting to feel better, so I plan on cleaning all five fish (and the amphibian ^_^) tanks Tommowro, if time allows.
 
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I hope you start feeling better soon!

My guess as far as the issue is the temperature. I had all kinds of health problems with my axolotls until last summer I finally gave up and bought a chiller because I could not keep the temperature at 70 degrees or below with water changes, frozen 2-liters, etc. Before a couple of years ago, the summers in the Pacific Northwest were not that hot and I could manage without the chiller. I am still working to clear up a fungal infection from the too hot water conditions even though the their temperature has been 66-68 degrees F for more than a year now.

I have used HOB filters without problems, but it does depend on your tank dimensions. You can try arranging decorations on the side of the tank away from the filter to limit flow to see if that helps too.
 

Donna001

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Hope you are feeling better.
I also have the waterfall type filter in some of my tanks. I have the water level quite high, basically level with the start of the waterfall. I have a hide directly underneath, to reduce any water flow directly underneath, and have used plastic plants around that area to also reduce water movement.
Yesterday I bought some mesh to make lids for both of my axolotl tanks as the weather was great and the tanks were at 21C. Of course, now the weather is changing and the forecast says temperature will drop to 11C by the weekend, but I'm going to go ahead with the mesh lids, and get some fans, because it is only May and I'm hoping for a nice summer. :happy:
 

Mewtwo

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I ran my fan in the general direction of the tank, it isn't as white today!
But they are still bare, I'm not sure if it'll ever grow back??
 

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