I think his gills are curved?

I just had a small ammonia spike of .25ppm in my newly cycled axie tank. Nitrites are 0ppm and nitrates are aboutique 20ppm. Noticed Stellios may have curved gills on one side? He's sitting and flicking them right now. (Please note, he has always had slightly curved gills on that side since I got him last week.) Does this look like stress curved?
I have water sitting with Prime for a 50% wc after dinner.

I just did a 45% wc and I think I sucked up 2 big poops that were hiding. Maybe for a newly cycled tank 2 unnoticed poopies can cause a spike? Also, yesterday, his mysis shrimp went EVERYWHERE and I tried to get them all, but maybe a few got stuck and junked up the water?

I will retest in a few hours and again tomorrow. For now, he's hiding because he doesn't like the current that water changes makes and it also dropped the tank 2 degrees. He's a little mad right now.

Any insight on the pics or reasons for the spike would be appreciated.

His gills look fine to me.
I have attached a link that includes pictures.
Axolotls - Health & Diseases
If you look closely at the picture of the stressed axolotl you will see that the feathery bits are pointing forward. A curled tail tip is also a sign of stress, so have a look at that as well.
Don't forget that this is all quite new to him, so he may not like the movement that as water change makes, but he will get used to it.
As for the ammonia spike, it's not too bad, and you did the right thing by performing a water change. Removing poops and any left over food frequently will help you to keep your water parameters perfect.

I don't see a problem with his gills either. They look normal to me.

As far as why the ammonia spiked, it is just that your system does not have the bacteria (yet) to deal with the amount of waste being produced. Axolotls produce liquid waste as well as solid waste so no, missing some solid waste is not the main reason there is ammonia in the system. While decaying food will contributes to ammonia, that is not the primary reason for the spike either. You newly cycled system needs to develop more bacteria that will convert the ammonia (from axolotl waste and uneaten food) to nitrites to nitrates. In summary, the bacteria is not currently up to handling the bioload of the tank.

You did the right thing by doing a large water change and keep doing large water changes daily while the ammonia is not 0ppm.

Thanks.

He wasn't as skunky today. He's normally all over the place but he has been hiding most of the day. He didn't eat as much as normal either.

It was suggested to dose prime every other day during a spike, so the ammonia is detoxified into ammonium but the filter is still able to use it as food to turn to nitrites. Does this sound right?

Holly12 said:

Thanks.

He wasn't as skunky today. He's normally all over the place but he has been hiding most of the day. He didn't eat as much as normal either.

It was suggested to dose prime every other day during a spike, so the ammonia is detoxified into ammonium but the filter is still able to use it as food to turn to nitrites. Does this sound right?

Click to expand...

Yes but I believe you should only use prime with new water you're putting into the tank. And over dosages may "clean" your tank too much so make sure you're using no more than 5x the required amount (read the bottle). That is just what I have heard!