Axolotl tank cloudy all of a sudden?

mackenzie1115 · Sep 6, 2016

I have 2 10 gallon tanks with 1 juvenile axolotl in each. My bigger one is having no problem with cloudy water, but my smaller axie's tank has clouded up. I have been using Ammonia Out to try to treat an ammonia spike (the level is .5) and it seems like maybe I have a bacteria bloom? I don't really know what to do.. I changed their water 20% yesterday and like I said, my big guy's take is clear but my little guy's tank is cloudy. I've used 3 Tablets of Ammonia Out on my little guy's tank (one dosage yesterday and a double dose today) and after testing it doesn't seem to be changing much.

Any suggestions? I don't want my little guys to die.

thanks in advance!

Canecorsonewt · Sep 7, 2016

If your tank has ammonia its not cycled. I never use chemicals to cycle a tank so I cant help with chemicals. I would do 25% water changes daily with dechlorinator in till your tank cycles. Could take up to 6 weeks. Most people will recommend putting axoloti in separate containers and doing daily water changes on them to good luck

tipnatee · Sep 7, 2016

Ammonia out isn't the answer to ammonia spike problem cause it does not getting rid of your ammonia, only make it little less toxic but your axie is going to still being sick by it for over long exposer. Your ammonia is still gonna read exactly how it is. So the best way is just like what canecorsonewt said , just take your axie out and complete your cycle. As far as the cloudy goes it could be taken care of by fine sponge filter.

mackenzie1115 · Sep 7, 2016

tipnatee said:
Ammonia out isn't the answer to ammonia spike problem cause it does not getting rid of your ammonia, only make it little less toxic but your axie is going to still being sick by it for over long exposer. Your ammonia is still gonna read exactly how it is. So the best way is just like what canecorsonewt said , just take your axie out and complete your cycle. As far as the cloudy goes it could be taken care of by fine sponge filter.

So if I take him out and put him in a separate container, I would need to put his tank water in the container he's going to be in, still exposing him to the ammonia in that specific water, correct? Wouldn't he still be exposed to it?

mackenzie1115 · Sep 7, 2016

tipnatee said:
Ammonia out isn't the answer to ammonia spike problem cause it does not getting rid of your ammonia, only make it little less toxic but your axie is going to still being sick by it for over long exposer. Your ammonia is still gonna read exactly how it is. So the best way is just like what canecorsonewt said , just take your axie out and complete your cycle. As far as the cloudy goes it could be taken care of by fine sponge filter.

Good news! I took my water to a pet shop, had it tested and both tanks show zero ammonia! The test strips I have just must be bad. Everything tested great, the pH was just slightly high at 8.0 so I bought some pH down to use when I change the water. Any other suggestions as to why the water may be cloudy? I clean up extra food when I see it, so I know that's not the problem. The man at the pet store was just about as baffled as I am.

mackenzie1115 · Sep 8, 2016

Canecorsonewt said:
If your tank has ammonia its not cycled. I never use chemicals to cycle a tank so I cant help with chemicals. I would do 25% water changes daily with dechlorinator in till your tank cycles. Could take up to 6 weeks. Most people will recommend putting axoloti in separate containers and doing daily water changes on them to good luck

Good news! I took my water to a pet shop, had it tested and both tanks show zero ammonia! The test strips I have just must be bad. Everything tested great, the pH was just slightly high at 8.0 so I bought some pH down to use when I change the water. Any other suggestions as to why the water may be cloudy? I clean up extra food when I see it, so I know that's not the problem. The man at the pet store is just about as baffled as I am..

emdalliance · Sep 8, 2016

Bacterial blooms cause cloudy water. I'm having problems with it at the moment. Usually caused when your tank is put into a mini cycle or you don't disturb the substrate enough then it suddenly gets disturbed releasing a whole tonne of rubbish!

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Alecann · Sep 9, 2016

Don't use ph down, Axolotls like hard water. The pet store is likely used to dealing with fish, who mostly prefer neutral ph. But Axolotls do better in hard water. My ph is 8.2, and my guys have thrived in it. I know ph doesn't always correspond to water hardness. If you live in the western US your water is hard, with high ph.
The cloudiness sucks, I would get api freshwater aquarium master test kit. It tests ammonia, nitrate, nitrite. I test water at least once a week.
I delt with cloudiness recently and I changed 25% water every single day for about 2 weeks, it brought down the nitrate that had spiked and wiped out the cloudiness, but it took the full 2 weeks of daily changes.
You can try using seachem purigen, it helps with the levels for me, it goes in a bag, and in your filter, plus it's reusable, unlike charcoal.
I tried to cycle my tank without the Axolotls, and it didn't work, finally just put them in and tested the levels twice a week.
Avoid using a lot of those chemicals to reduce levels, they rarely work, and they're not usually tested safe for Axolotls, only fish.

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tipnatee · Sep 9, 2016

Alecann said:
Don't use ph down, Axolotls like hard water. The pet store is likely used to dealing with fish, who mostly prefer neutral ph. But Axolotls do better in hard water. My ph is 8.2, and my guys have thrived in it. I know ph doesn't always correspond to water hardness. If you live in the western US your water is hard, with high ph.
The cloudiness sucks, I would get api freshwater aquarium master test kit. It tests ammonia, nitrate, nitrite. I test water at least once a week.
I delt with cloudiness recently and I changed 25% water every single day for about 2 weeks, it brought down the nitrate that had spiked and wiped out the cloudiness, but it took the full 2 weeks of daily changes.
You can try using seachem purigen, it helps with the levels for me, it goes in a bag, and in your filter, plus it's reusable, unlike charcoal.
I tried to cycle my tank without the Axolotls, and it didn't work, finally just put them in and tested the levels twice a week.
Avoid using a lot of those chemicals to reduce levels, they rarely work, and they're not usually tested safe for Axolotls, only fish.

Sent from my SM-N930T using Tapatalk

I agree don't use ph down , it's not the kind of chemical you want to expose your axolotl in. Axolotl love hard water . The aquarium Ph down product is basically Acid Buffer so basically you do not want that in your tank.

DW · Sep 10, 2016

I think just keep with water changes. Maybe you can do 50%, 70% or even 100% of water changes for axolotl. I have lost couple of fish before from cloudy tank by not cycling the tank first. But from what I know axolotl can stand some of amonia or nitrite. I think someone told me that in the laboratory most of the axies were kept in the small plastic container and they are doing OK.

mackenzie1115 · Sep 10, 2016

Alecann said:
Don't use ph down, Axolotls like hard water. The pet store is likely used to dealing with fish, who mostly prefer neutral ph. But Axolotls do better in hard water. My ph is 8.2, and my guys have thrived in it. I know ph doesn't always correspond to water hardness. If you live in the western US your water is hard, with high ph.
The cloudiness sucks, I would get api freshwater aquarium master test kit. It tests ammonia, nitrate, nitrite. I test water at least once a week.
I delt with cloudiness recently and I changed 25% water every single day for about 2 weeks, it brought down the nitrate that had spiked and wiped out the cloudiness, but it took the full 2 weeks of daily changes.
You can try using seachem purigen, it helps with the levels for me, it goes in a bag, and in your filter, plus it's reusable, unlike charcoal.
I tried to cycle my tank without the Axolotls, and it didn't work, finally just put them in and tested the levels twice a week.
Avoid using a lot of those chemicals to reduce levels, they rarely work, and they're not usually tested safe for Axolotls, only fish.

Sent from my SM-N930T using Tapatalk

Okay, I won't use the pH down. I will probably end up doing a 40-50% water change today, I had only been doing 20%. Also.. There is this clear/white slime I can see now after scrubbing the tank.. any ideas on what that might be or how to remove it? It looks awful and I feel bad that he has to live in it, but he isn't showing any signs of stress and he is still eating properly.. I just don't know what to do about the slime and I absolutely hate how cloudy the water is.

mackenzie1115 · Sep 10, 2016

I have taken them out and am going to scrub their tank with the aquarium sponge and try to let the tank filter the gunk out.

Alecann · Sep 10, 2016

mackenzie1115 said:
Okay, I won't use the pH down. I will probably end up doing a 40-50% water change today, I had only been doing 20%. Also.. There is this clear/white slime I can see now after scrubbing the tank.. any ideas on what that might be or how to remove it? It looks awful and I feel bad that he has to live in it, but he isn't showing any signs of stress and he is still eating properly.. I just don't know what to do about the slime and I absolutely hate how cloudy the water is.

Do you have a picture of it? It could be many things, but without a picture it would be impossible to guess.

mackenzie1115 · Sep 10, 2016

Alecann said:
Do you have a picture of it? It could be many things, but without a picture it would be impossible to guess.

I scrubbed it all off the sides of the tank so you can't see it on mine anymore, but it looks VERY similar to this, but it was not quite that bad.. it hadn't built up enough yet. It was very goopy and stringy when you touched it/rubbed it off as well

Alecann · Sep 10, 2016

mackenzie1115 said:
I scrubbed it all off the sides of the tank so you can't see it on mine anymore, but it looks VERY similar to this, but it was not quite that bad.. it hadn't built up enough yet. It was very goopy and stringy when you touched it/rubbed it off as well

Okay so read through this article http://www.oscarfish.com/article-home/water/72-heterotrophic-bacteria.html
it's a fish article but most of it applies to your issue as well. Basically the slime is a type of bacteria that is consuming waste and has become out of control, the initial cloudy water seems related. There are steps to control these bacteria, which you should follow.
Don't use chemicals for adjusting levels or ph, water changes are the best way to effect levels, 25% daily until it's in order should work. Ph of 8 is totally acceptable for axies, it will reduce on it's own over time, once the tank gets established.
Also go get an API freshwater master test kit, it's around $25, the test strips you mentioned do not work from what I've heard. Keep testing the water every couple days until you have safe levels.

Since you're trying to get it all out with the Filter, you'll need to rinse the filter and all of the media, maybe more than once, over a couple days, to remove the specific bacteria. Maybe keep your axie in a container with fresh dechlorinated water, doing 90-100% changes daily, at least until you've contained the current issue.
These bacteria consume all of the oxygen, having an air stone or 2 going full power can help the good bacteria to recover and hopefully start to gain ground on the bad ones.
Do you use an HOB or canister filter?

mackenzie1115 · Sep 10, 2016

Alecann said:
Okay so read through this article Heterotrophic Bacteria and Their Practical Application in a Freshwater Aquarium
it's a fish article but most of it applies to your issue as well. Basically the slime is a type of bacteria that is consuming waste and has become out of control, the initial cloudy water seems related. There are steps to control these bacteria, which you should follow.
Don't use chemicals for adjusting levels or ph, water changes are the best way to effect levels, 25% daily until it's in order should work. Ph of 8 is totally acceptable for axies, it will reduce on it's own over time, once the tank gets established.
Also go get an API freshwater master test kit, it's around $25, the test strips you mentioned do not work from what I've heard. Keep testing the water every couple days until you have safe levels.

Since you're trying to get it all out with the Filter, you'll need to rinse the filter and all of the media, maybe more than once, over a couple days, to remove the specific bacteria. Maybe keep your axie in a container with fresh dechlorinated water, doing 90-100% changes daily, at least until you've contained the current issue.
These bacteria consume all of the oxygen, having an air stone or 2 going full power can help the good bacteria to recover and hopefully start to gain ground on the bad ones.
Do you use an HOB or canister filter?

Okay thank you! Currently, both of my axies are out of their tanks and I just rinsed their filters and added new replacement cartridges. They both have HOB filters. I also have bubble bars going full blast in each of their tanks. I have sponge filters as well but I have removed them from the tanks. Do you think they'd help if I put them back in and turned them on?

I hate attached an image of the filter guard before rinsing.. that's what it looks like

Alecann · Sep 10, 2016

mackenzie1115 said:
Okay thank you! Currently, both of my axies are out of their tanks and I just rinsed their filters and added new replacement cartridges. They both have HOB filters. I also have bubble bars going full blast in each of their tanks. I have sponge filters as well but I have removed them from the tanks. Do you think they'd help if I put them back in and turned them on?

I hate attached an image of the filter guard before rinsing.. that's what it looks like

Ya that looks just like the slime in the pictures.
The sponge filters would be fine to go back in, but maybe not until the levels have stabilized and you've seen no sign of the film. The sponge filters reduce oxygen, which is fine in a stable tank, but right now you need all the oxygen you can get. What media do you use in your HOB filters? Ideally you'll want several different levels of filtration media, biological, chemical, and mechanical. It sounds like between The HOB and sponge you are meeting the requirements. As long as you're cleaning all waste everyday at minimum, the bacteria should be able to be contained.
If you get a larger tank to combine your axies in the future, I'd recommend upgrading filters to a canister. I'd purchase from Amazon, because the pet supply shops charge nearly twice as much. I have a Cascade1000, I paid less than $80, but petco was charging $150. For 10g there's no need for that power though, just if you upsize later.

So for now, my advice would be to first test your water with that kit, then if levels are high start doing 25-30% water changes daily, and test everyday before water changes. Once the levels are within safe range, stop doing daily changes, go back to 25% weekly. You can also put the sponge filter back in at this time, but I'd suggest replacing the media in it, starting fresh.
Then just watch the tank, keep test every other day, to check for changes, and also for the cloudiness/slime. Cloudiness won't always be a bad thing, it's when the bacteria doesn't level out that the cloud leads to slime.
Also keep checking your filter media for any sign of slime throughout this process. I might suggest getting some fluval bio rings, or similar product. They will help with biological filtration without reducing oxygen while you're keeping the sponge out. You can just put some in a piece of nylon stockings, or a mesh bag, place it somewhere in your HOB filter.
Keep your axies out until you've had about a week of near constant safe levels. Then it's just about keeping waste cleaned up, testing water weekly, and 25% changes every week. Clean your filters every couple months also.
Always make sure their water temp is in the 60°F-67°F, ideal would be 60°F-64°F, but that is quite hard to achieve without an expensive chiller. My water is usually 64°F-66°F, I just use frozen water bottles filled with dechlorinated water, switching them out throughout the day.
Sorry for these really long replies, just trying to include all the info I can think of.

mackenzie1115 · Sep 10, 2016

Alecann said:
Ya that looks just like the slime in the pictures.
The sponge filters would be fine to go back in, but maybe not until the levels have stabilized and you've seen no sign of the film. The sponge filters reduce oxygen, which is fine in a stable tank, but right now you need all the oxygen you can get. What media do you use in your HOB filters? Ideally you'll want several different levels of filtration media, biological, chemical, and mechanical. It sounds like between The HOB and sponge you are meeting the requirements. As long as you're cleaning all waste everyday at minimum, the bacteria should be able to be contained.
If you get a larger tank to combine your axies in the future, I'd recommend upgrading filters to a canister. I'd purchase from Amazon, because the pet supply shops charge nearly twice as much. I have a Cascade1000, I paid less than $80, but petco was charging $150. For 10g there's no need for that power though, just if you upsize later.

So for now, my advice would be to first test your water with that kit, then if levels are high start doing 25-30% water changes daily, and test everyday before water changes. Once the levels are within safe range, stop doing daily changes, go back to 25% weekly. You can also put the sponge filter back in at this time, but I'd suggest replacing the media in it, starting fresh.
Then just watch the tank, keep test every other day, to check for changes, and also for the cloudiness/slime. Cloudiness won't always be a bad thing, it's when the bacteria doesn't level out that the cloud leads to slime.
Also keep checking your filter media for any sign of slime throughout this process. I might suggest getting some fluval bio rings, or similar product. They will help with biological filtration without reducing oxygen while you're keeping the sponge out. You can just put some in a piece of nylon stockings, or a mesh bag, place it somewhere in your HOB filter.
Keep your axies out until you've had about a week of near constant safe levels. Then it's just about keeping waste cleaned up, testing water weekly, and 25% changes every week. Clean your filters every couple months also.
Always make sure their water temp is in the 60°F-67°F, ideal would be 60°F-64°F, but that is quite hard to achieve without an expensive chiller. My water is usually 64°F-66°F, I just use frozen water bottles filled with dechlorinated water, switching them out throughout the day.
Sorry for these really long replies, just trying to include all the info I can think of.

No, thank you for your long replies, I really appreciate your help! After scrubbing down the tank and letting it filter out, it looks tremendously better than it had. It still has a cloud to it, but nowhere near as bad as it was 6 or so hours ago.. So thanks for all your help!!
Also I have attached a pic of my biggest Axie.. Does his color look okay? He (when I first got him) was a light pink color, now he's a yellowish color but his gills are still pink. My little guy is still pretty pink so I was just curious as to why he is becoming a yellow color/if he it was normal. They are both very active when they are in their tanks so I don't think they are sick/stressed or anything like that.. but I could be wrong, I am fairly new at this so I just like to be sure ? (Also I had just fed him so excuse the food on the bottom of the container)

Alecann · Sep 11, 2016

mackenzie1115 said:
No, thank you for your long replies, I really appreciate your help! After scrubbing down the tank and letting it filter out, it looks tremendously better than it had. It still has a cloud to it, but nowhere near as bad as it was 6 or so hours ago.. So thanks for all your help!!
Also I have attached a pic of my biggest Axie.. Does his color look okay? He (when I first got him) was a light pink color, now he's a yellowish color but his gills are still pink. My little guy is still pretty pink so I was just curious as to why he is becoming a yellow color/if he it was normal. They are both very active when they are in their tanks so I don't think they are sick/stressed or anything like that.. but I could be wrong, I am fairly new at this so I just like to be sure ? (Also I had just fed him so excuse the food on the bottom of the container)

Just as an fyi, I tend to refer to all unsexed axies as he's, they just strike me as boys for some reason haha, so in case you're wondering, not that you are, that's why I keep saying he.

His gills don't seem too pale. I've read about some luecistic developing a yellow tint, sometimes based on diet, and sometimes just based on their genetic makeup, so that could be the culprit.

It's unlikely an illness if he's showing no other signs, do his gills get darker when he's eating, or is this the color while eating? Pale gills can be a sign of illness, but generally accompanied by severe swelling of body/limbs.

If he's eating, pooping, and acting mostly normal, I would not worry at all.

But if you're concerned, just watch his gill brightness, maybe snap a few photos over the coming days, for you to compare, you'll notice if they get lighter for sure. Take the photos all either during feeding, or all during rest, because the brightness will change drastically from resting to active/eating, and try to keep the lighting consistent for the photos as well. Nothing can change colors as much as different lighting.

I have found axies to be much tougher than I initially believed. Reading online you'd think even the smallest changes would spell death, but really they can handle a good amount, as long as it's not long term stressors.
Good luck with the tank, I hope it returns to its former glory.

mackenzie1115 · Sep 11, 2016

Alecann said:
Just as an fyi, I tend to refer to all unsexed axies as he's, they just strike me as boys for some reason haha, so in case you're wondering, not that you are, that's why I keep saying he.

His gills don't seem too pale. I've read about some luecistic developing a yellow tint, sometimes based on diet, and sometimes just based on their genetic makeup, so that could be the culprit.

It's unlikely an illness if he's showing no other signs, do his gills get darker when he's eating, or is this the color while eating? Pale gills can be a sign of illness, but generally accompanied by severe swelling of body/limbs.

If he's eating, pooping, and acting mostly normal, I would not worry at all.

But if you're concerned, just watch his gill brightness, maybe snap a few photos over the coming days, for you to compare, you'll notice if they get lighter for sure. Take the photos all either during feeding, or all during rest, because the brightness will change drastically from resting to active/eating, and try to keep the lighting consistent for the photos as well. Nothing can change colors as much as different lighting.

I have found axies to be much tougher than I initially believed. Reading online you'd think even the smallest changes would spell death, but really they can handle a good amount, as long as it's not long term stressors.
Good luck with the tank, I hope it returns to its former glory.

I also tend to always refer to them has he/his, I don't know the sex, they also strike me as boys haha. But no, his gills never seem pale, his yellow tint was just kind of throwing me off but I don't think he's sick or anything like that. The tank is almost to 100% already after letting it filter for almost 24 hours. It's looking great! Thanks for all your help!

Axolotl tank cloudy all of a sudden?

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