Axolotl Hiding Constantly/Bloated Belly?

I just recently started feeding my 2 juvenile axolotls night crawlers. I chop them up into bite size pieces of course, and let them soak in tank water for awhile before I feed. I started feeding them nightcrawlers about 4 days ago and they seem to love it, but tonight when I tried to feed, they only wanted 1 or 2 pieces compared to the 3 or 4 they usually have. They have also been in their hides for 2 days straight. They are in separate tanks but their patterns are the same so it seems kind of weird, like maybe it is something I am doing to make them hide out? Tonight I noticed a big bulge in on of my Axie's bellies and I am concerned, is he not digesting the worms? My other axie seems fine, aside from not wanting to eat as much as he usually does and hiding out all day until it is time to eat.

I have been cleaning their poop out when I can see it, and I've noticed it is a lot different now that it was when they were eating frozen brine shrimp. It used to almost look like pellets, now it is not really uniform at all.

I have also been fighting cloudy tanks (both), and my water parameters read:
Ammonia:0
Nitrate:between 0 and 5ppm
Nitrite:0
pH:7.6
Nobody at the pet store has any clue why it could be cloudy, since the levels read okay. I do regular water changes and I just recently added carbon to their filters but that hasn't seemed to help either. Also, I hand-feed the worms, so I know they aren't leaving food around to rot.

I am more concerned about his swollen looking stomach than anything. Thanks for any help/advice.

I have attached a couple pictures of his swollen belly. He has also recently just started flicking his gills about once every few minutes.

Gill flicking is normal - they all do it.

The cloudiness could be a bacterial bloom. How long have the tanks been up?

It's kinda hard to see any swelling. Can you get pics from the top looking down?

What are the tank Temps?

Holly12 said:

Gill flicking is normal - they all do it.

The cloudiness could be a bacterial bloom. How long have the tanks been up?

It's kinda hard to see any swelling. Can you get pics from the top looking down?

What are the tank Temps?

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Yes, they did suggest a possible bacteria bloom. They have been up since the middle of August, so about 14 weeks. If it is a bacteria bloom, is there any way I can help speed up the process/clear it up? It's getting to the point where I can't hardly see the back of the tanks.

I will attach the best pic I have of the swelling. He is back in his hide now, so hopefully he will come out soon and I can get a better image. He just looks really full.

Both tanks are at 62 degrees Fahrenheit, about 16-17 degrees Celsius. They are usually around 66-68 degrees Fahrenheit, but the temp is cooling off outside so it is on the inside as well.

Both of my guys are usually very active so it just seems odd that they are hiding all of a sudden.

Even in the first images you can see a large swelling in the left side. What substrate do you use? Is there anything in your tank small enough to be swallowed?

The gills flicking is normal, it is one way they take oxygen out of the water by disturbing it via flicking the gills.

Bacterial blooms are not harmful, if that is what is causing the cloudy water.

AxolotlChris said:

Even in the first images you can see a large swelling in the left side. What substrate do you use? Is there anything in your tank small enough to be swallowed?

The gills flicking is normal, it is one way they take oxygen out of the water by disturbing it via flicking the gills.

Bacterial blooms are not harmful, if that is what is causing the cloudy water.

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I just have black aquarium sand as a substrate and I hand feed, so I don't think he's sucking up any sand unless he's just eating it for fun on his own time, but I never noticed him doing that before. There's isn't anything small enough for him to swallow and I don't think he looks as bloated as much today, maybe he was just extra full.. He never floated or anything.

Is the hiding normal? They seem to hide and only come out for feeding. They've never done that before so it just seemed kind of weird.

Hiding is normal, though usually attributed to being moved to a new tank, bright lights or some other form of stress. Hiding for 2 days straight would suggest something is wrong.

The bulge could be food, though if it hasn't gone down then it is unlikely.

Can you take a close up picture of the bulge?

I would look for a vet that can deal with Axolotls and send them some images to get a professional opinion.

AxolotlChris said:

Hiding is normal, though usually attributed to being moved to a new tank, bright lights or some other form of stress. Hiding for 2 days straight would suggest something is wrong.

The bulge could be food, though if it hasn't gone down then it is unlikely.

Can you take a close up picture of the bulge?

I would look for a vet that can deal with Axolotls and send them some images to get a professional opinion.

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Yeah that's the thing, I haven't changed their environment at all.. I haven't moved their tanks, added anything to their tanks or taken anything away. They don't get much light, I only turn their light on when they need to be fed or I am changing the water. The only things that have changed are that I have added carbon to their filters to try to clear up the cloudiness and I changed their food from frozen brine shrimp to nightcrawlers.

Here's an updated picture, it's hard to get a clear image due to the glare but it looks like it has gone down to me. The other pics I took were from the left side but it all looks the same now.

Since that image shows the right side rather than the left I couldn't make a comparison. I can only think it may be food or worst case an infection, sometimes it can be trapped gas but I think floating would be a symptom.