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Illness/Sickness: Axolotl

Jassimon

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So I recently bought a golden albino axolotl and he's currently in a 10 gallon tank with a spray bar filter that was used in another coldwater fish tank that was already cycled. It has been almost 6 days since I've kept him but 3 days ago I started to realise that his tail has turned really red along with his gills, and he does not stay in one spot, but swim around the tank with his nose pushed up against the glass to guide his way. He is in a bottomless tank and the store that I bought him from kept theirs with no substrate as well, and currently the ammonia levels are 0.4, nitrate is 16 and nitrite 0. I positioned the spray bar filter so it sprays against the side of the tank, so there is barely any flowing water in the tank at all. I have realised that his gills have turned forward towards his head, but it is not extremely severe, only the bottom gills on his left and right side have turned slightly fowards whilst the others are perpendicular to his body. The store owners that I bought him from gave me axolotl food that are frozen cubes that consist of bloodworms, clams, krill, shrimp etc. So far on the first day I hand fed him and as I waved the food in front of his face, it took him a very long time for him to realise (or maybe he was scared as it was his first time in a new environment) but eventually gulped it down. I fed him 1/4 of the cube. His body is much thinner than the width of his head so I'm wanting to make him full fat and healthy, and he has eaten but so far he only eats around 1/4 of the cube and then doesn't eat anymore and swims away. Also everytime I feed him it takes him a looooong time, as if I'm trying to convince him to eat. Is it normal for an axolotl to eat this little everytime? (the size of the food he eats is around the size of.. like the size of your home button on an iphone. Is it normal for him to take so long to realise there is food in front of his nose? I also have only seen his poop once so far and it was tiny, around 4cm long. Sorry for the long post, but any feedback and help would be greatly appreciated! Would love to be a good owner to my axie :)
 

Jassimon

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回复: Help me! -Axolotl newbie

So I recently bought a golden albino axolotl and he's currently in a 10 gallon tank with a spray bar filter that was used in another coldwater fish tank that was already cycled. It has been almost 6 days since I've kept him but 3 days ago I started to realise that his tail has turned really red along with his gills, and he does not stay in one spot, but swim around the tank with his nose pushed up against the glass to guide his way. He is in a bottomless tank and the store that I bought him from kept theirs with no substrate as well, and currently the ammonia levels are 0.4, nitrate is 16 and nitrite 0. I positioned the spray bar filter so it sprays against the side of the tank, so there is barely any flowing water in the tank at all. I have realised that his gills have turned forward towards his head, but it is not extremely severe, only the bottom gills on his left and right side have turned slightly fowards whilst the others are perpendicular to his body. The store owners that I bought him from gave me axolotl food that are frozen cubes that consist of bloodworms, clams, krill, shrimp etc. So far on the first day I hand fed him and as I waved the food in front of his face, it took him a very long time for him to realise (or maybe he was scared as it was his first time in a new environment) but eventually gulped it down. I fed him 1/4 of the cube. His body is much thinner than the width of his head so I'm wanting to make him full fat and healthy, and he has eaten but so far he only eats around 1/4 of the cube and then doesn't eat anymore and swims away. Also everytime I feed him it takes him a looooong time, as if I'm trying to convince him to eat. Is it normal for an axolotl to eat this little everytime? (the size of the food he eats is around the size of.. like the size of your home button on an iphone. Is it normal for him to take so long to realise there is food in front of his nose? I also have only seen his poop once so far and it was tiny, around 4cm long. Sorry for the long post, but any feedback and help would be greatly appreciated! Would love to be a good owner to my axie :)[/QUOTE]
 

debadog

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回复: Help me! -Axolotl newbie

A picture would help us to diagnose, but i'll do my best with the information you've given us.

If your ammonia is at 0.4 then your tank isn't cycled. I know you said that your filter came from a cycled tank, but if the filter was left off or left out of the water for a long period or exposed to non-dechlorinated water then you may have killed the bacteria that you already had in it, restarting the cycle. Axolotls also produce a lot more ammonia than other fish, so depending on what you had in there maybe you don't have enough bacteria to handle the waste. It looks like you're currently experiencing the ammonia spike part of the cycle, which will then be followed by a nitrite spike before your tank is cycled.

As for your axies redness, it sounds like a chemical burn to me. What is the pH of your tank? And what is the temperature? Tbh although your ammonia level isn't crazy high it sounds like an ammonia burn to me. Especially if you did a water change right before you took that reading. It would explain why your baby isn't eating.

If your tank isn't cycled and you're going to do in-tank cycling with your axie, you'll need to do some very big water changes very regularly, like 50% every other day, whatever it takes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels down. Tbh, with a small 10 gallon tank it may have to be daily water changes for you. I'm assuming you know about cycling and how it works so it would be a good idea to track the progress of your tank to see any spikes.

As for now, I think your axie is not very well, and it would be a good idea to fridge him. Can you please tell me how long your axolotl is? I'm assuming its a juvenile? Its unfortunate because he sounds like he's already quite skinny so its not ideal (as being in a fridge lowers their metabolism and makes them eat less) but I think its probably the best thing to do. There is a guide on how to fridge your axie here.

Once you've changed your tank water to clear the issue and he looks better after being in the fridge a few days you can return him to his tank. This time I would highly recommend buying a food dish (a reptile one or even just a saucer you have lying around) and feeding him bloodworms in that, I hate seeing axolotls being hand fed bloodworms it looks like a really frustrating process to me. They seem much happier eating it from a dish. You need to make sure you clean up every last bloodworm afterwards though, as any left behind will rot and produce even more ammonia. Depending on how big he is it may be wise to move him onto worms as they don't make a mess.

I would like to hear someone else give their two cents on the situation but this is what I think though I haven't experienced this myself before.

Good luck.
 

Jassimon

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回复: Axolotl

The pH is 7.6 and yes unfortunately the filter I use currently wasn't used for around 2 years so I will be definitely restarting to cycle my tank. The temperature is 21 degrees celsius and I attempted to cool it down by putting some ice in a plastic bottle, but it melted in around an hour and by then the other plastic bottle in the fridge hadn't become frozen yet so I couldn't keep trying to stabilise colder temperatures, so I just decided it would be better to keep it at one temperature rather than continuously make the temperature drop and rise (I've heard it's terrible for the axolotl). The axolotl has already reached sexual maturity as its fingertips are black and he is quite long, around 20cm. He's still the exact same size from when I purchased him (as in the width of his stomach). I have some Seachem stability left over so I did a 60% water change today and added some of it in according to the instructions. I do think fridging would help with his healing but he is quite thin so I really don't know if I should because I'm afraid he'd become even more thinner ): For his food, it's made up of a mixture of bloodworms, krill, shrimp etc so when it melts in the water it doesn't come apart but rather it stays as a solid, so there aren't bloodworms flying around the tank messily. I did think about using a dish so he can eat it himself but he barely eats anything from me when I handfeed him even if he hasn't eaten for 2 days or more. So far I'm planning to change 50% of the water every second day as seachem states it can level the water conditions for 48 hours, and I also think that changing the water everyday might stress him out even more. I've attached some photos of him, if he looks in really bad condition I'll start fridging him ):
 

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debadog

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回复: Axolotl

The pH is 7.6 and yes unfortunately the filter I use currently wasn't used for around 2 years so I will be definitely restarting to cycle my tank. The temperature is 21 degrees celsius and I attempted to cool it down by putting some ice in a plastic bottle, but it melted in around an hour and by then the other plastic bottle in the fridge hadn't become frozen yet so I couldn't keep trying to stabilise colder temperatures, so I just decided it would be better to keep it at one temperature rather than continuously make the temperature drop and rise (I've heard it's terrible for the axolotl). The axolotl has already reached sexual maturity as its fingertips are black and he is quite long, around 20cm. He's still the exact same size from when I purchased him (as in the width of his stomach). I have some Seachem stability left over so I did a 60% water change today and added some of it in according to the instructions. I do think fridging would help with his healing but he is quite thin so I really don't know if I should because I'm afraid he'd become even more thinner ): For his food, it's made up of a mixture of bloodworms, krill, shrimp etc so when it melts in the water it doesn't come apart but rather it stays as a solid, so there aren't bloodworms flying around the tank messily. I did think about using a dish so he can eat it himself but he barely eats anything from me when I handfeed him even if he hasn't eaten for 2 days or more. So far I'm planning to change 50% of the water every second day as seachem states it can level the water conditions for 48 hours, and I also think that changing the water everyday might stress him out even more. I've attached some photos of him, if he looks in really bad condition I'll start fridging him ):

21C isnt enough to hurt your axolotl, and theres not really much point using ice bottles as you're right in that the temperature fluctuations you'll get from it is more risky than doing nothing, its really not worth the time. Only start using ice bottles if it exceeds 24 or so.

If his body is the width of his stomach then fridging him for a few days will not hurt him. He certainly looks healthy enough in the pictures. I was concerned that he was a juvie as you got him from a pet store and usually they sell juveniles but at almost 8 inches he is likely to be an adult. I think fridging will be crucial for his healing so I would really recommend it, with daily 100% water changes of his tub, of course.

I think we've solved the mystery of why your axie isnt gaining weight like you want - if he is an adult then I would not recommend feeding him solely on nutrient deficient food like frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp. They are primarily for juveniles and as a supplement for adults. Adults should be fed on a diet primarily comprised of live earthworms - Dendrobaena, preferably. Illness aside, he probably has little interest in dead food and wants to eat live, nutrient-rich prey. If you want him to be happy and healthy, you should do this for him. You can order worms online, even on Amazon, and you can start a worm farm or just keep them in a tub until they're gone and then order more.

I don't know what Seachem is, but I have never trusted any of these "prime" products, they're total bulls**t in my opinion. There is no easy quick fix when it comes to cycling, you just need to monitor the water conditions and keep on top of them to make sure they don't get out of control. I'm glad you're choosing to step up with the water changes as most new owners are really stubborn about it, and I don't see any harm in using this product, but just don't depend on it.

What i'm going to recommend is that you fridge your axolotl for a few days until he feels better, and when he's back in the tank you do the daily/every other day water changes, and measure the water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate daily or at least every other day to keep on top of it. I'm worried that as your axolotl is going to stay in an environment that is going to be highly stressful (any amount of ammonia or nitrite is toxic for axolotls) he may get more ill if you leave him in there damaged as he is, but its up to you. I don't see any harm in fridging him at this time. Axolotls can safely go for 1.5 weeks without food in room temperature conditions, even longer in cooler temperatures. Please make sure you read the guides thoroughly though to know what you're doing, especially checking that your fridge does not go below 5C. Fish-in-tank cycling is considered to be cruel by many people, so you'll have to step up and make sure he's as comfortable as possible in this situation until its over, though it sounds like you're going to do that.

If you're worried about stressing him out with the water changes once he's back in his tank, get him a little tunnel or house so he has somewhere to hide while it happens - mine has a tunnel that works perfectly for this reason. Its definitely less stressful than taking them out every time.

Good luck with everything, and please always come back to the forum for advice if you need it.
 

Jassimon

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回复: Axolotl

Thank you so much for your advice, I'm honestly extremely grateful :) I've just started fridging him and I'll be following the guidelines. I'll hunt around for worms during the meantime whilst he's fridging for this week and I'll be changing his tank water everyday and keeping an eye on the parameters to get that tank to cycle. I'll hopefully get back with some positive results by next week. Thanks for your help!
 

debadog

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回复: Axolotl

Thank you so much for your advice, I'm honestly extremely grateful :) I've just started fridging him and I'll be following the guidelines. I'll hunt around for worms during the meantime whilst he's fridging for this week and I'll be changing his tank water everyday and keeping an eye on the parameters to get that tank to cycle. I'll hopefully get back with some positive results by next week. Thanks for your help!

Sounds like you're doing all the right things. One last comment though - I don't know if you meant that you were going to find worms outside, but you must be 100% sure there won't be any pesticides or other chemicals in the dirt where you find the wormies!

Let us know how you get on!
 

Jassimon

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Hello! So for my axolotl (and his name's Radish!) he's gotten much better! So first of all I fridged him for 4 days in the fridge and changed his water and everything, and by then I managed to purchase worms, some seachem stability along with some other decorations for his tank (such as hiding places but theyre coming soon). When he came out of the fridge he didn't do/act any different, although his gills definitely calmed down and went turned forward and his tail wasn't red anymore. When I placed him back into his tank I treated the water everyday with seachem and I fed him worms and he loves them! At first I dug a few up from my garden but then I purchased some worms used for compost from SCRAP. The only problem is, whenever I feed him these worms he HATES them and spits them right out, but he eats every other worm I feed him that's from my garden. The species of worm are definitely different and I've included some photos, the red worm being the one he doesn't eat. Can someone tell me the species of the worm and know why he favours my garden worms over the ones I've purchased? Thanks!
 

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Jassimon

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Sorry, I mean't *weren't turned forward anymore in the previous post, and also for the worms I've tried putting the SCRAP worms into some of my dirt from my garden to see if that'll make any difference, but the next day I gave Radish one and he still hated it, so I'm out of ideas ):
 

Eternie

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Hello there!!! So glad your babe is doing better! :) You want to get him nitecrawler earthworms, they prefer them much more :)
Cant wait to see more pictures of him, he's quite gorgeous! :)
 

debadog

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Hi Jassimon,

So glad he is doing better, I hope that is still the case! I don't know about the species of worms you have there but they look too small to be fed to your axie anyway to be honest. Of course you CAN feed them to him but I just mean that he'd be better suited to larger ones rather than lots of smaller ones. Your axie is apparently bigger than mine (mines a copper so a bit of a runt) and the worms I feed my guy are pretty thick and juicy.

Best worm species are dendrobaena and nightcrawlers. I would really recommend that you just buy a bunch and start a wormery rather than relying on your garden, just because its a little risky. Does the place you bought them from not specify the species of worm?? It should do. Try Amazon to look for specific breeds. I found an online bait shop which works perfectly for my needs.

I'm glad he's enjoying eating some worms!
 

debadog

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Also I just want to check - you are still monitoring the cycling situation daily now that he's returned to the tank, yes?
 

LippyNix

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I had the exact same issue with my axies and the worms. The first batch I got were from one farm, and they gobbled them up. The next batch were from a different farm (different type, more reddish, too) and they hated them. They kept spitting them out and refused to eat them for the first few days, until they were really hungry, I suppose. I'm glad to see I don't have the only picky eaters! Also, one of mine is a golden albino, and it also has a lot more difficulty with feeding (like what you describe) than the leucistic. I'm guessing it's an eyesight issue, but I really don't know.
 
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