Help Petal wont eat & is now skinny

Hi everyone, Petal has gone right off her food.
The temps and all perimeters are fine. She was in fridge as she was floating on top of airfilter and her back has a patch that comes out white every now and then.
I gave her a saltbath once a day for 2 days only as the patch peeled away to normal skin, dont worry I set the timer, she was only in for 10 mins.
She has lost so much weight she looks like a Juvie
She hasnt eaten for 2 weeks, except for a pellet here and there.
She used to grab worms as soon as i put my hand in tank.
We have been in drought here for months and our water has changed. Sometimes it comes out pale yellow and funnily enough I get ill, so do a few other people I know.
I can only think that this is the problem, however I want to try and pretend that our water is fine and bring Petal back to health ASAP.
I have read lots of "eating" posts but cant find an answer, I would appreciate your help.
Helen

I sometimes have that with the water too, I usually boil it and then fridge it and run it thru a cartridge filter before putting it in the tank. sounds obvious but all i can suggest.


One time after a holiday an axie of mine refused to eat anything i put in front of it. worms, pellets, etc....

I ended up going to the pet shop and buying 4 feeder fish (about 80c each), i then put them in my sick tank and fished em out one by one, holdin them by the back fin, and hand feedin them to the axie

Thats all i can suggest. dont know anything about salt baths or medications.

Also, make sure your De-chlorinator is not advertising to remove ammonia n all that.. load of bollocks. try to use the standard De chlorinator beads. also make sure it removes both Chlorine and Chloramines.

It sounds like you are doing the right things, M-mum. By the way, this forum prefers real names. While we don't enforce it, I'd prefer to address you by YOUR name, rather than "mickeysmum".

I agree with Ben's recommendation for using a drinking water filter - both for yourself and the water for Petal. After it goes through such a filter (assuming the filter cartridge is still working properly), you don't need to dechlorinate, it should be ready to use.

I'm a bit confused about what Ben said about the dechlor products. The ones that remove chloramine usually also claim to detoxify ammonia - chloramine is basically a combination of chlorine + ammonia. Thus the products that get rid of chloramine DO also get rid of ammonia. I think maybe what Ben meant is that they shouldn't be used for this purpose; any ammonia that develops in a tank should be dealt with by water changes, not by additives.

Thankyou Jennifer, yes ill try that and yes Ill change my name. Im very sorry I got confused about user name etc when registering.
Thanks for your help

I still dont know what may be wrong with Petal, ive never seen her go off food before, any suggestions??

I just remembered I should mention that her mouth is open all the time which is unusual for her, not open wide but say 1/2 open. Ive taken her out of large tank which Ive just done a 50% water change and put her into hospital tank.
I remember when she last got ill I did the same and she perked up again. Heres hoping. Im walking around with a heavy heart at present as I feel so bad that I cant identify her ailment.
I think that axies are such an exotic pet that need so much more care than say a bunnny, fish, cat dog etc. and are not for the faint hearted.

The mouth being open suggests there is some problem with the mouth/throat, and that could be what prevents her from eating. Is the throat swollen at all?

No, i cant see anything, i just put her back in tank she is so weak. I have no sand or any substrate in there so maybe id better go and get sand again, give her some kind of life.

I don't think the sand will help. Its ok to have no substrate. Also, if you do tank water changes try and do about 20-30% and more frequently if you think than a week if you think it could be related to water. Have you had your water tested at all (ammonia/nitrites/nitrates), might pay to; and what has your tank temperature been at?

PETAL DIED AT LUNCHTIME
All her perimeters and temps were fine
Im still crying I tried everything and felt so alone . If I thought there was a vet around that could have a look at her I would have taken her.
She will be my last Axie I cant go through this again.
Im trying to find a nice spot to put her in the garden with rose petals. Rest in peace my lovely girl, I will miss you sweety.

Sorry to heart that Helen

Thankyou,
it must be something in our water, there are alot of Axies dying at present especially in our part of Aust. I will try and get some answers.