Help, Petal is very sick, Ive lost Stevie.

Help, Stevie died 2 days ago and Petal is now showing same symptoms.
I tried Stevie in fridge and also salt baths but i couldnt save him, I watched him slowly die which is soul destroying.Stevie loved contact with me and was happy to be touched and crawled on my hand underwater. I really enjoyed him.
Anyhow I read all the "sick axie" posts and couldnt identify stevies illness.
Im thinking it may have been linked to:
1) I put new boiled sand in tank 2 weeks ago to top it up, this made the water cloudy so I did a larger 75% water change. It may have crashed the bio filter?
2) we are in drought here and the water may be treated more than usual, alot of people have a tummy bug which wipes you out for a week with intense bloating.
They may have caught it from me due to contact with my hand?
Anyway now Petal has a curled tail, she is in hospital in just enough water to cover her so she can rest. Im not game to put her in fridge as she never has been in there, shes always been so healthy. Her right side is lopsided, shes leaning to the left and her right feet seem to be stiffening as if she has had a "stroke".
No signs of fungus or discolouration.
Please help me before im too late to save her, Ill try anything.

Have you tested the levels of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH?

Yes you may have crashed the biofilter by the large change.

Also how deep is the sand bed? As a possibility; if it is too deep and there is sufficient organics dissolved in the water then there is a chance of anaerobic bacterial growth in the sand bed. If this occurs, then small amounts of hydrogen sulfide can be released into the water column. Hydrogen sulfide is very toxic in small amounts.

Thanks, Edward Im so glad you replied, Yes Ive checked the ph in main tank which is very alkaline and Petal has started to shed tiny pieces of skin in hospital tank.
The hosp tank has a perfect PH, im sorry I dont have other testing kits but usually take water down to Aquarium shop for testing.
Ive put charcoal in filter and also put a PH stabilizing block in last night to try and bring it down, any other suggestions?
Petal has stabilized, her legs are back to normal but her tail is still curled.

I would keep the axie in the hospital tank until you know for sure that your water is good. Get it tested or buy a test kit. If it is your water your axie will only get ill again..


*me also wants my axies*

Thanks, Im very tempted to change 100% water in main tank as the hospital tank has perfect PH and wasnt aged, and shes picked up.
Is there any reason why I shouldnt start again from scratch and do daily water changes like I did when I first got Petal?
I know its drastic but I cant fix the main tank
water.HELP PLEASE. Im on dial up so ill disconnect and give it 1/2 an hour and reconnect.

I remember when you first got Petal. Don't be tempted to do the 100% water change. As it's Monday tomorrow, the best thing to do will be to take a sample of water down to your local petshop and get them to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Don't be tempted to buy quick fixes from the petshop. If needed the best thing would be too do 10% waterchanges daily. Having done the 75% change your tank is already starting a cycle again.

Axies can survive in waters from 6.8 to 8.0, so not necessary to have a perfect pH and should avoid adding anything (ie pH up or downs which are temporary fixes - am not sure what a pH block is?).

You never mentioned your temperature? And what about your hospital tank is that changed daily or was the water already cycled?

Thanks Kapo, The hospital tank wasnt cycled it was 100% new. Petal looked great in there but wanted to go back home.
The sand in main tank was deep at one end to create a beach for stevie. I would say the sand held nasties so I took the tank outside to front lawn and emptied it and washed it out with salt water and hosed it out.
Im sorry to say Im starting from scratch again.
The PH is 7.4.
I have never bought any other kits and Have always relied on my observations of Petal and smell of water.
But the best news is Petal is looking really well.
I sat the main tank in sunlight to help rid from chlorine. Ive added water conditioner and ACE, (ammonia/chlorine eliminator) I have the floor bare with just a couple of her favourite things in there, which I washed.
The culprit may have been the new fake hollow log which has been in for 2 weeks. Im not putting it in again.
The temp has been 22 - 24 and the wonderful part of the empty tank was that I could move it onto floor to keep her cool. Sorry to rave on but Im so happy. Petal is HUNGRY! She grabbed a worm with gusto, she is back to her old self in a brand new tank.even her tail is straight.legs are normal.
I need to do daily changes and Ive forgotten the percentage, any other tips?
Thanks

Im sorry I will look up cycling new tanks posts and get info there.
And thanks Kapo again. I dont like chemical quick fixes either except for agers when waterchanging.
That is why instead of using anything to try and fix tank I did 100% change as sand was smelly too.
I will look at posts to keep hospital tank cycling in case I need it again , touch wood I wont!

I don't think the new log would have been the problem especially if it was an aquarium safe one bought from petshop. It may have been a combination of the sand depth, which could have been fixed by moving and/or giving it a stir using turkey baster and siphon, . The smells could have been fixed by doing 10% waterchanges daily.

If you cycle your big tank, even adding the log, as it will give more space for the good bacteria to grow on. Keep her in the smaller hospital tank and just do 20%-30% waterchanges daily. Can you get the hospital tank lower than 22 degrees celcius. If not, as long as you can keep it below 24. We keep some of our tanks on floor too in the spare bedroom, though we don't get your temperatures thankfully.

here is the cycling article link: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

But glad to hear she's improving.

Thanks Kapo,
I will put her favourite 1/2 terracotta pot cave back in and do the changes.
The morning temps are 20.c and pm temps hit 24.c
my friends say "isnt Mexico Hot", as in mexican walking fish! they dont understand the need for cool water.

I just had a thought, I also lost my siamese fighting fish who of course was in his own tank, I also did a small waterchange with him.
Im going to email the water people to find out whether there has been a big dump of something last week. A friend who is a chemistry Phd said that up north they advised people not to do tank refills or fills on Fridays!! Maybe the same down here.
Could be worth looking into, ill check and start a thread if i find out anything.