Itchy?

hi everyone, im not exactly sure if my axies are sick but lately ive been noticing my dark wildtype female trying to scratch her self with her foot and sometimes on the filter. i also noticed my white female trying to do the same thing but only with her foot. i have never seen the other two doing this. i tested my water in case something was wrong but ammonia was 0, nitrite was 0 nitrate was low and phosphate was low, so everything was normal.is it normal for axies to be itchy? maybe i should give them salt baths to kill what ever could be irritating them, like bacteria or something. they dont have anything else wrong with them, their appetites havnt changed and they look nice and healthy, also nothing is visible on the skin which could be the culprits. also i thought i should mention that about two weeks ago i gave them some ghost shrimp could this have brought anything into the tank?

any thoughts or comments?

Vanessa - Are they still acting like something is bothering them?

If you don't have live plants you might want to add some salt to the tank, or you could give them a salt bath. I am not sure what could be making them act like that.

I have (on different occasions) seen 2 of my axolotls act like they are trying to reach back with their face and touch/bite at their side and sort of dart around and acting like something was bothering them. As it turns out they were possibly a little constipated and passed a rather large poo not long after acting weird and I haven't noticed them doing it again.

As far as the shrimp go, I guess it is possible that something could have got into the tank but it should be affecting them all not just 2 of them.

Let us know what happens, and if their behavior changes.

My only thought on this is that when I first started feeding crickets, Gleek seemed irritated and was twisting around and kind of shaking his head. I assumed it was that a live cricket was wriggling around in him and bothering him. He was fine a few minutes later. (Incidentally, does anyone know if this might happen - at what point of the digestive process does live food become dead food?)

Have you had a good look at the tank? There aren't little worms or things in there that might be irritating them? But as Cynthia wrote, it should be affecting all of them...

hmmm, well last night i saw my light wildtype axie doing the ichy thing but the only one that i havent seen is my golden one. i cant see anything in their tank that could be bothering them. they dont do it all of the time. i thought maybe oliver has brought something into the tank. nothing about them has changed though, i just hate seeing them like they are kind of distressed. by the way i didnt know that cynthia was a moderator i thought she was a donor.

Cynthia's been a moderator for months, I think, maybe more.

Have you put any new live plants into the tank recently? I believe that sometimes you can get snails, worms, even baby leeches hitching a ride on these.

If it were me, I would be poking around in the substrate and seeing if anything stirred up. I'm aware that you run the risk of stirring up the different layers of bacteria, but I'd do it anyway. Maybe take a water sample in a large jar and have a look at it under a microscope (maybe at school unless you're lucky enough to have one at home), or take it out into the daylight and see if you can see anything swimming around.

Yes, I am a newbie mod it has been about 1 month.

Vanessa - You might try a salt bath for each of them just incase there is something on them that you cant't see. Or maybe try some stress coat to help their slime coat. I would add some salt to their tank as well (as long as you do not have live plants).

i dont have any live plants in my tank and never have so i dont think i would have brought something in that lives in them. i gave all of my axies a salt bath yesterday. i will get some of my tank water and look at it under a microscope, i actually got one for my birthday two weeks ago.lol. how much salt do you add when you just add it to the tank?

Vanessa - How many gallons of water does your tank have in it?

hi, I really don´t know if it´s the same problem i´ve had with my axies, they used to scratch themselves too, see if they have dieria, and watch their gills too, cause if the gills look dried it is possible it is the same thing, I treat them with medicine for internal parasites... and their fine right now.