Ammonia levels? Very pale axy.

Hey

My leucistic male axy had super red gills when I got him less than a month ago and he has been steadily looking paler. His gills have paled to a light pink, occasionally they go as pale as his body colour, and that's pretty pale. His head also seems to be a little grey (almost dusty-looking), rather than the happy pinkish white he should be.

I've been doing weekly 30% water changes, hand feeding him daily and have a biofilter. pH is usually around 6.5, temperature around 19C.

I'm assuming the problem must be the ammonia levels, from reading past posts here.

Can anyone suggest a good way to reduce ammonia build up on a long-term basis other than regular water changes? I don't want to have to change water every other day...

Thanks,
Katy

<img>

(Message approved by admin)

This is easy. You don't have ammonia problems. Osmoregulation can be thought of as the regulation of the concentration of things in the axolotl's blood. Osmoregulation is greatly affected by pH and dissolved salt concentration. Water of low pH is generally "soft" (contains low levels of salt). Axolotls generally prefer "hard" water (water that contains significant levels of salt). However the animal should be ok at pH 6.5, just don't let the pH sink any lower.

At this low pH the paleness of the body and gills is quite common (I call it temporary anemia). It's not something you need to worry about. If the animal eats well and doesn't present any symptoms of disease then it will be ok.

Good luck,

John

Thanks John

Would it help to increase the pH with sodium biphosphate? (The one that comes with the test kit).

No, not with that compound in my opinion. I heartily advise against the use of buffers. Leave the pH alone - the axolotl will be ok.

Katy, if you want to know your ammonia levels (or any levels within your tank) call a local aquarium shop (or a pet store that specialises in aquatics) as they will be able to provide testing. just take a small sample of your water down

Ph can be affected by many things.
Do you have driftwood of any sort on your tank? or are you on rainwater/tankwater?

there are safe ways of raising your pH, but chemical additives like pH up isnt a very stable one. Without buffering, your pH will go all over the place and it will be most uncomfy for your critter.

the safest course of action is to leave it alone. If it drops lower than it is now, you might need to start considering options.

Abbey, I have an ammonia test kit, and Juju's fine now - don't know what causes the occasional paleness, but it always passes.

What are the safe ways of raising pH?

I use a few pieces of oyster shell. This acts like a nice, slow way to increase the pH and the hardness of the water. The calcium bicarbonate leaches out of the shells most heavily when pH is below 7.4 (I cannot remember exactly which pH, but it may be as high as 7.6).

I get mine from the local aquarium shop.

Great idea, thanks Clarence!

In addition to shells, there are other things you can use to raise pH. Any limestone rocks will do it. And any form of calcium carbonate (including Calci-Sand, which they sell for reptiles). When I lived in an area with soft acidic water, I always put a bit of Calci-sand in my filters and it kept the pH above 6. But I wouldn't bother with any of this unless your pH drops below 6.0.