Does Luca have fleas?

L

lisa

Guest
My new axie Luca keeps shaking his head really fast and then trying to scratch his gills with his back foot like a cat does. Is it possible for an axolotl to get fleas or an itchy head?
Please help! I dont want to loose him!
 
its ok my axis do that some times they have a common itch thats all it is so dont worry
 
I believe this can be a sign of bad water quality.
 
Lisa what is your tank temperature and have you tested your water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates? If you don't have test kits, take a sample of tankwater to the petshop and ask them to test for the 3 mentioned and give you the figures/results. If ammonia or nitrite are high do a daily 30% partial only waterchange. Don't add any chemicals, especially things the petshop might advise you to buy to fix nitrite or ammonia!



Have you added anything recently to your tank? How long have you had Luca for and when did he start scratching? Does he have any other companions?
 
Hey guys.

I have only had luca for about 28 days and he started last night. I change his water every three or four days because hes in a biggish fish bowl till hes big eneough to go in with my other axie. He dosn't have any other axies in with him at the moment.

I just changed his water last night and it was after I put him in that he started scratching. The ph is fine too.
 
As long as he's being kept with the fishbowl method, I would recommend changing his water every 1-2 days. The longer the water sits, the more different it becomes from the tap water, so it's a bigger shock when it's changed. You do add a product to remove chlorine from the water, right?
 
Well, it may just be an itch then - do you check the ammonia and nitrite at all?, Also, what has tank temperature been sitting at?
 
Yes, I do treat the water and I leave it for about 15 minutes before I put him in.
His tank temperature id about 19 20 degrees - give or take a little depending on how warm or cold it is. No I don't test for ammonia or nitrite because I change the water as soon as it gets a little dirty.
 
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