Need some advice, please.

I hope someone can help me. I bought an axolotl over a week ago as my last one had died, and am trying to avoid making the same mistakes as last time. He hasn't eaten at all. I bought a ph kit and it kept showing alkaline I tried getting the ph down and today after I came back from a few days away it seemed to be more alkaline than ever. Well, I used a bit more ph powder than I normally would and now the ph colour seems neutral but I'm worried I lowered it to quickly. Could that be dangerous? His gills are curled forward and I read on this forum its a sign of stress. How do I make it less stressful? I used gravel with the last one and have changed to river rock/stones, which I did not buy from a pet shop but I did wash them well and even boil them to get rid of the contaminates, before I put them in. I can't think of anything else to do to make him happier. I tried feeding mealworms but he just backs away when I try to feed them to him. Any help would be welcome.

Don't stress too much about feeding him as they're not real hungry after moving,give him a while and he'll be hungry.
I'm not sure about the pH stuff hopefully someone on the forum can give you some knowledge about it.
He could be stressed from a number of things if you're done changing the water for the time being hopefully he should relax a little.
What's your tank temp?

Monica did you cycle your tank? see: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

Don't use powders or other stuff to raise or lower your pH, it can cause more stress, especially if it only is temporary fixes. What no. was your pH reading when it was alkaline? Axies can live in a pH range of 6.8 to 8.0 but 7.4-7.6 is usually more ideal. Saying that, you shouldn't try to correct your pH unless it is way above or below the two levels mentioned and/or your ammonia/nitrite levels are higher than 0.

Most importantly you should test your water, especially if it hasn't been cycled, by taking a sample to the petshop and asking them to test the tankwater for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Get them to give you the figures. How often do you do waterchanges and as emmy says what is your tank temperature? Anything above 22-23 degrees celcius should be cooled (not with icecubes) as this can also cause your axie stress as can high ammonia/nitrite levels.

If your tank isn't cycled you will need to do regular water tests and regular (20-30% waterchanges) every day or every 2nd day; and make sure to clean up waste daily (with a turkey baster if you don't already have one).

Not all axies will eat mealworms. Have you tried decapitating them first b4 feeding)? Have you tried feeding him earthworms or anything else?

Sorry I haven't gotten back sooner. My friend tested for nitrates and it showed positive. I'm not sure how high they were but the tank water stones, rocks etc were clean before I put him in and I only had him a short time so I don't know how it could show nitrates. Temp at present is about 19 - 21 degrees. Last year it did get higher and I put iced bottles in when it got to about 25 degrees. I use a filter and put it on a low flow rate. I presume thats what you mean by recycled. I do behead mealworms before I offer them and have tried earthworms. I'm thinking of trying feeder fish again but I had some with the last axolotl and I think they were eating his tail.That one died from starvation due to either stress or gravel problems which upset me at the time as I knew he was going to die but I couldn't do anything. I also can't see where this one has produce any waste. I clean any gunk I can see with a fish net. Thanks again for your help.

Not recycled but cycled, which is establishing a good bacteria in your tank. If you have nitrates, sounds like it may be cycled; but what are the ammonia and nitrite levels (very important, hence reason I said to take a sample to your petshop and ask for specific figures) How high were the nitrates?

Don't use feeder fish, they could carry parasites and may cause more problems than just gill nibbling; also they add to the waste in your tank.

Axie waste disintegrates pretty fast or may have been sucked up filter, nothing unusual there. If you have gravel still, you may find there is a lot of gunk/waste in your tank from what get's hidden and trapped beneath it. Fish nets probably aren't the greatest for scooping things out, i tried it when I couldn't find our turkey baster and it drove me nuts. At least with a turkey baster, you squeeze the rubber bit, and can pick up in specific areas. If his tail was deteriorating it may not have only been the feeder fish but high ammonia and or nitrites which can be quite toxic. Feeder fish can usually be a bit hardier when it comes to water quality compared to axies.

Find out the other water parameters they are just as important; and have a look at the article link I posted it explains the nitrogen cycle.

Kapo, Thankyou for your help. I'm taking a dose of water to the petshop tomorrow and they will test it for me. Unfortunately I didn't bring enough today. However they told me to get rid of the riverstones as they could leak calcium and other harmful stuff. I didn't buy them from a petshop I got them from one of those el-cheapo shops, so at the moment the poor thing is on glass although I have got a couple of ornaments in the tank. I'm waiting for some strata type of sand stuff the pet shop is getting in. I didn't know this was going to be so complicated. So I'll go to the pet shop tomorrow and find out about these ammonia and nitrate levels

You can get some cheap playsand from Bunnings or some place similar (over here costs about $5 a sack of 25kg) The sand the petshop is ordering is likely to be expensive.

Sorry, it's probably confusing but ask them to write the figures down for nitrite as well as nitrate and ammonia.

(Message edited by kapo on December 19, 2006)

I got the pet shop to do a test and it showed no nitrates but the ammonia was between 1 and 2. I don't know if all readings are the same or it depends on the test brand. She lent me something called a nitra - zorb which I can use for a couple of weeks before I buy one. It looks like a big teabag and gets rid of ammonia and nitrates.Is it worth getting? Is any one using one? Is there any risk of sand bought from a hardware shop being contaminated with anything harmful? Thanks again for your help

The best thing at this stage is with ammonia that high, don't add any chemicals to fix; do daily waterchanges - 20%-30%; this will keep the ammonia levels from rising too much. Never to a complete waterchange though.

Did they not test for nitrites (different from nitrATES)?

Don't use the nitrazorb (you need nitrates in your tank) - actually try not to use any chemicals in your tank the petshop advises (they love to sell products); sounds like your tank may be cycling, depending on how long your tank has been established.

The best thing you could buy, so you don't get wrong information and can get an idea of what cycling is and where it is at would be to get a freshwater master test kit - in this will be tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as well as high and low range pH. They may be a bit pricey (anywhere up to $75 here in NZ), but if you can afford it they are well worth it even more so than buying the sand. If you can't afford the testkit, then most importantly try and buy the first two as they can be bought individually - ammonia and nitrITEs and probably a bit cheaper this way.

Try the sand from Bunnings, or nothing for the moment, I used river rocks in two of our tanks but in a small area on top of the sand (also from a cheapy shop $2 shop for a 1kg bag and still have them in one of our tanks that has been running a year - haven't noticed any problems with our axies from them).

(Message edited by kapo on December 19, 2006)

She did 3 tests and the nitrites was not worth worrying about or negative. I'll do the water changes for now. But he's still not eating and I can't see any poo around either. Every time I try to feed him he just backs away.