PLEASE HELP!! i'm really worried!

I've had my first axie for about a month now, she is about 3 1/2 inches long and i'm worried about her! she is doing alot of floating, before it was horizontal but for the last two days shes been floating a bit wonky, with one of her back legs up. i noticed a film on the water and there is alot of bubbles on the surface and she seems to gulp alot of air, especially when i'm feeding her. Also she has a lump on one side, any idea what this could be? their is still gravel in the tank, but under a layer of large stones so it would be quite hard for her to get to them. i feed her 4-5 blood worms (from frozen) per day - is this too much, or too little? i do a water change once a week and the water temp is usually 19 - 21 degrees, i keep it cool with a fan. Please help because i'm really worried about her, she doesn't look right!

EDIT: i just did a water test using a kit that tests 5 things but i don't really know what they mean! here they are:

NO3 - 250
NO2 - 10
GH - 10
KH - 6
PH - 8


(Message edited by thefunkyinuit on June 17, 2006)

her bum was floating about half an hour ago but shes stopped floating now. was it just a bit of gas?! i've just been using water that was left to stand for a few days but i was told to get some stuff to put in the water to make it safe. i bought some Safe Water made by King British, it doesn't say its for axies, it says its for fish, but the guy knew abit about axies and said that it would be ok, but i wanted to check it with you lot before i used it! it says it removes harmful ammonia and nitrate. for use in tropical, coldwater and marine aquariums. do you think this is ok to use? i'm sorry if i sound like a worrier but i'm a total newbie!

Did you cycle your tank at all? What you shud use rather than just aging (letting your water stand) is a dechlorinator to remove the chlorine and chloramines. There are alot of dechlorinator products out there.

What's your ammonia reading?

NO2 is nitrites
NO3 I assume is nitrates

KH/GH we don't really do a reading for that (so not sure what that one is for)

Best way to get your ammonia and/or nitrites levels down would be with with waterchanges, rather than using that Safe Water (maybe you can take it back and swap for a dechlorinator, if you don't have any).

As for temp, if she continues with the floating maybe pop your axie in the fridge(as long as it is not lower than 5degrees cel.) while you try to manage the tank temp as fluctuating temps can stress them out too.

(Message edited by kapo on June 18, 2006)

hi there,
ourlittle axie boy floated constantly for more than a month when we got him- his sibling remained on the bottom. I thought he was dying sometimes at he would get worse at night and nearly tip right over. he also used to get lumps in his side and swim crazily around the tank bumping into the glass. I now suspect he was gulping in too much air with his blood worms coz when i started feeding him more solid food he started sinking! is your axie eating ok? We also didnt know abour cycling a tank when i got them.

Kapo: I haven't cycled the tank as i'm still unsure of how to do it and why, and i've read alot on it and the article but its still confusing! also it says its stressful.

i will take to safe water back and get some dechlorinator or can i use it with the dechlorinator? it wasn't expensive so i'm not really worried about that! or how often should i do water changes? i do weekly ones at the moment.

about the ammonia reading, i dunno that cus the kit didn't test for that....

i think i've got the temp stable now....and i wouldn't feel safe putting her in the fridge!

mary: she did float upside yesterday...it really scared me shes really into her food, really gobbles it down, thats why i was worried that i wasn't feeding her enough! but because shes floating she gets air with every gulp!
I'm still not sure if i'm feeding her enough!!!

thankyou so much for your help! x

My advice, for what its worth, is you should:

Buy a test kit for Ammonia and test your tank regularly for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Your ph at this stage isn't a prob.

An ideal cycled tank (water parameters) reading is:

ammonia: 0
nitrites: 0
nitrates: 20ppm

so if your nitrates and ammonia is any higher than 0 do a 20-30% waterchange to bring it down. Test the water every 2nd day, and if need be do a waterchange, as well as keep that temp down , if you can.

If unsure about your readings, post them here and ask (there will always be someone round to give you advice/help).

High temp combined with poor water quality (not enuf water changes and cleaning up uneaten food or poos - turkey basters are great for this) can make your axie sick.

OK I just looked up the Safe Water and it is similar to Stress Zyme, it's supposed to kickstart a new tank or add a booster to your biological filtration. Do you have Safe Guard (that is a water conditioner/dechlorinator); that would be a better one to swap it for if you can.

Also, when your axie starts to wobble float, or float upside down, it's not too good, so just keep an eye on your axie. The fridge destresses them, slows their metabolism down which will allow them time to heal.

I'm not sure if you are overfeeding on the bloodworms, we fed ours with baby earthworms (or half earthworm chopped) twice a day. You'll know if you are overfeeding, if you find regurgitated food straight after feeding or a little bit later. They can be pigs and will stuff themselves, given the opportunity.

(Message edited by kapo on June 19, 2006)

thankyou for your time and help, it is very appreciated!

i don't have any safe guard but i will try and swap the safe water for some.

Lindsey, am in UK too, and Aqua Plus dechlorinator seems to work well.So you are definately safe with that one.Use the amount specified on the bottle.Also get a test kit for Ammonia.

As your tank isn't cycled, you could do 20% water change daily, to keep your ammonia reading down.

Thanks for all the advice everyone! i went to the petshop at lunch time and asked for safe guard, they said that aqua safe by tetra aqua is the same thing, which is what i use for my goldfish. i got some more anyway. its says it neutralises chlorine and heavy metals, protects against wounds, abrasions and infection and reduces stress. it says its for all tropical, coldwater and marine aquaria.

I tested the water again and it gave pretty much the same reading as last time, then i tested the water that i have ready for the water change i will do tonight, the nitrates readings were very low. i will test it again once i've added the aqua safe. The pet shop i went to today didn't have any testing kits for ammonia so that will have to wait until tomorrow.

i think i will do daily water changes, this won't be too stressful will it?

as for putting her in the fridge, my fridge is far to cold, so i can't really do that!

she is still a bit floaty and wobbly at the moment......

hi - i was advised to feed my floaty guy lower down in the tank so he wasn't gulping air in as well.( he also used to bite the air bubble thing too- crazy little man)
what are you feeding him?

shes on frozen bloodworms at the moment, i bought some frozen daphnia too but i haven't given her any of that yet. she goes for the air bubbles too! i fed her lower down in the tank last night and it seemed to help

The KH = Carbonate hardness and GH = General hardness. Im pretty sure its baisically a measure of things like salts and calcium in the water. Its generally not worried about except on occasions where it affects the pH. If you are leaving her in during the cycling then daily water changes will be much more beneficial than stressful. If you are able, putting her in a separate container while you cycle the tank might be easier. Plastic tubs and underbed containers work well and are fairly cheap. All you really have to put in there is a tube or tunnel of some kind for shelter. You do need to do 100% daily changes on those containers. Just leave the container in the quietest, coolest spot in the house.

(Message edited by a_god on June 23, 2006)

I never test for ammonia in any of my tanks.

My basic reasoning for this is if there is ammonia then it's game over and living things are dead!!!!!

Super important to cycle though to make sure the biological and mechanical filtration is working. In the UK you can even get biological cultures to bump start the cycling process. Patience is the best bet though and lots of water changes.

Clare, that's not true. If you have low levels of ammonia, you can correct them before you kill your animals.

Most of the biological cultures that claim to 'speed up cycling' are worthless.

I remember a while back that somebody had a floating axie and they were feeding frozen foods too. I think they fed their axie a few garden worms and the axie seemed to sink back to the bottom. Maybe try a garden worm of too and see if this 'stable solid food' helps. Just dig around the garden where you know there hasn't been any chemicals used, or go to a bait shop/garden centre, they usually sell them. I hope your axie gets better. If you are uncertain about cycling your tank with the axie in there (because it is stressful) you could take the axie out and put him in a separate container and change the water in his container every day (100%) this would then give the tank a chance (about a month) to cycle on its own. You said you have goldfish, maybe you could take out some of the filter media or ornaments from the goldfish tank and put in the axie tank to help speed up the cycling process.

Hi, it’s me. You know the guy nobody really cares about. I saw this problem and just like a fat man at Denny’s I couldn't help but respond to this post. Now in my opinion it seems like the problem is coming from those bloodworms and daphnia. An often occurring problem with live food is that it tends to harbor various stages of parasitic microorganisms; endoparasites and ectoparasites. Are there really any other kinds? Endoparasites are an internal form of parasite such as the tapeworm and ectoparasites are an external form such as the water louse. If I were you I’d worry about both groups, especially when using live food. Often life food is treated under poor conditions and is subjected to a number of problems. Last year I lost a puffer fish to a form of endoparasite which had been hiding away in those little bloodworm cubes we often find so “cute” and “adorable”. Keeping live food outdoors greatly increases the risk since your basically welcoming them to a meal. That’s why I have completely stopped feeding my axolotls any form of live food since I found it hard to find it healthy and robust. You should try feeding him or her Hikari Carnivores Sinking Pellets. Although for fish, it works well with axolotls; it gives them all the essential vitamins and nutrition they need and it offers higher levels of protein than live food. So you can rest easy knowing that it’s parasite and bacteria free. Plus it comes in a sealed bag. A SEALED BAG!!!! I mean how great is that? It’s like two bargains in one!

(Message approved by jennewt)

Hi there all,
Since I see that there are a few people on line I'd like to ask a question. I am caring for a black axolotl for 2 weeks while school is on holidays. He is in a rather small unfiltered tank, and has developed a mouth fungus. I have changed the water in his tank a couple of times and added water safe stuff. I've had fish before but it's been a long time. Reading this page makes me think the tank is way too small for him to stay clean enough. I have put some malachite green in to treat him but not too much as it should only be used with a filter..... He eats a couple of lumps of prime mince every few days. My room is heated as it is colder but am unsure of the water temp. I definitely dont want to kill him before he gets back to the classroom.....help please.

(Message approved by ed)

Even if they harbor parasitic organisms, this is what they eat in the wild. It's natural food. Every living thing on this earth has parasites (you and me included).

snip "Last year I lost a puffer fish to a form of endoparasite which had been hiding away in those little bloodworm cubes we often find so “cute” and “adorable”. Endsnip

Odd, the vast majority of parasites are killed through the freezing process after about two weeks. What was the parasite that survived the freezing process and how was it identified?

Ed

I actually had to pull a Frankenstein and dissect the infected remains to discover that it was a breeding ground for Chilodonella. Not a pretty sight. Oh, and just to point out that although humans and axolotls can have parasites within the body that doesn’t mean the parasites are not dangerous. Can you honestly say that your dog having Coccidia within its body would be normal? And last time I checked I didn’t see chemical soaked blood worms and genetically enhanced crickets as foods being found in their native waters. Plus this food is in no way “natural”, it may have started off “natural” but once they smothered the worms with more chemicals than a Big Mac I’m pretty sure it stopped being “natural”, besides if bloodworms sold in Fish Stores and Pet Shops are natural, then why do they contain all those added preservatives?


Try to also remember that axolotls in the wild are more vigorous and hearty than the ones which live in captivity, meaning they’re immune systems are more likely to fend off the parasites before a major problem can occur. I mean let’s think about this for a second. Which one do you think would be healthier, the axolotl who has no boundaries, can feed whenever it wants, and can take a dump wherever it wants or the axolotl that’s being confined to live in a small tank, limited feeding, and has to get hit with its own poop and urine everyday while it swims along in its little area. You be the judge. Pet axolotls need help from their owners when they get infected by an illness or disease, plus they tend not to live as long as the average lifespan for the few existing ones in the wild.

(Message approved by ed)