Help! Everything is dying!

Okay, so I should give some background since this is my first post.

I have 4 Axolotls. 1 yellow albino, 1 white albino, 1 normal, and 1 leucistic. I got my axolotls as young juveniles, and they are currently about 6+ months old, and 4-5" in length. They were about an inch long when I first got them. These are my first axolotls, as well as my first amphibians, however, I do keep MANY reptiles, and have for a few years. My boyfriend has worked with axolotls in the past, but he cant seem to help me.

In my tank, I also keep [or did keep] albino zebra danios, albino cory cats, and red platys. I was going to go for an all-albino tank. I keep a fair amount of sword plants, and some other plants, I dont know the names of. I use a few large stone pebbles, with a few big lava rocks with plants growing out of the holes. no gravel, and a decent filter, and they are kept at room temperature.

Well I was raising them up in ~ 18 gallon tank. Its like a really tall 10 gallon, but not quite as wide as a 20 gallon. They have been doing fantastic, growing like weeds. Eating, pooping, swimming, getting along really well.

Originally I got them in a tupperware container. I kept them in a sterylite tub for a few weeks, while I got some plants and a tank and set it up. A very short while after that, I got some of my first fish, and a few more plants and added that in. A few months later, I added the platys, Still, things were going great.

The last few weeks, I have been thinking that its getting a bit cramped, and that I wanted to upgrade their tank. So I pulled out one of my old 40 gallons, washed it [without soap or chemicals] and let it soak and sit out in the sun all day, then I dumped it, rinsed it, Brought it inside and filled it.

I started tranfering all of the rocks, plants and everything over to the new tank while it was filling.

I have a "small boy" brand filtration system, which is a step down from reverse osmosis. It filters out all of the chlorine, flouride, ammonia etc, while leaving all of the benifical bacteria in the water. Its what I give all of my animals and drink myself, and it is what I have been using on my fish tank, ever since Ive had it. Whenever I do a water change, anything, I just fill directly from the filter.

So, I was transferring everything over, I put the axolotls in, and they start swimming around, everything is great. I pull the fish out, and put them into a deli cup with some water, and float it in the tank. After about 20-30 minutes, I check the water, same temp inside and out, and let the fish out. They are a bit slow at first, but go off swimming away.

I have company come over, and after I get things all situated, I leave for a few hours attending to them.

Later, I come back, and notice that the fish are swimming all weird. Like swimming up to the surface, and just sinking back down. again, and again, and then being all wonky and crooked. A little bit of time passes, and slowly but surely, all of my danios and platys die.

By this point i am FREAKING out. My axolotls start going up to the surface, like they are trying to breathe/gasp for air. something I have never seen them do. they seem to be swimming/acting normally besides that, but the last thing I am going to do is stand by while my axolotls die. So, out of desperation, I pull them out of the tank, and into the old one, which I hadnt dumped yet. [thank god for procrastination??] They seem to be fine again. The remaining danio has died, and the corys seem fine so far.

Someone on another forum suggested it might be a water issue, and so I am taking some water from both tanks into get analyzed and see what is going on, since the water in the new tank, is the exact same water that I started the original tank with, It is the exact same water that I use for the water changes and everything, and I am VERY VERY far away from needing a filter change on the small boy, and the filter on the tank is still new-ish and not in need of a change.

Any suggestions would be greatly apreciated. Desperate problem or not, I am glad I found this place, I dont find many people who dig axolotls

Thanks in advance!!

Oh, and here is a pic from when i first got them:

I'm not sure how close your filter is to r-o but r-o water shouldn't be used for aquatic amphibs because they litterally rip everything out of the water, good or bad. Have your tap water tested or phone your water board and ask for an analysis. just because the water was ok for the last tank doesn't mean your tap water is still coming from the same reservior.

Thanks for the response. I am taking my water in to get tested today. Its close to RO in the way that it takes all the bad stuff out [chlorine, chloramine, flouride, ammonia, etc] but it leaves all of the good stuff in. RO water isnt safe to drink, so I definitely wouldnt use it on my animals. This water I drink myself, and I give to all my animals.

hi

first an foremost, dont keep axies with fish. simple, it stresses them, and the cories have nasty spines that can cause serious damage. on top of that the fish you are keeping are tropicals, which need higher temps than axolotls

i would say it is also a water problem. chack the parameters for any problems with the water. make sure the temperature is 18, make sure the axolotls are on sand not gravel, and then everything should be fine.

i wish you luck

Alex

It might be that the tank is not well cicled. Even though your filter takes out all the chlorine and ammonia, and leaves the bacteria, those bacteria might not be enough. My guess is that so many animals put in at the same time increased ammonia to such high levels that the bacteria weren't able to consume it all. It happened to me, but then again I washed the all tank, filter, gravel, and all, that time, so it was a bigger mistake (fortunatelly no casualties).

I would change some third of the water and then put only one axie there for a week or so, the others leave in the little tank. Latter, when the tank will be cycled and the bacteria will build up, add the other. Remember the axolotls absorb substances through skin, so they are more sensitive to dangerous substances than scaled fishes.

Btw, most people don't advise putting fishes togheter with axolotls, as they can nip on their gills, or serve as a meal. I only tried bottom feeders, and wasn't very succesful: 4 unexplained deaths and one Missing In Action (although I felt something long and hard in one of the axies' stomach...).

Test the water of the tank where it happened, if you still have it. If the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are ok, then ignore all that I said. Except about the fishes.