Help...Axle is sick and i dont know what to do!

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Nina

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Nina
Hi,

I've had Axle for about 3 months now. I noticed that he was floating on the surface the other day and wasnt as energetic as normal. He was eating however (beef heart). But this morning when i checked on him he wasnt moving, wouldnt respond to me and had thrown up his food, not just from yesterday but a few days worth. So he isnt digesting at all. He is alive, he did end up finally moving for me but i'm really worried about him. He is on his own in a tank with large pebbles. As its winter hear the water is rather cool so it isnt water temperature.

Any suggestions would be great!

Cheers
 
No, they had big pebbles as well so i know he hasnt eaten anything that i havent fed him.
 
ok...got home and did some tests on the water, all is fine. axels gills are fine, strong & healthy looking. he was moving slowly and responded to me when i got in so that is a good sign. and he is hungry so i have fed him and so far so good...hopefully he will be ok. if anyone has any ideas as to wat could be wrong with him please let me know!
 
What is the temperature of the water exactly, and what are the levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in the tank?
 
Water temp is about 18 degrees, i cant remember the levels exactly but they were the normal levels. ph is about 7 or 7.2. His tail has now gone a dark red/pink. He's an albino. I noticed that he has a dark line around his mouth where it touches. not sure what this is!
 
What kind of filter do you have? Does your axolotl have black eyes or red/gold eyes?
 
I'll have to check the name later, but its an internal filter, sticks on the wall, german brand. a friend bought me the set up but it was the one the aquarium shop recommended.
He has red/golden eyes a bit clear. this is a photo that i have...very fussy but gives an idea. this was taken before he got sick.

 
What are your ammonia and nitrite levels? Normal in a cycled tank for those two are 0 mg/l. Anything above 0 and you'd need to do a partial waterchange (20-30%) to bring any toxins down.

How often do you clean the tank (ie, do you clean up all uneaten/regurgitated food and poo on a daily basis or just do a weekly siphon/waterchange and clean it up?)

How often do you feed him?
 
Ammonia and nitrites are both 0, ph is 7.4, nitrates is 10. i do a partial water change weekly and clean the tank thoroughly each time. but i do a waste clean daily. i feed him daily, but he doesnt always eat daily, some days he doesnt take it. I normally feed him beef heart but im trying some glass brine shrimps tonight to see if he likes those as something different.
filter is a eheim pick up internal filter. the output nozzle is on medium so that it isnt too strong for him.
he is very sluggish and not very responsive, but at least he has stopped floating, he just sits on the bottom all day hardly moving, which is very strange for him as he was quite active.
 
I think the biggest problems here are 1) the filter is probably causing far too much flow and it is stressing your axolotl. Your water shouldn't move very much. Axolotls don't like a current.

2) You're destroying your biological filter every time you clean the tank. This means there are huge swings in ammonia and nitrite. a 20% water change is all you need. There's no need to scrub the glass or any decorations. The rocks you have are probably concealing hidden waste. It will build up under there and cause issues.

Read these two articles here: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml and http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/waterquality.shtml

As axolotls get older, they do much less swimming. They also eat less when its cold.
 
thanks for your help! I didnt realise that cleaning the tank would do that! i was cleaning it with axle in it and waiting for any waste to settle and then siphoning it out. but i guess i wont be doing that anymore!
I've turned down the filter to low, it was actually almost on low before, but axle used to avoid it anyways, but he does hide under neath it tho.
his tail has gone back to its normal colour now, and he hasnt thrown up anymore food. so im hoping he is ok now!
cheers
 
You've got large pebbles as a substrate. These can hide LOTS of waste. Do you vacuum them often?

I'm not saying don't clean your tank, but a good siphoning and a 20% water change once a week (depending on the size of your tank) is pretty adequate. There's rarely a need to scrub the entire tank.

Do you have any hiding spots for him?
 
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