Really Worried

I recently added a new Axie to my tank. So now i have two a male and a female... and now it has been a week and the male that i have added is missing some of his tail and he is not eating what so ever... Have tried to feed him all sorts of things from beef heart to axolotl pellets and still nothing.. What can i do???

Hi steveo,

I have a couple of questions. Did you quarentine your new addition before adding it? and what ages/sizes are the axies.

A week is ok for an axie to go without food. He may be getting picked on. Doesn't sound from what you have said that he is settled in.

I would remove him for a while and see if he settles in a different tank. Are all your water parameters ok?

Hi...yep i did quarentine him...The New axie is around a year old and 15cm and the other one is about a year and a half to two years and she is 28cm... I had the water checked and from what i have read everything is good for Axies... He is now going mental whenever anything goes near him.... I dont have another tank i filled it with fish is their anything else that i can put him in????

Hi Steveo sounds like he may have been attacked in the tank.

In the wild axies lead solitary lives. They are not normally aggressive towards each other but if there is a large size variation the smaller ones are sometimes confused with food and bitten.

The good news is that axies have amazing regenerative abilities. Are your new axies gills pointing forward or the tip of its tail curling to the side? these are 2 signs of stress.

From what you have said I would propose this scenario. Young axie bitten and now freaking out and stressed.

If you don't have another tank I would remove him into a container and fridge him for a week just to give him a chance to "chill" pardon the pun. Fridging lowers the metabolic rate and helps reduce stress.

You will need to keep a bottle of dechlorinated water in the fridge too and use it for daily water changes.

You may need to get a tank divider to keep them separate when you reintroduce them. I would try and get another small tank and let it grow another 3-5 cms before I tried again.

In the short term though I would fridge him.

Good Luck

The gills are pointing slightly forward...
Do i need to have the fridge at a certain temp or is it ok for him to be at the temp that the food is at???
Where do I buy a tank divider?? and is there any way that i can get him to grow faster??

Im not sure where in aussie you would get one but a perspex sheet from bunnings or mitre 10 will do the trick and be cheaper than whats on offer at petshops.

Food storage temp is ideal, but there have been breeders and keepers who have axies survive outdoors under ice so long as there is food. They come form glacial fed mountain streams originally.

T.L.C. will help it grow

Good Luck

Steveo, you did quarantine him but for a very short time, rather than what would normally be the 30 day quarantine period (wasn't it 10 days, but then like most people that haven't been advised properly, you didn't know).

As for ideal fridge temperature, minimum of 5C. Check by placing a thermometer in a glass of water and placing in the fridge for 15-20minutes then check.

You can use a vegie bin or icecream container with lid when fridging.

Alternative to tanks, if you have any, big plastic storage bins on wheels, a plastic bucket or spare vegetable bin if you have one. You'll need to change the water daily on temporary tanks though. If using a bucket, make sure you place something over the top so he doesn't jump, or if you have a cat so it doesn't hurt your axie.

Feed the smaller one once or twice a day, try and feed earthworms if you have them. Clean up any uneaten food within a few hours.