axie diagnosis needed!!

hi gang,
our axies were rescued from a travelling fish guy, one who does markets and stuff. we saw them in their little plastic tank and had to save them from the stressful life they were leading. We've had them for 3-4 weeks now. I have a couple of questions about their health... please see attached pics for diagnosis...
pic1. lilith has a brown spot that has recently come up, just in front of her right rear leg and on her right front elbow. Any ideas what this could be?
pics2&3. their fronds don't seem at all to be as healthy as i have seen elsewhere on this site. What do i do to help that healing process along?
pic4. are they fat enough? they seem quite skinny to me.
any help'd be much appreciated!!

Hi,

Photo one I can't really tell can you get a close up shot?

Photos 2 & 3 yes they do, The lack or loss of filaments on the gill stubs usually indicates a water quality issue. This may have been caused before you rescued them. I suggest you check your water parameters and temperature. Is there any sign of fungus?

You could try 20-30% water changes every two to three days in the meantime to improve the quality of your water. Temperatures of more than 18 degrees start causing issues for axies.

Photo four. Yes this one looks thin I would try small daily feeds for a couple of weeks until you can see an improvement in weight.

I would also remove the small pebbles/gravel from the bottom of your tank as they can ingest this and it causes impaction which is stressful for both axie and owner.

Have a look at www.axolotl.org it has all the relevant information and much more.

Good Luck

hi
a couple of questions,
how bid is their tank? it looks very small for bio-load of 2 axies
is it filtered if so how fast? the slower it is the less stressfull
have you tested water as it looks cloudy? ammonia=0 nitrite=0 nitrate- 40/80 are ideal parameters
are they still on gravel? if so i would remove it
do you have live plants or airstone? they produce oxygen.
do you remove poop and dead food? this should be done as soon as noticed .
shrinking gills is normally a sign of bad water quality, if your tank is unfiltered you need to do full water changes to get rid of the bad bacteria, if it is filtered you need to do 20-30% water changes daily until good bacteria has built up in the filter and can cope with the bio load.

axie diagnosis

Re: spot
I'll try to get a close up shot, although looking at ther just then, the spot seems to be disappearing...

Re: The lack or loss of filaments on the gill stubs
no sign of fungus, although i couldn't be sure of what i'm looking for, any indicators? also, water quality is way better then the small tank they were in, so i'm hoping that will improve things.
I'll also try the 20-30% water changes every two to three days in the meantime to improve the quality of water - I am worried that the Temperature of more than 18 degrees will start causing issues for axies, but i can't turn the heater down any lower.

Re: skinny axies
With feeding them small amounts daily, will that impede the progress of the water cycling? If i feed them daily for a couple of weeks, will that stress the filter or interfere with the cycling process? Do i have to do more water changes then?

oh, and i've removed the gravel and gone for the sand/silicone thing - great idea!!


Re: how bid is their tank?
it was too small for 2 axies, i could never control the ammonia levels lower than 1, so that's why they're in the new larger tank - hopefully that will make things better!! The water quality in the larger tank is much better and clearer, lower ammonia [although not quite right just yet - but getting there!]

Re: is it filtered if so how fast?
The filter i am using is a hailea hl-bt400 - cycles 200 lt/h but i have the flow diffused by 4 plastic plants so it minimises the water flow and makes it nicer for them, but they do seem to like the filter and the heater, they spend a lot of time hanging around it and one has even found a hidey hole just under the filter that he likes...


Re: live plants or airstone?
which one do you recommend? the filter is pumping oxygen into the water, but there's no bubbles or anything. Are airstones a good thing to have? I really want to put live plants in asap, just not sure how to go about it.

Re: water quality
all poop and dead food is usually removed within an hour of them eating. poop as noticed. How do i keep up the good bacteria and minimise the bad bacteria?

sorry, lots of questions, but i get so much good advice from you guys and pet shops / aquariums seem to know so little, just how to keep them alive prior to being sold. They are our new pets and we love them heaps, so we just want to get it right for them!!

live plants are good and pleasant looking, airstones are fine also as long as they are not to powerful.
i have both in my tanks
you can feed them daily just make sure you continue to remove waste.
i would do water changes daily though to decrease risk of ammonnia or nitrite spike.
filter should be fina as long as you have reduced flow.

you don't need a heater for axies so you must take it out, they are happy at temps down to 8 degrees.
Your filter will take up to three months to cycle but all water changes must be done with de-chlorinated water as chlorine kills all bacteria good and bad. You will never irradicate all bad bacteria but a stressed axie will be more susceptable to disease. As long as your filter is moving the surface water there will be no need for an air stone.Any plants you put in will have to be sturdy as the axies will uproot them, there is some floating plants which may be better.

heater stuff

okay, turned heater off - all good!!
will make sure to change water daily for a couple of weeks, then reduce it as the filter settles in!
i'll leave the plnats for now, we might be moving in a few months anyway, so may do it all then so as not to stress 'em out.
hey, thanks heaps for your help guys!! very much appreciated!! i'm off to fix it all up now! will keep posting updates on this thread though, so any replies will be happily read and acted upon!! i need all the help i can get!

Let us know how you are going and Good Luck