Please help - sick Rufio

Hello everybody,

I have had Rufio about 2 months now - we lost his friend to a sudden death a week after we brought them home and Rufio has been slowly recovering from lost gills and lack of appetite. He has been eating well and swimming around alot and the water perameters are fine as I now have test kits... However he has always had a curved tail and is now in the past week become horribly skinny!!!!! - In 3 days he has stayed in the same spot of the tank and barely moves - his legs are almost limp looking - I am sooo scared as I love my Rufio but I live in Queensland, Australia and we have justhad some hot days....

If anyone out there can help - I would appreciate ANY advice I can get - I love Axolotols and it is soo distressing to see them so ill. x Maia

What is the temperature? If it is above 24 your axolotl will be very stressed and will probably die. Check the temperature and make sure it is cool. If not there are ways to cool your tank or you can put your axolotl in the fridge til it cools down.

Um.. it is really cool here in Brisbane today - surprisingly cool for Spring, but last week the poor thing did face temperatures in his water higher than 24 degrees as we do not have airconditioning....?

ALSO I have been feeding him Axolotol pellets and have just noticed a lot of stringy almost undigested food in excreetments? like runny poo or something... Should I put him in the fridge he is not looking good - still alive but sooo skinny, it all happened within 3 days?

Thankyou for your help, Maia.

Ok, the previous high temperatures could explain your axolotl's current condition. They can die very quickly (like a day) in hot weather so three days is plenty of time for him to have gotten ill. He probably needs to be kept in a stress-free environment for a bit to recover. I am pretty new at this too so others might be best to advise on what to do. But fridge might be a good idea, though it will stop him eating and if he is skinny that might not be a good thing.

In future, if the temperature goes above 24 you will need to cool the tank. I think there is information on axolotl.org about ways of doing things to cool your tank. I use a chiller but that is the expensive option.

Good luck with it and I hope your axolotl gets better soon

I usually use frozen bottles - but I was away for the weekend when it was hottest... What is a chiller and how much does it cost? also have you put an axie in the fridge before? thanks for your help, Maia

Yea, it might be best if you go away to have a friend check in for you if it is going to be hot, axolotls seem pretty sensitive to heat. Or put him in the fridge. However, when kept in the fridge you'll need to do water changes more frequently so you can't go away for a while as the water will foul.

I've only put my axolotl in the fridge once and that was before I got my cooler (and only for a day). I made sure the temperature was above 5C and also that he had a cover so the light wouldn't bother him. He threw up a bit of food but other than that he was fine. They regurgitate food in the cold so it doesn't rot in their stomach. So yeah, I am pretty inexperienced with fridging axolotls so hopefully someone will post some more helpful advice for you.

My chiller cost $200 from America (incl. postage) plus $30 for a transformer to convert from American voltage (or whatever it is that doesn't work with Australian sockets). It was called an IceProbe (just google IceProbe Chiller) and it can drop the temperature in my 60L tank about 5-6C. As I said, there are much cheaper options, I just had the money at the time so went for the chiller.

If you fridge your axolotl temperature can be 5C, but no lower, it will slow his metabolism down and they usually don't eat at that low a temperature. Check the temperature by placing a glass of water in the fridge with a thermometer in the glass. Check the temperature after 20-30mins.

Have you fed him anything else other than pellets? Does he have any companions in the tank?

If fridging you need to:

* Use a foodsafe container, ie a 2l icecream container or similar that will fit him lengthwise and has a lid.
* a teatowel
* a plastic bottle
* dechlorinated water (tapwater treated with water conditioner/ager/dechlorinater drops to remove chlorine and chloramines)

Fill the container with dechlorinated water.
Remove your axie from the tank using either a net or two plastic containers/jugs (one to gently herd the axie into the other and quickly scoop him up, nets can be stressful if you end up chasing him/her with the net to catch them) and place in the container to be fridged.
If your axolotl is floating, try and drain or suck (using a turkey baster) some of the water out so axie isn't floating and feet rest on the floor of container, but still covers top fin.
Place the lid on (no need for holes), this stops your axolotl from taking fright and jumping out into the fridge (has been known to happen!)
Wrap with the teatowel (to stop light and/or temperature fluctuations from normal fridge usage) and place in the fridge.
Fill the plastic bottle with dechlorinated water - you will need to use this to do complete daily waterchanges on the fridge container. Water has to be same chilled temperature when you do the waterchanges so as to not stress your axolotl.

If you do continue to use the frozen dechlorinated bottle method for cooling, you could also use polystyrene round the back sides of the tank, this will keep the tank cooler longer, but need to be consistent in maintaining the rotating bottles.

If you had a spare fridge or were able to get a 2nd hand one or small bar fridge, you could keep him fridged there indefinitely, at a higher fridge temperature 10-14C during the summer so he could eat, but you would still need to do daily waterchanges.

OK, today is really cool so I have left him in his tank he seems to be moving around (moving position around the tank) however he isnt swimming or moving to the surface like usual he is flat to the bottom of the tank barely moving. I have placed a cloth over the entire tank to save him from any extra stress eg. lights movement etc.

If it gets warmer I will definately place him in the fridge.

I usually feed him the axolotl pellets and protein pellets - I have tried feeding him beef heart too but he is fussy with that??? He is really incredibly skinny in such a short time !!!

Thanks for your help

Have you tried earthworms or anything else like snails (I break the shell of and drop them in) /slaters/slugs (as long as you don't use pesticides in/around your garden)? If you aren't able to get any earthworms from your garden then try the local garden centres/hardware stores that sell composting/worm farm bins and also try your local council - they will also have a list of worm farm contacts that you can get earthworms from (some will even ship/post).

Not all axies take to meat - meat should only be fed occasionally as a treat, if they do take it.

Today, Rufio is moving round the tank - when no one is watching but it isnt his usual energetic wip around the tank. He looks stiff and sick and way tooo skinny but I think the cooler days have helped him to recover. I will try earth worms if I can find any, and I could also try the meal worm grubs from the pet shop - they sell them live in a container of saw dust, they say they are great for axies but you have to take the heads off first?
I have two big yellow snails in the tank, are they ok to have in there with him? and I only have one plant on wood - its a lilly sort of thing that I chose so the snails wouldnt eat it?

I will do a water change again today and rid his tank of excess poo stuff and will try feeding him something new.

Thankyou again, Maia

Mealworms can be used as occasional treats, head removed, but the best things are earthworms if he'll take them.

Try your local council, or check out your local garden centres and hardware stores (by phone) and ask them if they have a worm farmer contact or even check online in Australia and buy some (some will ship).

If he still looks poorly, it may be a better idea to fridge him. Or if your tank doesn't have any hidey holes put some in and cover the tank partially with an old towel or blanket (this may help calm him down a bit). How large is your tank?

By the way, do you still have the results of the last tankwater test you did? If so what were they?