What happened?

I was going away for a week and when i left my 2 axies were fine and eating great and two days later i get a phone call from my housemate saying the water is really cloudy and both have died. there was one plant that had died so could this have been the cause? i just wanna make sure its right before i get new ones

Hi Ryan,

I'm sorry about your axolotls... If you could give us more detail though we may be able to ascertain what went wrong.

Dead plants left in the water release a lot of toxins yes - but it may not be the cause of death.

What sort of plants are they?

Has your tank been cycled?

What are the readings for Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate and PH?

Was your house mate feeding the axolotls while you were away?

What is the size of the tank?

You mentioned cloudy water, what was fed to the axolotls? Were they fed pellets? Pellets are a great food source for axies but if left over pellets that have been un-noticed by the axies, or regurgitated or ignored are left in the water they are notorious for causing issues in cloudiness and thus water quality.

Was the tank 'spot cleaned' each day by removing uneaten food, wastes, dead leaves?

What substrate is in the tank?

What sort of filter do you have? If an undergravel filter, this can cause problems with cloudy water as the wastes do not 'leave' the water body as they are just trapped underneath.

My tank is 70 litres and PH was tested every second day and adjusted accordingly so I doubt it was that. I have an ammonia ball thing which supposedly absorbs all of that. the one thing i didnt test for is nitrate. Ive reset my tank up now and just tested nitrate and its about 15ppm so how do i get that down? the tank was only cycled for a week and i did 20% changes every week but from reading things here i think i should have done more.

The only thing is that i just seemed to happen overnight. i make sure there is no left over food as i feed them worms with tweezers and have feeder fish aswell. the filter is an under gravel one but I'm going to invest in a regular one because im using the riverstones for a base and i doubt it would be very effective

Before you get any more axies, it's best to cycle your tank. You'll need to test your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate daily and do 20% water changes daily if ammonia and nitrite are above zero if you cycle the tank with axolotl's in it. If you do decide to cycle your tank with your pet in it, please only put one axie in as two will be far too much bioload for a tank that size. As a guide, one axolotl generally needs a 45cm long tank (thats 18 inches). Bet rid of the ammonia ball thingey. The best way to achieve an ammonia free tank is time and frequent water changes.

Yes, changing your filter is important. Undergravel filters can harbour decomposing waste under them and cause water quality problems for axies.

Ideally, a cycled tank is a much better environment to introduce an axolotl into than an uncycled one. Good luck.

ryan3640 said:

My tank is 70 litres and PH was tested every second day and adjusted accordingly so I doubt it was that. I have an ammonia ball thing which supposedly absorbs all of that. the one thing i didnt test for is nitrate. Ive reset my tank up now and just tested nitrate and its about 15ppm so how do i get that down? the tank was only cycled for a week and i did 20% changes every week but from reading things here i think i should have done more.

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Hi Ryan,

What was the PH reading and how and why were you adjusting it? Axolotls can live in a PH range of 6.5 to 8. You should never use chemical uppers and downers to adjust PH. If your PH levels are below 6.5 or higher than 8 - there are natural methods you can use that will not harm the axies as chemicals do.

The ammonia and Nitrite levels are the important readings to take, both should read as '0' - anything higher is toxic to an axolotl.

Please don't use those ammonia balls, the best way to get rid of ammonia is to cycle the tank naturally and while cycling to do partial water changes to bring undesirable ammonia / nitrite / nitrate levels down.

This article details cycling http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

Cycling can take one to three months to complete, while your tank is in the process of cycling with your axies living in this water - 10-20% water changes need to be done DAILY - Once a week is not sufficient.

When cycling is complete (ie. Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0 and Nitrate 10-60) 10% water changes need only be done once a week.

ryan3640 said:

The only thing is that i just seemed to happen overnight. i make sure there is no left over food as i feed them worms with tweezers and have feeder fish aswell. the filter is an under gravel one but I'm going to invest in a regular one because im using the riverstones for a base and i doubt it would be very effective

Click to expand...

Yes, you have a two fold problem there. Under gravel filters 'stock pile' the muck under the substrate and the river stones trap the debris as well. River stones make it difficult to keep the tank clean as you need to shift them in order to clean under them to remove the muck.

Canister filters or external filters are great as there is sponge media which captures the muck and when one needs to clean excess muck out, one just shakes the sponges in a bucket of tank water. But regardless of what sort of filter you have, you need to be diligent in 'spot cleaning' the tank as axies are very messy. A turkey baster is an essential tool in an axolotl keepers arsonal in the fight against grot (these can be purchased at any kitchenware store), if you don't have one of these a gravel syphon works well too.

Have you considered sand as a substrate? It is much easier to keep clean and when wet the sand is a firm base which the waste does not get trapped under - making it easy to spot mess for spot cleaning.

Cheers Jacq.

Hee Hee, should have left it to you Havelock. Much more thorough answer!!

What sort of sand do you suggest and where would i get it from?

Playsand or pool filter sand. Play sand is what people usually use as it's been cleaned. You'll need to rinse it thoroughly and then allow a day or two for it to settle once it's in the tank. And you only need 2-3 cm in the bottom and it's easier to clean that way too.