Illness/Sickness: Possibly sick axolotl?

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AGreenDarkness

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I recently ordered an axolotl online and it arrived shortly afterwards. I have had it since Tuesday, it's about 3 inches long and seems to be eating fine, I am feeding it amphibian pellets that I got from a local pet store. It eats daily, which I read was important for juveniles. I do have a filter in its aquarium but it doesn't seem to move the water too much. Everything seems to be just the way it should be, I did a lot of research before I ordered one. Although I think i have everything in order my axolotls gills are very curved and all it does is sit in a corner until I feed it, then it swims over and chomps away. Is my axolotl sick? why are it's gills so curved? I read that was a sign of stress and can lead to death. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
AGreenDarkness said:
I do have a filter in its aquarium but it doesn't seem to move the water too much.
Click to expand...

ANY water movement can stress an axolotl, they like still water.

Can you adjust the flow from the filter by either adjusting the filter to the lowest setting, directing the current to the wall of the tank or putting an obstruction in front of the current to dissipate the flow?

How big is the tank?
 
Was the tank cycled before the axolotl was introduced?
 
Yes, I bought the tank and put the water in and let it sit for about two weeks i checked everything and it seemed to be fine. Its a ten gallon tank.
 
Hm, the water just sitting will not cycle. It needs ammonia to start the nitrification process. See here for more info: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

Is it possible for you to test the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels? Not with those dip strips (they lie) but with the dropper/test tube kits?

Have you done any water changes in the last two weeks?

-Eva
 
Also, a 10 gallon tank is not really adequate for an adult axolotl.
 
Oh, everything I read said that 10 gallon tank would be more than enough for 2 adult axolotls. And she isn't full grown, plus I can't have anything more than 10 gallon at college. But I did put the water in and let the filter run until I got the axolotl. I can try to get one of the water testing kits but if I treated the water when I first put it in the tank with the aquarium stuff shouldn't that have evened everything out so it would be ok? I don't really know I'm beginning to think she was just stressed out because she was shipped to Pennsylvania from California in a box. She seems to have straightened up a little bit. I will try to get a test kit and see how she goes in the next few days. I also turned off my filter and only run it for about 20 minutes a day to suck up the yucky floating in the tank. Also she is still eating very well, anytime I offer her food she gulps it up. Will she eat even if she isn't hungry?
 
Where did you read that??? It is completely wrong and nothing I have ever read about axies (which is a heap) has ever said that. :confused:

Treating the water gets rid of the chlorine only, it does not cycle the tank or make sure that the ph levels are fine. Your tank is probably cycling so you will need to do 20% water changes each day that the ammonia reads more than 0. At the very least you should have an ammonia and also a pH testing kit, but I recommend you also get nitrite and nitrate. Read this article to explain the cycling process to you http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml.

You need to run the filter all the time, 20mins a day is far from adequate.

Axolotls are opportunistic eaters, and will eat until they throw up. At the size your axie is you should be feeding once a day. As they grow up you cut it back to once every two days then perhaps twice a week above 20cm.

Here is a website you should read to learn more about taking care of axies: www.axolotl.org.
 
A 10 gallon tank is not big enough for 2 axolotls. It is big enough for a juvenile, until they're about 6 inches long. After that, you'll have to upgrade to a bigger tank. There's not much else you can do.

Also note that axolotls may or may not be illegal in California, and therefore your axolotl may be not legal, and by shipping it across state lines, this may have violated the Lacey Act, a federal law restricting interstate trade of illegal goods. You may want to contact whoever sold you the axolotl and get it in writing that the axolotl was legally kept in California.
 
I will be sure to get a bigger tank if she gets to be over 6 inches, I'm sure my mom won't mind keeping her while I'm at school. She is a big hit in my family they all love her! She seems to be doing much better already she sits around a lot but her gills seem to be pointing in the right direction. Also i bought the axie from "Niles Biological" they are a biology company that ships live and dead specimens to people that need them. You can find them online at www.NilesBio.com. I will be contacting them to make sure the axolotl was kept legally though. Thank you so much for all of your help. I am new at this so I really appreciate the advice. I will see about getting a bigger tank when she starts growing and I will definitely find some testing kits for the water. Thank you again!
 
Saspotato said:
Where did you read that??? It is completely wrong and nothing I have ever read about axies (which is a heap) has ever said that. :confused:

Treating the water gets rid of the chlorine only, it does not cycle the tank or make sure that the ph levels are fine. Your tank is probably cycling so you will need to do 20% water changes each day that the ammonia reads more than 0. At the very least you should have an ammonia and also a pH testing kit, but I recommend you also get nitrite and nitrate. Read this article to explain the cycling process to you http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml.

You need to run the filter all the time, 20mins a day is far from adequate.

Axolotls are opportunistic eaters, and will eat until they throw up. At the size your axie is you should be feeding once a day. As they grow up you cut it back to once every two days then perhaps twice a week above 20cm.

Here is a website you should read to learn more about taking care of axies: www.axolotl.org.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's this very axolotl.org site that mentions that 10 gallons is definitely enough for 2 adult axolotls.

See faq question #8 http://www.axolotl.org/faq.htm#8

Q: "I have a small tank (37 litres - 10 gallons). Will it be large enough for 1 or 2 of them?"
"A 15 gallon tank is plenty big enough for two, isn't it?"

A: You could keep 2 adults in a 10 US gallon / 37 litre aquarium with no problems.
 
Yeah, I agree! 10L may be a problem, but 10 gallons should be definitely fine for one, if not two. I've kept an adult axie in a 25L tank without any issues...... :confused:
 
Well, I printed out all print out able "Axolotl Newsletters" from the
former Axolotl colony (see online) and they also state that
you can keep 2 axies in 10 gallons.
But they also keep most of their axies alone in ice-cream containers...:rolleyes:
 
Hi!

My name is Kristóf! Im from Hungary, Budapest (Europe)!
I ask some help to my Axolotls! Since 2 days I see white points on theirs skins! :confused:
I dont know what is it! What can I do?

Great thx!


(My English is small!)



i
 
kristof89 said:
Hi!

My name is Kristóf! Im from Hungary, Budapest (Europe)!
I ask some help to my Axolotls! Since 2 days I see white points on theirs skins! :confused:
I dont know what is it! What can I do?

Great thx!


(My English is small!)



i
Click to expand...

Hi Kristóf,

Your axolotl looks fine to me. I would say those markings are a natural occurance and nothing to worry about.

If concerned though and you would like another opinion (as it's always better to be safe than sorry) I would start a new thread in the forum.

This thread you have posted your question on has already had the original poster's problem attended to - this is probably why you have not had any responses to your query.

Is the axolotl eating and acting 'normally'?

Jacq.
 
I've been reading all threads in the "sick axolotl" subforum until page 45 and I've seen quite a few occurences of axolotl's developing this. It hasn't been a problem for any of them, so I'd say your axolotl is healthy, but as always keep an eye on it for any changes :)
 
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