Illness/Sickness: URGENT - Sick Axolotl - PLEASE HELP!!

Please help, we dont know what to do. We are new to keeping axolotl's and have nowhere to turn locally for help.
First, a bit of background. We have two axolotl's, one albino and one wild coloured. Have had them a couple of months but dont know how old they are or what sex. They are both around 14cm long. We have a two and a half by one foot tank. On the advice of the pet shop where we purchased them, we started with gravel substrate and a few plants. Around 6 weeks ago we removed the gravel as we saw our poor axies were sucking it up with their food and replaced this with pebbles (recommended on a different website). The pebbles are a good size so there is no longer an issue with that being ingested. Within a couple of weeks of getting our axies they both lost their frills and started to swim very irratically (especially the albino). Following this, we changed to the pebble substrate and covered them over for a few days (on the advice of the pet shop) which seemed to help settle them down. Although the wild coloured axie still has no frills, he seems ok and is eating well.
Our problem is the albino. She has never eaten well compared to the wild coloured one (although we are unsure how much they should eat) Today, while getting ready for a feed, we found that she had a nasty bruise along the side of her head and one of her front legs is very swollen. It looks really nasty but she is still using the leg. She's not bleeding out although blood can be seem under the skin. She was swimming very irratically, upside down and doing loop the loops. We dont know if she's had a bit of a fight with the other one or if she's hurt herself while swimming madly.
Having looked at other posts on here, we have taken her out of the tank and put her in the fridge. We also plan to remove the pebbles and try sand as a substrate instead. We do clean the tank regularly but cant seem to lift all the mess from under the pebbles (don't know if thats part of the problem) She has calmed down a bit for now but we dont know what else to do. If anyone can suggest why we are having these problems we'd really appreciate it. We dont want to loose either of them!!

Hey, I'll try and help seeing as you've had no replies and you're probably really worried, but I'm not sure how useful I can be as I'm new to this as well.

First up, is your tank cycled? Water quality is usually the culprit when it comes to problems with axies. Here is some information on cycling - http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

We do clean the tank regularly but cant seem to lift all the mess from under the pebbles (don't know if thats part of the problem)

Click to expand...

You're probably spot on there - as you've found, pebbles trap a lot of waste in between them. This could be causing high levels of ammonia which is toxic to your axies. If the tank is cycling, you need to change some of the water every day (20% I think) or the ammonia will get too high.

Try and get your hands on a chemical water testing kit (not the dip strips) to keep an eye on the water quality. Otherwise, you can take some water to the pet store where you got them and they should be able to test it for you. Ammonia and Nitrite are the two things you need to watch most - they should both be 0, and anything above that can be harmful.

Shrinking gills, refusing food and swimming around like crazy are (I think) all symptoms of stress. They shouldn't swim around much, mostly they'll just sit around and stare at you although they are more active at night. The main causes are bad water quality, water flow and high temperatures (anything above 22 degrees celcius).

Once you change to sand it will be a lot easier to control the water quality. Make sure you spot clean old food and waste so it's not messing up the water. My advice would be to just take the pebbles out the second you have time and leave the bottom of the tank bare until you get some sand - at least you'll be able to keep it clean. Make sure you clean the sand using the bucket method before you put it in, as well (Continually rinse it in a bucket until the water runs clear). You should only have around an inch of substrate, so don't go crazy.

What kind of filter do you have? Is there any water flow? If there is, try obstructing it with plants or rocks. Otherwise, you can point it towards a wall or install a spray bar. Any water movement stresses them out.

I can't help much with illnesses, having had very little experience... as you probably know, the fridge will slow down her metabolism so he won't want to eat much. What food are you offering? Try some different things, and try holding it in front of her face for a while - she might just be a slow eater. If she still won't eat, try leaving her alone with it. Here are some food ideas, if you haven't already seen it: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/foods.shtml I've tried a few things, and they seem to like earthworms the best.

If you knew to fridge her, then you probably already know to replace the water every day and to keep fresh dechlorinated water in the fridge ready for the swap. Keeping her in the fridge for a while should help to calm her down at least, just keep an eye on the leg to see if it gets worse. Hopefully somebody else can help you with that. Make sure you have a towel over the container as well, so she doesn't get scared when the fridge opens.

I hope some of that helped, and that I'm not way off the mark. Good luck.

Thanks for all the advice. We appreciate all the help we can get.

We have only just found out about cycling the tank. The pet shop didn't tell us about anything like that!

We're going to change some of the water daily until we can get the sand sorted (we live in aremote area of the scottish highlands and dont drive so it'll be next weekend till we can get everything we need, sand, testing kits etc). We are wary of removing the pebbles until we get the sand. We left the bottom of the tank bare for a couple of days following the gravel eating incident and it really stressed them both out so we don't know what to do for the best.

The filter has Fluval 1plus written on it but thats as much as we know. It does give a bit of flow which is currently directed along the length of the tank. We're going to turn it round so its flowing againts the side which will hopfully help.

Food wise, at the minute they get bloodworm (again, this is what the pet shop told us to give). Having looked at this site and a few others we are going to try a few other things when we have them settled back down. Thought changing their food while they are ill could make them worse?

We've checked her leg this morning while changing her water and the swelling seems much better. Still very red though. She's swimming better in her little tub and seemed much calmer. How long is it ok to keep her in the fridge??? Should we keep her there until we get the sand sorted in the tank?

If she's hurt it might be best to keep them separated, but I'm not sure about keeping her in the fridge. From what I can tell, you can leave them in the fridge for long periods of time so long as you change the water every day - they like it cold (but not below 5 degrees C). Does she look less stressed? The first signs of stress are pointed forward gills and a curled tail - are there enough of her gills left to tell? If she looks happy maybe just leave her there for a little while, I don't think it will hurt. Hopefully somebody with more experience could give better instructions. Try using the search function in these forums to find other people who have had similar problems - you may feel more confident about your course of action.

One of my axies has a broken tail - I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing, which is perhaps why I'm not the best source of information. But I've put him in a plastic storage container with nothing in it but a rock to hide under so he can't hurt it any more. I keep a towel over the container to block out light and change the water every day, and he seems pretty happy. If you want to take her out of the fridge, maybe try rigging up something like this - at least it will prevent your other axie from aggravating her leg until it's healed, and you might be able to get her to eat more out of the fridge.

Bloodworms are a good food, but sometimes they get sick of the same thing. Don't just take away their bloodworms if they like them, instead vary their diet - give them bloodworms for dinner one day, then something else the next time. They are temperamental little things and it wouldn't hurt to offer something else as your sick one may just not really like them, especially if she has never shown much interest (Although don't worry about her decreased appetite while in the fridge). If you have earthworms in your garden and its free from chemicals/pesticides, maybe try some of these.

When the tank is cycling, its hard to get the water quality right without the added problem of food and waste trapped between pebbles. I've heard some people say that a bare bottom stresses axies out, but I've seen 'no substrate at all' recommended more than anything else, with sand as the next best thing. Maybe it just takes them a while to get used to? If you really don't want to take the pebbles out, maybe just remove some of them so they're easier to clean between and make sure that you do clean properly. I'm sure you've seen turkey basters mentioned here - if you have one, they're great for spot cleaning.

On a side note, just ignore everything petshops say and check with people on here. I went to 3 different stores asking about axies after looking on these forums and 1 told me not to cycle a freshwater tank, the other 2 said that for the 'nitrogen cycle' to complete I just had to leave the filter on for a week. As you now know, they don't know much. I'm pessimistic, but there's a good chance they don't care that they don't know - if your fish (or aquatic animal) stays alive, you don't need to buy any more from them. Just look around for a store with staff that actually care.

I hope that helped!

She's looking much better, calmer. What's left of her gills are lying back and her tail is lovely and straight. Her leg seems to be getting better all the time and doesn't seem to be bothering her.
I think we're going to keep her in the fridge till we get the sand and testing kit and sort the tank out. Its weird that our other brown axie doesn't seem bothered by anything. Maybe she's just more temperamental!!
We did think about trying earthworms but we live very close to an aviation fuel dump so we worry about contamination and chemicals in the soil. Might have to send hubby off on a trek to get some from further afield!!!! Do you just slice them up nice and small to feed?
As for that pet shop........they wont be getting any more of our business!!! Personally, I think they have been at the root of all our problems, giving bad advice. Heard recently that the shops two 'pet' axies have died. Think that speaks volumes. We'll be sticking to advice from here from now on!
Thanks Neke, for all the advice. Its been a great help. For now, our poor wee axie seems happier so we are too. We'll get the tank sorted and hopefully from then on will have two happy little axies!!

I'm glad everything has sorted itself out :happy:

You're right, better safe than sorry in using worms from the garden if they could have been contaminated. I'm not sure, but I think you should chop them as long as their heads are wide. If they're too big you'll know pretty quickly, because they won't be able to down it and will give you sad little looks.

And yes, some of them are just more sensitive than others which is why your other one is perfectly happy.

To be fair some pet shops do have good intentions but sadly a lot of them have just been really misinformed. I think you figure it out with experience, or at least I hope you do!

Our poor little axie hasn't made it. She looked loads better this morning but passed away this afternoon. We tried our best but there was nothing we could do for her. All we can do now is try and make things better for our other little monster (we really should name him). We don't want to loose them both!

Thanks for all the advice x

Neke, I'm sorry noone else joined in with this thread to make you feel you were giving good advice. On the whole you did and I noticed that

Stuandjoy, I'm sorry you lost your axolotl and lets see if we can make things better for your surviving axie.

Firstly I would remove the pebbles as this will only encourage waste to get trapped under them and foul up your water. It may look like your axolotl doesn't like it but it will be fine until you get your sand.
I keep my axolotl on a minimal sprinkling of sand just enough to let her feel something under her toes but some of the bottom is bare and she copes fine.

Earthworms, nice juicy earthworms are an excellent food for axolotls. Dig them up, wash them off and throw them in. The wriggling will soon attract your axolotls attention.
My axie was recently really sick. She had been attacked by her tankmate, lost most of her gills and stopped eating. It took four days in the fridge (recuperation) and almost 2 weeks of throwing worms in her tank and watching and removing them until she suddenly started eating again. I really thought I was going to loose her until she started eating again. Now I can't stop her. She polished off 2 platties four days ago too.

The wriggling of a worm could be a good appetite booster for your axolotl. Hopefully the natural instinct to snap at something live should kick in.
We love looking at other members pics of their axies here so if you could post a photo of your axolot and maybe the tank too we may be able to help you in other areas too.
Once you get your water test kit that will help you to determine the health of your water.
Removing 10% of your water and replacing with fresh dechlorinated every 2-3 days till then may be a good idea.

I am sorry that you lost your little one.

Good luck!

I'm so sorry she didn't pull through, as I'm now discovering it's really upsetting when there's something wrong with them