Question: More questions...

:happy: Right oh! I have myself a testing kit and axel is still in the fridge. She is more active than I have ever seen her in the 8 years of her life. The more I read on this forum the more I realise I may not have been doing the right think by my Axi and even though she 'appeared' to be doing ok, she may have been well doing only that. I have always kept her tank to the KISS principle and think that the red meat and warm water (still no gravel has been passed) may not have been doing her justice. She doesn't seem to want to eat still so I'll leave it a few more days and introduce her back into a cooler tank. She is passing poop though. I will also cut out the beef and heart etc. I have earthworms and bloodworms now to offer her. I have a couple of questions more though as to what are the ranges of normal Ph? is it around the 6-7 mark. How do I find out what is acceptible levels for nitrates and amonia? Something else I noticed from looking at earlier (years earlier) photos of her is that she doesn't have as much feathering on her gills as she used to? Is ther a possible reason for this or is this an indication of her ailing health? look forward to some answers

Hi Jenfox,

Don't worry, its a learning curve for everyone. You are doing fine.

1 - Axies can tolerate a wide range of pH from 6.5-8. However, ideally a neutral 7 is best. Acidic conditions in the tank are normally brought on by lack of proper management - remains of detritus or uneaten food, irregular water changes etc. At high pH of around 8, you have to be extra vigilant about ammonia and nitrite levels in the tank. At this pH, there is a higher proportion of the toxic unionised form of ammonia present.

2 - A basic water chemistry test kit should comprise of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH tests. You can find out the levels of ammonia and nitrates through the tests. A colourimetric solution type test kit will come with a colour chart which you can derive the values. A well cycled and maintained tank should have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and <60 nitrates.

3 - Gill condition can indeed be indicative of health. Twisted, deformed and bare gills especially if present with abnormal lesions such as fungal growths, could indicate anything from poor water parameters, poor nutrition, to disease states. However, normal looking gills but with shorter filaments could be a normal process and nothing to be concerned about. Usually there are other signs of illness and stress accompanying an illness.

Cheers.