Illness/Sickness: possibly caused by stress,but not sure..

hi all,
i've had my axie for about six months now.i can't recall if he was already losing some of his tail,or if it started after i got him.but slowly his tail has been turning transparent and falling off.its only by a few millimetres at a time,but its still disconcerting.he used to be in a warm room,i live in the tropics.i moved him into our bedroom which has airconditioning 24/7 when i found out they don't like the heat.could this tail thing be from stress?i moved him a few weeks ago,hoping the change of temperature would help,but its still happening slowlyas far as i can tell.are the normal comings and goings of a bedroom too much for him?and input would be appreciated.thanks.

p.s i was going to post pics,but ive lost my cam cable...

Hi Midgey Smith,

Would you be able to post up some photos? We need some general and specific history as well.

General history
- What are your tank parameters - ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH.
- What is the temperature in the tank?
- Do you house other animals in the tank?
- How are the water currents?
- Do you use a filter?
- What type of substrate do you use?
- What do you feed your axie? How often and in what quantities?
- Do you place the tank near any heat, noise, light source? Is there tank near any air vents?
- Do you have a tank cover?

Specific history
- When did you first observe the condition? How fast do you think the condition is deteriorating? According to what you mentioned, it appears to have a chronic progression with slow onset, am i reading it right?
- Did you observe any signs of stress? - Curled forward gills, curled tail tip, inappetance
- Any signs of illness? - Unusual behaviour or movements, growths or discoloration anywhere, sores, ulcers or deformity anywhere? Unusual faeces?
- Are the eyes clear? Is there visible skin shedding?

Cheers

Hi Rayson.i figured the best option would be to cut and paste,and fill it out.

General history
- What are your tank parameters - ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH.


unsure,rather n00bish of me,but i wasn't aware until this week that they were sensitive to things like that.i'll be purchasing testing kits and such in a few days.

- What is the temperature in the tank?

20-22 degrees,depending on what time of day/night it is.

- Do you house other animals in the tank?

no.

- How are the water currents?

not much,i only have a air pump,as the filter was too strong.it was 350l per hour for a tank thats 50cm by 30 by 30.

- Do you use a filter?

not anymore,until i find a milder one.

- What type of substrate do you use?

small rocks.they have to come out,as he keeps munchin on them.

- What do you feed your axie? How often and in what quantities?

half a dozen mealworms every two days.

- Do you place the tank near any heat, noise, light source? Is there tank near any air vents?

noise:doors opening fairly frequently.his tank sits under the aircon,but its quiet.sometimes the light in our room is on until late.

- Do you have a tank cover?yes,glass.

Specific history
- When did you first observe the condition?

4 months ago,maybe more.

How fast do you think the condition is deteriorating?

a millimetre per month,give or take.

According to what you mentioned, it appears to have a chronic progression with slow onset, am i reading it right?

that sounds about right.

- Did you observe any signs of stress? - Curled forward gills, curled tail tip, inappetance

no curled forward gills,tails is curled alot,always hungry

- Any signs of illness? - Unusual behaviour or movements, growths or discoloration anywhere, sores, ulcers or deformity anywhere? Unusual faeces?

no.

- Are the eyes clear? Is there visible skin shedding?

clear eyes,no shedding,other than the tip of his tail.


sorry about the poor quality of the photos.nokias don't have great cameras,heh.i hope you can see where the tail is going transparent,and deteriorating.thanks muchly for your help.

One of my axolotl has something similar. His tail tip seems to grow all the time and it grows very thinly ( like tissue paper), then it tears or disappears completely...it has so far never caused him any problems, just make sure your water conditions are good .

bellabelloo said:

One of my axolotl has something similar. His tail tip seems to grow all the time and it grows very thinly ( like tissue paper), then it tears or disappears completely...it has so far never caused him any problems, just make sure your water conditions are good .

Click to expand...

Tissue paper is a good description.i tested the water today,and the only thing that's out of whack is the nitrites,between 5.0 and 10.0.

Midgey Smith said:

Tissue paper is a good description.i tested the water today,and the only thing that's out of whack is the nitrites,between 5.0 and 10.0.

Click to expand...

Go fill up some buckets, and do some water changes.

Don't forget your dechlorinater!!!!

Midgey Smith said:

Tissue paper is a good description.i tested the water today,and the only thing that's out of whack is the nitrites,between 5.0 and 10.0.

Click to expand...

Hi Midgey,

Just to clarify, is that reading for Nit-RI-tes (Nitrites) or Nit-RA-tes (Nitrates)? I'd be quite alarmed if it were Nitrites, as at that level it would be dangerously toxic. Those new to testing water parameters will often get Nitrites and Nitrates mixed up when taking readings, as they are similar in spelling, but are very different in level of toxidity

The most important readings are for Ammonia and Nitrites as these are toxic. Any reading higher than '0' in either of these presents a danger of toxidity to the animals in the water.

If the Nitrates are between 5.0 and 10.0 then this is good, as it means the beneficial bacterias are doing their job (breaking down toxins).

Nitrates are only dangerous if they read over 60, weekly partial water changes prevent Nitrates from climbing to this level.

Another test that is often overlooked is pH. Although axolotls tolerate a wide range in pH, pH has an effect on the other water parameters which can affect the axolotl's health.

When you are buying the test kits, it's recommended to buy the test tube kits. Please do not buy test strips, as these are notorious for giving inaccurate readings, and you really do need accuracy for axolotls.

If you could post your readings for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and pH, this will give us a clear idea of what is going on in the tank.

Please note that mealworms are not a suitable diet for axolotls, and should only be fed as an occasional treat. Mealworms are high in fat, are difficult to digest, and are not nutritious. The mealworm should be decapitated (or killed) before being fed to an axolotl, as they have strong mandibles capable of tearing through the axolotl's internals.

I would recommend changing the diet to live earthworms which contain all the nutrition an axolotl needs in one wriggling package. If you are reluctant to feed live food, then salmon or trout pellets are an excellent staple as well.

The axolotl's health problems may be stemming due to malnutrition.

There are some very helpful articles (cooling an aquarium, appropriate food items, filters, water quality, etc) and easy to read through caresheets linked in my signature below.

Hi Midgey,

Sorry i took a while to reply. I was having computer problems.

Jacq has covered all the main issues. Just like to also alert you to the temperature and use of small stones. Temperature of 20-22 is on the high end and can easily slip into the danger 'too warm' zone. Do monitor temperature and attempt cooling methods when necessary. The gravel actually look possible of causing impaction. I would opt for smaller grains (less than 2mm diameter) or keep the tank bare bottomed.

Your axie appears healthy and normal. Sometimes the tail tip can be easily torn off due to the delicate and friable nature of the extremely fine and thin tissue. It would regenerate and heal without incident.

Cheers.

It's definatly nitrites.i bought an all-in-one test kita few days ago. i'll just do another test in a few hours and post it when i'm back at home.i'll be taking out the small stones and replacing them with large (25mm) river stones,are these suitable? thank you to everyone who replied,it's very appreciated.

Hi Midgey,

Large river stones are fine.

Cheers

I haven't had a chance to re-test the water,but from what i remember,the nitrites were 5-10 ppm.also,as of maybe 3 hours ago,he has started floating near the top of the tank.there's a bubble on his underside though so maybe he's just swallowed some air.i hope anyway..

Hey guys,just and update,sorry about the loooong time between,been working a lot lately.

I got rid of the gravel,which was too big,and put in large river stones,leaving a blank piece of glass for him to feed on. After a few weeks of changing half his water daily and adding prime, the nitrites seem to be normal. The tail degradation seems to be stopping, I hope it will start to reverse soon. His tail was curled for a while there, but seems to be fairly straight now. All in all it looks like he's going pretty good.

The only problem I've had is him scaring the **** out of me when he's swallowed too much air and feels like having a sleep while he's floating, lol!.Thanks to all who contributed, I'm a much more well-informed axie keeper for it.