bloated and floating

Hi guys. Just posting a warning about floating axolotls. My female Chilli had been floating and looking stressed for under 48 hours and I had checked the water quality and added a nitra-zorb sachet to neutralize the chemicals that had built up, but when I woke up this morning she had died over night.
If your axolotl does not normally float then it may be lethal!! Everything I could find on the internet seemed to think it was unlikely to be serious (constipation or minor gut infection), and I discounted lack of oxygen as my male was unnaffected and behaving normally although now it seems like that must have been the problem. If your axolotl is floating and seems to want to get out of the water, act quickly. R.I.P. Chilli

Hi,

I´m sorry about your loss.
Floating isn´t lethal, but it´s an indicator for bad water quality.
I don´t know nitra-zorb and I don´t know how it works, but the best way to drop nitrite and nitrate is to do water-changes regularyly.

Has this axie been the only one in the tank or are there still any tank-mates? If so, you should do a completly water change for the health of the other inhabitants.

-Tina-

What is the water temperature?

Aw that's so sad - sorry for your loss. I hope you find out what happened so the others are okay.

Sounds like your water is really dirty. Do you use any filter ?

Cheers guys.
There is one axolotl left in the tank and I have done a complete water change as nitrite, nitrate and ammonia were all far above their usual levels. I also dumped about half a bottle of stress zyme (a solution of denitrifying bacteria) into the tank at the advice of the pet store guy. The remaining axolotl seems less stressed although nitrogen levels have still not returned to normal.

The tank is below 10 Celsius and |I always have a filter going.

This has confused me a lot because the occasional ammonia spikes I have dealt with in the past I know were generally a result of plants dying or rotting food stuck between large rocks. I have since changed to a silica sand substrate and have had very little chemical problems. I wonder if maybe some contaminant in the town water supply has damaged the biological filter's ability to process NO2, NO3 and NH3.

Does anyone know why the denitrifying bacteria may stop working!?

Hi Fostaar,

Do you use a dechlorinator when you perform water changes? Presence of any residual chlorines or chloramines can kill off bacteria.

Have you also always kept your filter and aeration going? Inadequate aeration can also kill off bacteria.

What is your water pH? pH fluctuations and pH extremes (especially acidic) can also kill of bacteria populations over time.

I personally would not go for using Stress zyme and nitra sorb satchets. I would recommend regular 20% water changes and siphoning off detritus. These chemical 'quick-fix' products more often than not, mask the underlying problem, possibly complicate the cycling process and can even be detrimental to your axie's health if used incorrectly. The amount of stress zyme you added is a bit drastic. I recommend that you now fridge your other axie in some clean dechlorinated water and meanwhile troubleshoot the problem in your tank.

Regards

Hi Fostaar,

I had a similar issue recently which I tracked back to the local water supply. It came right with 30% water changes evry 3rd day for 2 weeks.

I agree with Rayson about the chemical quick fixes. You could ring your local council and see if there has been a change in the water or a pipe flush.

Thanks heaps guys. I would sometimes turn my filter off at night because it was loud. But that seems now that probably was most likely what destroyed the biofilter in my axy tank. Still in the learning process unfortunately.