One Axie dead, please help.

Hello Everyone,
Please excuse the fact that this is my first post. My name is Laura, my husband purchased two Axolotls several months ago, and they have grown to be over 6 inches in size. One is a wild type, and the other was leukistic.

I say was, because that particular Axie has shuffled off this mortal coil. It was very sudden, she showed no sign of disease or fungus. One day she seemed fine, the next she stopped eating, then her gills when from a hot pink color to a deep shade of crimson. She did a few handstand moves, and an hour later she was dead.

My husband is very very upset. I don't know anything about axolotls, but I'm very concerned about maintaining the remaining axolotl. Is there anything I need to know/ be looking for?

Any and all help is highly appreciated.

Hi NanoNukie,

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. I have a few questions that can help us figure out why your leucistic passed and hopefully so your wild won't!

What was the temperature of your tank? Did you do anything to stress your axolotl? What sort of current is your filter generating? Do your axies house with other pets (such as goldfish etc)?
Have you done any chemical tests for nitrate, nitrites, ammonia and pH? What sort of dechlorinator do you use? Sometimes when axie's gills turn crimson it can mean you have acidic water.

Sorry for all the questions!

Hope I can help.

i too am sorry for your loss. Another couple of questions that might help... do you have gravel in the tank? What is their diet?

First thing everyone will want to know is tank parameters

test the water for Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, ph + temperature

Should be - 0 , 0 , <40, 6.8-7.6, 16-20 celcius

differences could mean a problem that can be addressed (sometimes very easily)

they will also ask about tank setup - substrates, diet and tank mates.

they will also direct you to - Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander - pretty much all the basics are there

Once you have that info here you will get some good info i'm sure

Also, use the search function (top green bar of this page) and enter the symptoms in the search - a few searches there have stopped me making some newbie mistakes - for example, a search for "Gills changed colour" brought up 22 topics, one of which might help.

Hope that finds some answers

Bren

Ha! in the time i took to write my reply, everyone asked what i thought they would

Okay, I've tried to gather all the necessary Data.

The tank values have changed, because by the time I asked my husband to perform a test, he had already done a partial water change.

There is a sponge filter in the tank, and it is producing a gentle current, if any at all.
The temperature in the tank is holding steady at 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
There are no other creatures in the tank, just plastic decor plants (which appear to be intact)
The substrate is sand, that has been filtered several times to remove excess sediment
As for stress, we haven't done anything that we hadn't done for them before. There's no overhead tank light, we don't move the tank, and we don't handle them unless it's for feeding.
My husband has been feeding them salmon pellets, but switched the remaining axie (max) to frozen blood worms just last night.

Thank you Bren for the information on the tank parameters! I will perform a test as soon as the tank settles down from its partial change. Although I really wish I had snagged a sample before the change.

Thank you, to everyone for responding. I am reading through the beginner information that I was pointed to. I'm really eager to sort this out, so that we can ensure the longevity of our remaining axie.

wow im so sorry to hear about your loss.
now what has been said by black dog is spot on. do exactly what he has said but i do have e few more questions.

Has the wild type axolotl seemed seemed more aggressive than the other leusistic axolotl?

The reason i have asked is because the wild type may have bullying the other which could stress the axolotl out, just like a student who goes to school and gets bullied gets stressed.
Also a serious injury could also cause shock which in any animals can kill.

Did you notice any injuries to the axolotl?

good luck
brad:happy:

A partial change (10%?) won't make a dramatic change to the water params, if they are high, they'll still be high after that.

Please report Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrates, these are the most probable issues which could have suddenly killed your axie and could potentially be harming your other, which is why it's important we know this right away.

Looks like the PH is far too low, Somewhere in the 6.0 range. Currently re-performing other necessary tests.