Freak outs

My axolotl has been having serious disturbances over the last two weeks when I remove his waste. I am using a small net to collect it, which I have always done with no reaction. My concern is these reactions have lead to several tears in his tail, one that he had from 6 months ago but had healed has reopened. I've recently moved him from a smaller holding tank to a larger housing tank, fully cycled, water parameters good, fluctuating between 17 and 22 degrees c. His tank is in a room that sees multiple and immediate light variations. Could this be the cause of his current distress? I've had to change his diet in that time too, from a main staple of earthworms to bloodworms and pellets, that will soon be reversed. Also, is a tear in the tail something to be concerned about? the tearing isn't severe, the largest is maybe only 5mm in depth.

Thank you in advance.

Switch from a net to a turkey baster. It's much more effective. I would be worried about the light causing stress.

How big is your tank?

Sometimes mine freak out if i surprise them.
If i need to go into a tank or tub I do it slowly and kind of show them i'm there before doing anything. If I just reach in 'unannounced' this can cause a major splashing freak out!!
Once they know i'm there they try and eat my hand, net, turkey baster....

Mel

Kaysie, the tank holds 55lt.

Mel, i do the same thing. it's only over the past couple of weeks that he's been irritable.

Again, should I be concerned about the tail injuries?

That's a bit small for an adult Axolotl...what is the filter/substrate setup? Could you provide a picture of the enclosure?

As long as the tear has no fungus growing on it, it should heal up fine.
Keep an eye out for cotton wool like growths there.

Does he have plenty of hiding places? 22 degrees is a bit high too.


Mel

Shizeric said:

That's a bit small for an adult Axolotl...what is the filter/substrate setup? Could you provide a picture of the enclosure?

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No I can't provide a pic right now. The substrate is sand, I'm using an internal filter with carbon, sponge, noodles, spray bar. low volume. I've moved him from a 22ltr tank and he was fine during that holding period, which lasted 5 or 6 weeks.

melfly said:

As long as the tear has no fungus growing on it, it should heal up fine.
Keep an eye out for cotton wool like growths there.

Does he have plenty of hiding places? 22 degrees is a bit high too.


Mel

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I understand the temp issue. My wife and I recently bought a portable air conditioner specifically for the room where his tank his positioned.

That's 14 gallons; its not terribly small for an adult axolotl.

Internal filters can often raise your water temperature. I recently helped out a member who had a filter that was too big. She found that without the filter on, her water temperature dropped significantly. You might try turning off the filter for a few days and see if that doesn't make the water cooler. If the filter is part of the culprit (I understand it's Aussie summers, so it's just warm anyway), you might want to look into a smaller filter, or a different kind of filter.

If you do turn off your filter, you have to be diligent about water quality, removing waste frequently and increasing water changes a bit. I would use an airstone or bubbler (I'm a huge fan of sponge filters) just to agitate water surface a bit.

As for the diet, offering a balance of pellets and earthworms is good. Bloodworms lack calcium and shouldn't be a main staple, but are fine as a treat.

From my experience 14-15 gallon tanks have the same "footprint" as 10 gallon tanks, but are a bit taller. I suppose I don't know the dimensions of your tank, but I would think it would only be 2 feet long.

Does your axolotl have any hides or plants in with him. I wonder if he is feeling exposed?

An interesting and somewhat counterintuitive experience for me with animals in general and axies in particular is that the more places they can hide the more comfortable they become in their surroundings and then become more visible and move about more naturally. When an animal is "freaking out" because of your presence it seems to indicate to me that he doesn't feel safe where he is. I think that a 15 gallon tank is a bit small for an adult axie and I know that the people that raise them for research keep them in much tighter (1 gallon) containers. I still don't feel that this is an appropriate choice for people who are interested in these animals and their natural behaviors. I definitely give him more hiding places and I'd really encourage you to increase the tank size (double it) if you can.