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Illness/Sickness: Sick and gill-less

kaiserquill

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I went away on a summer holiday 2 weeks ago and got my mum to look after my 3 adult axolotls, when i got back she told me they hadnt eaten for a week. they are floating quite a lot. i have a golden and a white and their skin has gone very red, and my black ones skins gone greyish.the black ones gills have shrunken to almost nothing and have noticced that the goldens gills are looking smaller too. I dont have a ammonia test kit but was wondering if these symptoms could be due to high ammonia levels. it has been very hot recently, around the 28C region indoors, and the tank was getting quite a bit of sun unfortunately :( also the axolotls were in a smaller tank than normal, a 60 litre tank i think for all 3 so they were over stocked.

Any help would be much appreciated!!!! :)
 

carsona246

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ammonia poisoning can do alot of things, I would get a test kit, it's just handy to have around. The temp might also have been a problem, 28 with sun is way too hot for them. I would do a water change, and if you can't get the tank down to a proper temperature you might want to think about fridging them.
 

kaiserquill

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Thanks for that. i have put them into their original tank which is 160 litres, in a nice shady place. il see how they get on. i was just sort of wanting to know if the symptoms sounded more like ammonia problems or if it sounded more like a bacterial or fungal infection. they seem happier now their in the larger tank, they arnt floating anymore anyway :)
 

Bellabelloo

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A combination of maybe their tank being too hot / small and maybe not cleaned will cause all this. They need to be placed somewhere reliably cooler. If their main tank is below 20 degrees this will be fine. If not a small holiday in the fridge will be required.
This article is easy to follow. keep us posted and ask any questions if you are unsure.
Axolotl Sanctuary
 
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