Its like dejavu! axie stopped eating

Ive had my axie for a few months now, he was always a very hungry little guy and could eat up to 4 worms a day. Now , it has gotten to the point where he is not even interested he has eaten 1 worm in a week id say, and i dont know what else to do!

It seems a similar thing happened with my last axie, all of a sudden he just turned off his food and became very ill and died. Although, i think he may have had a bit of fungus.

Anyhow, i was reading my axolotl book and they said sometimes females can stop eating and start floating around the top of the tank because theyre eggs havent been fertalized or something , so they are feeling full? It was something along those lines, i really have no idea if my axie is a male or female.

is there anyway i could interest him in food?

have you tried varying his/her's diet?

some pics of your axie and current setup would be great.

How old and how big is this axolotl ?
What is the temperature of the tank at present?
What are the water readings for Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite ?

Here are my own observations of my own axies, not specific advise for you so much as something to think about.

My axies eat one worm twice a week, with a few axie pellets here and there, both are good weight / size and healthy

1 My axies ate more when they were younger

2 My axies eat more in warmer weather - now i have a chiller at a steady 18 celc so it makes no difference

3 My axies seem to off their food before dropping spermatoza, and are then apparently ravenous once that's all over

4 One axie just about takes my fingers to the second knuckle when feeding he is that keen, the other seems to be a little more shy these days and prefers to have is worm left in front of him to pick off when he feels like it.

5 One axie appears to have a bigger appetitie than the other in general and eats every time i offer something, while the other can sometimes refuse food and go another 2-3 three days (this used to bother me greatly, however he is the same size as the other, weight is good, no signs of stress, so .... i stopped worrying)

I know this are not specific answers to your questions, just a few things that might be going on.

Of course water parameters will effect them, but I assume you are top of those.

It worried me a lot when my guys started refusing food that were taking everyday before, but now they seem to have settled into a routine that suits them (and me)

Bren

How big is your tank and which filter do you use?
Whats on the bottom - sand, gravel?

Tina

ive just tested the water, i test it once a week ... as of right now it is:

PH: 7.6
AMMONIA: 0ppm
NITRITE: 0- 0.25ppm
NITRATE: 0ppm.

Not sure what to do when he isnt even interested in food, when i put the worm infront of his face after a few seconds he moves away from it. He has lost so much weight he is looking very skinny! but i feel there is nothing i can do to help he eat.

And thank you to everyone who replied above!

callina said:

How big is your tank and which filter do you use?
Whats on the bottom - sand, gravel?

Tina

Click to expand...

i have just purchased a external cannister filter, 2000L (i ordered a 1400L but instead they sent me a 2000L) - he lives in a 3 ft tank , and i have black sand at the bottom of his tank which he has had fun with messing around!

blackdog said:

H

3 My axies seem to off their food before dropping spermatoza, and are then apparently ravenous once that's all over


Bren

Click to expand...

What is spermatoza? Male fertalizing ? or female eggs?

a spermatophore is a little white blob the males will drop around the tank for the females to use to fertilise her eggs. They usually drop quite a few.
Perhaps you could try feeding him waxworms. They're not a good staple, but they're good for skinny axies to help them get their appetite back. After being recommended them on here, I bought a tub of them on ebay. They look like little white caterpillers!

rexx said:

i have just purchased a external cannister filter, 2000L (i ordered a 1400L but instead they sent me a 2000L) - he lives in a 3 ft tank , and i have black sand at the bottom of his tank which he has had fun with messing around!

Click to expand...

Hi,

your filter is very big for a 3 ft tank. I think it´s way too big and I suppose, that there is much current flow in the water. This can stress the axies and they stop eating. Can you reduce the water flow a bit?

Is the black sand colored or are there some metal inclusions? I don´t know black sand, but black gravel. We have a thread about black gravel somewhere at caudata - but I cannot find it at the moment. Maybe someone else knows it?

Tina

callina said:

Hi,

your filter is very big for a 3 ft tank. I think it´s way too big and I suppose, that there is much current flow in the water. This can stress the axies and they stop eating. Can you reduce the water flow a bit?

Is the black sand colored or are there some metal inclusions? I don´t know black sand, but black gravel. We have a thread about black gravel somewhere at caudata - but I cannot find it at the moment. Maybe someone else knows it?

Tina

Click to expand...

i know it is alot bigger than the one i ordered. i will have a look and see if i can reduce it somehow, although to be honest there doesnt look like there is heaps of movement in the water!

and the black sand, it is sand with no metal includsions i made sure it was alright and nothing as big as gravel, as i know axies are best not to be put in a tank with that.

siona said:

a spermatophore is a little white blob the males will drop around the tank for the females to use to fertilise her eggs. They usually drop quite a few.
Perhaps you could try feeding him waxworms. They're not a good staple, but they're good for skinny axies to help them get their appetite back. After being recommended them on here, I bought a tub of them on ebay. They look like little white caterpillers!

Click to expand...

i ran out of earthworms, so gave a beef heart a go , and he was interested and ripped that apart and ate it which was a good sign! considering he has only eaten most likely 1 worm in the past week and a half!