Question: Gill feather re-growth?

So yesterday afternoon I went to check on my axie and his gill feathers had shrunk to tiny little nubs! I haven't changed his water for a few days, he's in about 15 gallons of water with 2 filters running. He was perfectly fine the day before. I figured it was ammonia levels ( I'm waiting on a paycheck to replace a lost water testing kit) so I took him out put him in the fridge and did a 50 percent water change and am now letting it cycle. He's looking a lot better. So I was wondering how long it will take on average ( I know there's a lot of Ifs in there) for their gill feathers to grow back? Also, I know that most fish water chemicals are no good for them, but dose anyone know of anything safe to use for ammonia? I was looking at some ammonia lock by tetra but I didn't want to get anything without checking here first

Oh, and he is on sand. Water temps around around 20-22 all the time in the tank. He's a juvi, about 6 or 7 inches long. His tank is a 20gal, but only partially full. I wont put him back in untill I can get a new test kit and check the water.

Why do you have two filters going? Axolotls don't do well with a lot of current, and this will stress them sometimes to the point of death. Do you dechlorinate your water?

The best thing to do to deal with ammonia is to cycle your tank. Understanding the nitrogen cycle and how to use it to grow beneficial bacteria in your tank is key to the general hobbyist keeping their axolotls healthy. The article linked is a good place to start, but there are dozens and dozens of threads on this forum dealing with cycling.

As an off-side, where did you purchase your axolotl?

The filters dont create alot of current, plus i have little lilly pads tied unter the flow. I have twor becuase i could only find samll filters that didnt heat up the water and didnt produce alot of current, and that was all I could afford while I save up for a canistor filter. Water is always dechlorinated.

I got both of mine form a herp show. They dont live together yet

Does his tail fin look any different? How about his eyes?

If you only have one animal in the 15 gallons of water, you don't really need a big filter. I have 1 axolotl in a 30 gallon tank (~25 gallons of water), and all I have is a sponge filter.

It was kinda kinky yesterday, but since he's been in the fridge its strightend and his eyes never changed at all. He's eating good also.

Sounds good! I often worry around this time of year about people who are duped into buying tiger salamander larvae, and they start to undergo metamorphosis.

Now, in the grand tradition of things, we demand pictures! People here are suckers for a cute slimy face.

here is Alejandro befrore the accident....


I dont have pics of my other one yet, he's not very photogenic lol

I guess I forgot to mention this: with multiple filters running, your water is getting 'extra' oxygen. Axolotl gills are designed to exchange oxygen/carbon dioxide. If you have a lot of dissolved oxygen in your tank, your axolotl is going to need far smaller gills, since there's more oxygen. So by having multiple filters, you're actually decreasing the size of their gills.

hummm, never thought about that. So how long till they grow back out? days? weeks? months? years? never? god I hope never I feel so awful that i let this happen to him

They'll grow back, usually within a couple of weeks to months. It depends on water quality, temperature, oxygen, etc. And usually, juveniles have much bigger gills than they do as adults. I know all of mine had less-extravagant gills as they grew up.

yeah true, but i mean it hardly looks like he has any anymore they have shrivled so close to his actual gill stump things. He looks bald! im glad it wont take years lol