Worried Axie Owner

Hi guys, me again.

This morning my axie was all curled up in the corner of his tank, only this time he was tilting into the middle, so he was showing off his belly. I panicked and thought he wasn't alive so I tried to move him and he started swimming wildly around. He then swam with his nose down on the bottom of the surfaces, in circles for a bit, and the layed straight outside his hide. He is now acting normal, and keeps looking up as though he is waiting for food.

There is now a small poop in the tank which pleases me as I haven't seen one in months. Is it possible my axie has been constipated all this time, and still could be a little constipated?

Also, he seems to perk up, and then I feed him a couple of worms, and then he goes a bit downhill. Are my worms infected? Are they causing him a tummy ache?

And do I need to be concerned about any neurological or internal diseases with the behaviour he emitted this morning?

My water parameters:

N03 - 40 (Can't seem to get this down no matter how hard I try)
N02 - 0
pH - 7.5
KH - 180
GH - 120
Ammonia - 0

Also when I have been changing his water, I've been making sure I have treated the water, I've been icing him constantly to try and bring the temp down. The other day I had to do half a water change as the water was so warm. But I made sure I treated the water. I'm trying to think if I had slipped up anywhere!

He is now looking at me cheekily....

Hi... I have sent you a private message as I live in Essex too.. Kind regards Jean

Constant swings in water temperature can be stressful.

It might be your worms. Have you tried different ones?

Yes thats what I thought, but its been so hot it just melts my ice in minutes. I'm hoping he'll perk up some as the weather over here seems to be cooling nicely, and I am finally managing to keep his tank at 20-21 degrees, still not how I'd like the temp to be, but its better than the 24-27 degrees I was battling with! Hoping to try and get him at a steady 18-19 degrees.

Err, please excuse me, I'm unsure on the different types of worms , but they are just worms from my back garden (we don't use any pesticides). How do I identify the species of worm I have?

Hi Scooty, I hope your axie is doing better now! For the NO3 problem you could try adding more quick growing live plants, this could help. Also, just to be sure, do you take the lead weight of the live plants before putting them in the ground?

Scooty, if you're having difficulty keeping the temperature stable, you can plunk your axie into the fridge until the weather cools off. It's actually better for the axolotl to be at a sub-optimal temperature (say 22-23c or so) than it is for them to have drastic fluctuations.

Nitrates are often in tap water. Have you tested your water to see if it contains nitrates before it goes into the tank? And like Johan said, plants love nitrates!

I've been waiting for my local shop to get some of the live plants in. I use the Axolotl Sanctuary for my guidelines on live plants. I dont have any live plants in there at the moment! Which ones are considered fast growing?

And yeah I tested my water from the kitchen and the bathroom. Nitrates were lower from the kitchen than the bathroom so I have been using my kitchen tap water.

He seems a little perkier. :happy:

Hi Scooty, I'm happy he seems to be doing a bit better already, too bad for nitrates in the tap water
There are numerous quick growing plants, I would recommend among others the following species:

• Hygrophila
• Valisneria
• Ceratophyllum demersum (Rigid Hornwort or coontail)
• Elodea (waterweeds)
• Cabomba

Floaters generally grow quick too, like watersprite (Ceratopterus thalictroides) and they also give shadow to your axies.

Thank you! I will try and get some of these plants next week sometime! I would buy them online but I can't find a reliable website.

Hi, I've bought plants online many times and it was always perfect, but I live in the Netherlands. About the reliability of shops in the UK I can not say anything, but I did find some sites in the UK where you are able to buy plants online.

Here they are:

Aquarium Plants - Individual Plants - Aquarium Plants | Pond Plants | Plants Alive
Individual Plants for your aquarium by Java-Plants
Live Aquatic Plants - Collections & Individual
PRO-aqua-PLANT PLANTS NOW IN STOCK **sale now on**
Aquarium Plants | Tropical Plants | Tropical Tank Plants
Aquarium Plants

I hope they have what you are looking for. Maybe you can find reviews online about a site you like? Kind regards!

Oohh! Thank you! I will take a look! :happy: