Sick Axolotl - please help!

Ok here's the run down.

Purchased three axolotls 2 days before Christmas. All healthy, eating, happy. Then after a few days one stopped eating. S/he ate something very small after a 3 day eating strike but nothing since. Last Friday, after 6 days of not eating and his/her behaviour changing I decided to fridge him/her (s/he was floating at the top of the tank and then was swimming upright back and forth with it's head out of the water but not actually gulping for air). Water temp in fridge is 6 degrees celcius and changing water every day with dechlorinated water. Offering food every day (blood worms as that was what s/he was eating before getting sick) but s/he now hasn't eaten for 13 days.
I have had the tank water tested and it is high in ammonia which I'm dealing with. The other two Axies are still happy and healthy.
Two days ago the sick Axie did it's first poo in the fridge. Long and stringy (kind of like a fish poo) but had something green on the end of it.
Then yesterday we noticed he is bent in the middle. The container s/he is in is a fair bit larger than him/her and s/he has plenty of room to stretch out.



I'm just really unsure as to where to go from here. I really want to get this axie back to good health.

Hi Areca,

What were the ammonia levels in your tank? Do you know about the nitrogen cycle?
Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling

If you've only had the tank setup since you've got the axolotls then your tank is going through the process of cycling, which means that the ammonia levels will rise and then eventually fall while the nitrite levels rise before they also fall and the nitrate levels rise (and then fall when you do a weekly water change!)

How big is your tank? I've seen similar behaviour in one of my axolotls when I first got it and had it in a tiny tank with another axolotl and knew nothing about cycling a tank or pretty much anything about axies. It completely refused to eat also.

While in the fridge your axie probably won't eat. The cold waters slow their metabolism and they know that anything they eat might not process completely and could end up rotting in their stomach which would be far worse than not eating at all. They can survive in the fridge for months without food.
Your axie is probably just stressed out a bit from all the changes to it's environment it's had over the past few weeks (coming from the pet shop, high ammonia levels, etc.)

My advice is to get your tank parameters under control. If it's cycling (which is what it sounds like) then you should buy an ammonia test kit (and probably nitrite too; or just get a master kit which does everything and can save you money in the long run.)
Do an ammonia test everyday to check the levels in your tank. Ideally you want to keep it at 0ppm, but that is a bit unrealistic so under 0.5ppm would be good. This can be achieved by doing a water change of around 20-30% everyday until it cycles completely. At 2ppm the ammonia levels are toxic enough to kill an axolotl.
Also, what is the temperature of the tank? I think high temps + high ammonia is a very dangerous combination. You should try to keep the temp down as low as possible (definitely under 23 degrees, lower if it can be achieved.)

If your tank is large enough (for 3 axolotls most recommend a 4 foot tank of at least 160L) then I'd hope that it'd be okay to put your axie back into the tank once you've got the ammonia under control. But be weary that more axolotls = more waste = more ammonia, so it might even be easier to keep this one in the fridge until the tank is cycled.

Hope this information helps!

The lotl in the fridge is the best for now till an expert can tell you more. Although have you read up on fridging procedures (there is a sticky at the top) are you changing the water daily with cold water from the same fridge so the temps are the same?
The more info the better :happy:

What are you doing with the tank if it's high in ammonia,? Are you changing out water daily? How big is the tank etc, are you using chemicals (often pet shops will recommend this) I know there are some out there that are sposed to be able to block the ammonia but not block the cycle. As you either have a new set up or it's crashed. Do you have a filter or plants?
Like I say the more info you can give the more peeps here can help.

Ok beaten to it

lotl in fridge is getting daily water changes with de-chlorinated water that is in fridge right next to the container he is in. I read up on the fridging procedures a few days prior to putting him in there.

The tank was cycling for 2 weeks before we put the lotls in. It's a 4 foot tank, holding 170L of water approx. We cycled it with one goldfish (that's what I was told to do by the pet shop) and added bacteria (something from the pet shop. I don't remember the name of it but I've now read was probably useless anyway) and had the water tested before we bought the lotls.

The pet shop recommended 50% water changes twice a week. They recommended that on Saturday. I had done a 50% water change on Sat, then did it again on Sun and then again today (Wed). Well I've half emptied it today...the water I'm getting from the tap right now is too warm so waiting until tonight to re-fill it. They also gave me a water ager that removes ammonia to put in it too. Water temp in the tank is at 21 degrees. I can't really get it to stay any cooler than that atm so I'm maintaining it at that temp. I had read in the past that higher temps + ammonia is really bad for lotls and I am keeping a close on the lotls in the water + the temp and am able to fridge them if need be but so far they are happy, healthy, eating and pooping machines. I am hand feeding them and waste is minimal but I remove any waste there is.

I have a filter, no plants, sand is their substrate and they came from a bare bottomed tank; and have no plans of putting our sick lotl back in the tank until the ammonia problem has gone. The pet shop that has been testing the water for me did not sell me the Axolotls as they don't keep them during the warmer months and were unable to order them in so close to Christmas (which was the original plan). The place I bought them from were completely clueless on them so I've just gone back to the original pet shop + here for help and advice.

I hope that helps to understand what is going on.

Hey again,

sounds like you're doing everything right !

What is the water ager that removes ammonia? Is it like Ammo-Lock or something? Or is it just your typical dechlorinator? I'd say don't add any other chemicals into your tank other than your dechlorinator ( mine is Seachem Prime and it does say it "removes ammonia.") This way it's just easier to keep track of what might be causing any issues with your axies and as these products are often made for fish they can have negative effects on amphibians.
The temp while on the high side should be fine, just try not to let it creep up any higher.

As for your water changes, I think that smaller amounts (10-20%) more often is better than big amounts every couple of days, especially when your tank is cycling.
The fresh water everyday will help to dilute the ammonia a little bit more and your axies will thank you for it. Remember that your cycle needs ammonia present for it to get working so doing big water changes can end up being bad. When my tank cycled I had a random huge spike in ammonia one day (like 7ppm or something crazy) so I had to take my axies out immediately. They went into the fridge and over the next few days I saw ammonia drop, nitrites rise and then drop and the axies were back in their newly cycled tank four days later. This is why I'd recommend you buy your own test kits cause you never know when a spike might occur!

Other than that I think you're on the right track and you've done an excellent job with your research

Thanks for all your info! My 6 year old took an interest in them when she started Kindergarten last year but I had no clue on how to look after them so we spent the next 8 months reading on and off before we decided to add to them to our family (and three kids = three axolotls!)

It's seachem prime that the pet shop recommended but I will go back to small water changes every day and will purchase my own test kits so I can keep a closer on everything.

So glad I'm on the right track. Thanks for the quick reply. I really appreciate it.