Illness/Sickness: Axle won't digest food!!?!?

N

No1Mustang

New member
Joined
Jan 25, 2012
Messages
32
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Country
Jersey
Hi, I have had an Axolotl for about 2 months, He is in a 70L tank, Silica sand on the bottom, wood to hid in etc....Water temp is constant at 18oC, P.H is 6.8 - 7,
Now he has stopped digesting his food, I've tried earthworms, blood worms, pellets and guppy's. He's catching / eating it, then throwing it up a few mins later,
Does anyone have any ideas? is this a phase? He seems happy enough, He swims around and chases my finger, digs and hides in the sand etc, :confused::confused:
just getting worried as I fly out to Florida in 10 days and don't want to leave him unwell
 
Do you test your water parameters? Have you ever caught him eating sand?
 
Another couple of questions. How big is he? How often do you feed him and roughly how much?
 
I Checked the water last night, Its all within safe limits, The ammonia was a little high so I did a water change and took out a dead plant which Axle had trashed whilst I was at work, I cleaned the filters with tank water and cleaned out his fresh poop, I normally feed him 1/2 cubes of bloodworms (defrosted) every day and earth worm everyother day, he used to gulp it all down, He has since eaten a few bloodworms today but will keep an eye on him to see if he keeps it down,
 
Could you post your exact water parameters? The actual readings for ammonia, nitrate, etc...? The moderators here are fantastic, and they're best able to help when they're given very specific information. Also, how big is he?

Lastly, could you post a photo of Axle? Perhaps he's exhibiting subtle physical signs that the experts will pick up on.
 
Depending on how big he is, you may be feeding him too much.
 
The water results are as follows: Ammo: 1.5, PH 6.4, Nitrate 50 and nitrite 0,
He has eaten a guppy today and has so far kept it down, I did a 25% water change yesterday and he seems a bit more happier, his tail tip is straight and not curved.
 
I'm having a bit of trouble getting a photo up at the mo but will keep trying
 
Your ammonia is through the roof! Your ammonia should always be 0, and beyond 1.0 it's in the toxic range. You need to do a big water change immediately, and do small water changes daily to keep your ammonia below 0.5.
 
I have a few buckets of water settling at the moment so that it reaches a room temp so that its not a huge temp shock for him when it goes in, I've taken out the plants he ploughs through as they were looking dead or near dead, what is the easiest way of keeping ammo levels down?? I do water changes and de chlorinate the water, a friend suggested ammo lock, or something sounding like that, woud that help :confused:
 
I definitely wouldn't recommend using ammo lock. Adding more chemicals to your water generally results in more complications further down the track.
Regular water changes of around 20% would be the best option to bring the ammonia down. Do you change out water at least once a week? Your nitrate is pretty high as well, it's best to keep it well below 40ppm.
Maybe do daily changes of 20% until the ammonia is completely removed. Also remove any food/waste - as Kaysie said, you're probably over feeding which is contributing to the build up of ammonia (especially cause bloodworm can be very messy!)
 
I do weekly water changes of around 20%, any poop is scooped out as soon as I see it, 99% of the time its when he poops and moves off, I watch him eat and scoop up any uneaten food after a short time, would the dead plants have caused the ammonia levels? I took them the morning after he demolished them, I'm going to do a really thorough water change today and monitor the levels over the next 48 hours and will keep you posted, Thanks for your help guys, much appreciated
 
Did you cycle your tank? If not that could be the cause of constant high ammonia readings. Could also be a cycle crash, either way try a big change like Kaysie suggested and monitor the readings to see if that helps. If it doesn't then either pop your fella in the fridge whilst the tank cycles fully or you can keep him in but you will need to do daily 10-20% water changes until the cycle settles. Do you use a filter? If not then you need to continue with daily water changes. If you do then make sure you don't wash the filter in clean water when you clean it, you need to rinse it in old tank water otherwise all the bacteria that keep the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels down in your tank will die off and you end up needing to recycle. If you are going to add a filter then if could also cause a cycle crash so just keep an eye on it :) Any time I have a water quality problem I put my monsters (or aliens as my friend has christened them XD) in the fridge straight away for a little holiday while I get the tank settled again
 
I have just changed half of the water and washed the filter out in the old tank water in a bucket, I let all the sand settle and popped him back in, I'll keep doing water changes and keep an eye on the levels, hopefully this will fix the levels and help keep them down, I've had a filter in there from when I first got him, I always rinse it in old tank water and not under the tap
 
Might just be a crash then, hope you get it sorted! :) Good luck!
 
Thanks for all your help guys, I'm going to completely clean his tank out and send him on "holiday" whilst I do it, my brother in law has given me a piece of bogwood to put in but it has green mossy stuff on it, would getting that off 1st be a good idea before putting it in the tank as the other bits I have in there have none on it and also When I put him in the fridge (still sounds wierd putting a pet in the fridge) do i use decholirinated tap water or half tap, half tank water?
 
2 hours later, Axle is in the fridge on holiday, I just completely cleaned out his tank, washed the filters and have put it all back, i just did a water test and the results are:
Ammo: 0 - good
P.H 6.4
Nitrate: 10
Nitrite: 0

The water in the tank looks cloudy but I'm not sure wether its just sand that needs to settle or wether its because its cold, I've dechlorinated it and am letting it reach room temp before returning Axle.
Whats the procedure for putting him back in? Do I take him out the fridge in his tub and wait untill that reaches room temperature or pop him straight in?
 
Leave him in his "holiday home" out of the fridge until the water gradually gets to a similar temperature to the water in the tank, to avoid shock, then you can return him :happy:
 
Cool, thought I'd better double check on that one, :D

Any ideas as to why the water would be cloudy? the tanks warmed up to room temp now and is clearing,
 
Probably be the sand, it gathers all kinds of delights over time and when you clean the tank it swirls it all up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • Shane douglas:
    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
     +1
    Unlike
  • Thorninmyside:
    Not necessarily but if you’re wanting to continue to grow your breeding capacity then yes. Breeding axolotls isn’t a cheap hobby nor is it a get rich quick scheme. It costs a lot of money and time and deditcation
     +1
    Unlike
  • stanleyc:
    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
     +1
    Unlike
  • Clareclare:
    Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus Japanese . I'm raising them and have abandoned the terrarium at about 5 months old and switched to the aquatic setups you describe. I'm wondering if I could do this as soon as they morph?
     +1
    Unlike
    Clareclare: Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus... +1
    Back
    Top