Please help concerned newbie

Karebear13

Karebear13

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Hi I was hoping not to post on this part so soon but I am a new owner and a little concerned.
I have a three inch axolotl only had him for about two days. I have a ten gallon tank that I will be putting him in later today. I wanted to get a 20 gallon but my apartment complex doesn't allow it. I will be updating him to a 20 gallon in the future. He has been living in a one gallon tank the last two days and I have been keeping the water at 70 degrees which is what the breeder has been keeping him at. I am using Prime and have been doing 100% water change everyday. Yesterday I noticed he had a red spot on his tail and today it looks like the red spread and his tail is curled. I will attach a picture of that and his gills because I'm not sure if his gills look healthy.
 

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That looks like an injury. He was probably bitten by a tank-mate.

Cool your tank as much as possible. 70F is the top range of axolotl comfort. The colder the better. There is no such thing as too cold, until you have ice skimming the top of the tank.

Have you cycled your tank? If not, you'll have to do small, but frequent water changes. Have you picked up a liquid reagent test kit? You'll need one for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. And use a different dechlorinator, one that doesn't bind ammonia, or your tank will never cycle.
 
Thanks for the link.

He didn't have a red spot on his tail before though. It just appeared yesterday.
Yes I have a kit ready to use when I add him in the big tank tonight. Is Aquasafe a better conditioner to use?
 
Bruises don't always show up right away. But is there anything in the tank it could've caught on? Trapped behind an ornament? Sucked into the filter?

Aquasafe is a better choice than Prime.
 
His gills look really turned up to me, it could just be the angle of the picture? If they are turned up this is usually caused by stress from too strong a water stream/current from the filter. If this is the case you'll need a spray bar attachment for the filter or failing that something in front of it to try and disperse it so it isnt one powerful stream. You can usually do this with plants or rocks. Hope your little guy's ok.
 
Yeah I think he is stressed :( I don't know what could be causing the stress. He is currently in a one gallon tank and I have been doing 100% water changes daily and he has been eating.

What concerns me is the red spreading in his tail. Yesterday it was just a red spot and now it seems to disperse in his tail
 
Is it possible that he might have red leg? It looks like the red stuff is spreading from his tail down to his body.
 
Red leg is a septic infection. If the spot is spreading to the body, you should take it to the vet. It will need antibiotics. Did you cool the tank any?
 
I could only get it down to 68. I put a fan right next to the tank and added floating bags of ice. Any other suggestions on cooling it down some more. Its really hard to get it to stay down but I have the fan on it 24 7...
 
Also I have been looking for a vet near me and there doesn't seem to be any I have been calling vets all day and none specialize in herp vet. Is there any other alternative. His gills seem to have lowered down a lot and he is eating
 
I know you mentioned moving him into a 10 gallon and was wondering if you had done so yet?

A one gallon is poorly suited for a 3 inch axolotl - small volumes of water cannot regulate temperature so temp swings are common (and stressful) and there is less volume to dilute even small amounts of waste meaning Ammonia is more highly concentrated even with water changes.
 
Yes i moved him into the ten gallon yesterday. He seems to be doing better. His gills have lowered. His tail still looks red but it looks like it stop spreading.

He hides most the the time in his cave. He ate a lot yesterday. I have been feeding him frozen bloodworms but want to give him some earthworms... where can I find some?
 
Walmart, in the fishing section. They usually have trout worms, red wigglers, and nightcrawlers. Troutworms are a lot more wiggly, red wigglers are sometimes distasteful, and nightcrawlers are pretty big (they'll need to be chopped).

To cool the tank, have the fan blowing on the water, not the tank. This can drop the temperature 3-5 degrees. You'll have to add water regularly to keep up with evaporation though. You'll still have to do your normal water changes, so don't mistake adding water as a water change. The only way to remove waste is to physically remove it.

If he's eating, that's a good sign!
 
It def. looks like he has some type of infection. He still has a red rash looking thing on his leg and it looks like his skin is peeling :( . I don't know what to do cause I am no where near a vet. Is there another alternative in curing him. THe temp is consistent in his tank. And I have been checking the ammonia level daily. Yesterday it was .5 ppm so I didn't do a water change because I am cycling it. Today it was a bit higher so I did a 50% water change. He is still eating but Im getting worried that the infection will end up killing him
 
Ok even if you are cycling the tank, if you are cycling with a fish or axolotl in it you NEED to do water changes.

Rushing to cycle will only hurt him and .50ppm is HIGH. He is probably also suffering ammonia burns at this point.

Yes, we do want you to cycle but do so safely for your axolotl.

Considering your 10 gallon has only been set up 1-2 days, the filter still has very little to no bacteria that it needs in it. Cycling takes 6-12 weeks most of the time. At this point still do lots of water changes. Keeping him healthy is the most important part. If he doesn't have fresh water now he might now make it to a cycled tank later.
 
okay so what is a good ammonia level then because I was told .5 ppm was okay and if it got any higher than that to do a water chang? I know it is suppose to be at 0 but yeah the filter has only been running for a couple of days.

I was thinking about referigerating him to see if it would help his condition... but I don't if it would be help because then I would need to change his water 100% daily and that seems to stress him out
 
It is crucial that the water conditions are good for your little axolotl. As you have a new, and uncycled tank, you must do regular partial water changes. It feels like it takes for ever to get the tank cycled, I did approx 20% daily water changes on mine for nearly 6 weeks. You need to check the readings , certainly for ammonia daily. If the readings rise over 0.5ppm, you may need to increase the volume of water changes. If you have your axolotl in the fridge then it may well require full water changes. Have a read through these links, they will explain it a lot better than I can.
Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity
Axolotls - Housing in Captivity
 
I have been doing 25% water changes everyday. He is still eating.

But I feel terrible because his tail looks really infected. Is there any medication or treatment I can do myself to help him
 
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