Illness/Sickness: Dark gill stalks and new colouration

Hi everyone,

Im looking for some reassurance or help (whichever way it turns out) for our guy Fritz..

He's gotten much darker over a couple of days, with all the changes focused around his gills and top of tail. From reading on here the colouration is normal as they get older, but the gills have me a bit worried.

He's been 'hanging out' at the top of the tank, floating in the top corner on and off for a few days now, and gulping a fair bit as well - wondering if this is related to the colour change? (and probably the water quality )
Tanks not cycled because we had some dramas moving house and 'lost' the good water so we're more or less starting again.

He's in a 40l tank on his own, water temp is good 17-19 degrees, pH is ok but ammonia and nitrite+nitrate are a too high. To keep the ammonia in check we've been using the 'ammo stop' dissolving tablets every second day and prime for the nitrites when they get bad. just did a water change of 10l to bring the nitrates down, using quickstart and prime to condition the water.


Is the gill colour change related to water quality, or can I expect that along with his tail that he's just growing up?


ps. what sort of axolotl have I got? I'm terribly colourblind so can't appreciate him as much as I'd like :blush:

Feeling a bit silly at the moment, this thread describes my concerns fairly closely.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...8-sick-axolotl/86253-curled-veined-gills.html

Missed this on the first searches I did, but hopefully someone can offer advice on whether my Fritz is okay or something's a bit wrong with him?

Hi,

You have an albino axolotl.

I am unfamiliar with ammo stop tablets but I do know that Prime is not recommended for use in cycling tanks - apparently it binds the ammonia making it unavailable for the bacteria in your filter so the tank in effect never cycles as the bacteria starve and don't form a proper colony. You need to switch to another brand that does not do this such as Amquel+

I should imagine that moving house etc has stressed him a bit which will account for some of the behaviour and coupled with the high ammonia readings etc he's almost certainly brassed off and rather grumpy at present.

I think you will just have to persevere with the cycling process. I would suggest that you increase the quantity of water you are changing each day up to as much as 50% daily to keep the ammonia in check until the filter bacteria have a chance to colonise properly and as I said earlier stop using the Prime. You only need to use a dechlorinator.

Good Luck :blob:

Thanks for that, a guy at the aquarium shop around the corner said the ammo tablets will 'detoxify' the ammonia, and yes that the biofilter will leave it unconverted in preference of 'free ammonia' but it will be managed by water changes. I've only been using the prime to keep the nitrites okay, since they'll get up over 5 if I don't do anything. same for nitrates, they skyrocket if i leave it all alone, but I got told to avoid water changes except for 20% weekly so the bacteria can establish.

what's the best option? keep treating the water or change plans and do many more water changes? We've been in new house for 4 weeks, and maybe 7 days ago started seeing nitrite and nitrate readings

This is what I would do:

Take the axolotl out of the aquarium and place it in a plastic tub.
I would then leave the tank and let the cycle start.
To help the tank cycle faster I would use some Dr. Tim's One And Only Nitrifying Bacteria.
While the tank is cycling do daily water changes in the tub for the axolotl to keep the ammonia down. (You could probably even use the stuff you've been using in your aquarium to help with the ammonia as well)
Once the cycle has finished put the axolotl back in.
Now you don't need any ammolock or chemicals to keep your levels in check. Just water changes when necessary.

Is your axolotl on gravel? If so, you will probably want to remove that as it can cause impaction.
Don't ever use any chemicals in your tank other than a dechlorinator.
You will have to purchase Nitrifying bacteria online because as far as I know, Aussie's don't have access to this. Once your tank is fully cycled you should be doing a weekly water change. It might help to do some extra reading on how a cycle works just to help you understand how long it will take.

Bacteria do not live in the water. Bacteria live on the surfaces of your tank. Water changes will not impact your bacteria whatsoever. Aquarium shops want to sell you stuff. That's how they stay in business.

YOU NEED TO DO MORE WATER CHANGES! Stop using Prime and these tablets, get yourself a simple dechlorinator, and do 20% daily water changes. This will get your levels within non-toxic ranges.

Once your bacteria catch up, you can lessen your water changes to weekly.

Kaysie said:

Bacteria do not live in the water. Bacteria live on the surfaces of your tank. Water changes will not impact your bacteria whatsoever. Aquarium shops want to sell you stuff. That's how they stay in business.

YOU NEED TO DO MORE WATER CHANGES! Stop using Prime and these tablets, get yourself a simple dechlorinator, and do 20% daily water changes. This will get your levels within non-toxic ranges.

Once your bacteria catch up, you can lessen your water changes to weekly.

Click to expand...

Just do what Kaysie says and you won't go wrong!