Concerned about stressed Axie!

Hi all,
I've got a question for those whom have a better knowledge of axie health than I.

One of my 3 axies, named The Thunderchild, is showing signs of stress i think. I've got them all housed in a large 140L tank, and the other two seem to be fine.

Recently The Thunderchild has taken to occasionally floating at the top for a day or two, then returning to the bottom (probably after taking a decent poop!) and also has been frantically swimming up to the surface of the water, as if trying to escape the tank.
Her gills are now facing forward, her tail is a little wrinkled and she seems very unsettled. She is the same size as the other axies and they all get along great. She is also really well fed, but refused food yesterday...

-In Australia it is currently summer, so the tank water temp creeps up to about 23oC, which i know is very high for axies. The tank does not receive direct sunlight. What is the best way to cool the tank if this is responsible for stressing out my poor axie.
-Also i have a hang-on filter. I have just set up a small platform to retard the flow so it isnt as strong, as ive read that waterflow can also stress the little guys out.
-The pH is ~7 so i dont think that is a contributor, but i dont have a nitrogen cycle kit (its in the mail) so i cant tell if that is responsible.
-Also the tank seems very turbid (cloudy) today even though i did a 35% water change last night! i wonder if there are some resident nasty bacteria/algae?

If anyone can suggest any course of action (ie put her in the fridge for a while) i would be really appreciative!

Many thanks,

Jonno

Also the tank does not have any air stone or air pump, could it be that the oxygen level is too low?

jcj1989 said:

Hi all,
I've got a question for those whom have a better knowledge of axie health than I.

One of my 3 axies, named The Thunderchild, is showing signs of stress i think. I've got them all housed in a large 140L tank, and the other two seem to be fine.

Recently The Thunderchild has taken to occasionally floating at the top for a day or two, then returning to the bottom (probably after taking a decent poop!) and also has been frantically swimming up to the surface of the water, as if trying to escape the tank.
Her gills are now facing forward, her tail is a little wrinkled and she seems very unsettled. She is the same size as the other axies and they all get along great. She is also really well fed, but refused food yesterday...

-In Australia it is currently summer, so the tank water temp creeps up to about 23oC, which i know is very high for axies. The tank does not receive direct sunlight. What is the best way to cool the tank if this is responsible for stressing out my poor axie.
-Also i have a hang-on filter. I have just set up a small platform to retard the flow so it isnt as strong, as ive read that waterflow can also stress the little guys out.
-The pH is ~7 so i dont think that is a contributor, but i dont have a nitrogen cycle kit (its in the mail) so i cant tell if that is responsible.
-Also the tank seems very turbid (cloudy) today even though i did a 35% water change last night! i wonder if there are some resident nasty bacteria/algae?

If anyone can suggest any course of action (ie put her in the fridge for a while) i would be really appreciative!

Many thanks,

Jonno

Click to expand...

Hi Jonno

I'm no expert but I would suggest you keep doing frequent water changes until your test kit turns up - your water parameters are likely out of whack. By keeping up the changes with aged dechlorinated water, you may at least reduce the risk of toxic stuff in the water and once you get your test kit you'll know for sure whether you need to do more or less changes. Should also help with the cloudiness.

Also the temp seems a bit high like you said, you can combat the heat with frozen water bottles (changed before completely thawed to avoid temp fluctuations). A lot of Aussies use fans directed over/at the water which can reduce by a few degrees and adding a small air stone / bubbler can also help with temp. If your cashed up, you could invest in a chiller which will maintain a constant temperature but they are expensive initially to buy (maybe EBay or second hand on here).

Hope this helps, even a little - I'm sure the experts will chip in some great advice if I've missed anything :happy:

Frantic swimming is almost always a sign of poor water quality. Definitely do more frequent water changes.

Have you any rocks of edible size in the tank? The swelling of the throat is troublesome.

no rocks, the substrate is good quality sand (that i cleaned exhaustively to remove the fine particles). I used sand to avoid that exact problem. But i did a water change the last two nights and The Thunderchild looks much better. Also my Nitrogen cycle came in today so im better prepared.

I read that too much nitrate can can induce algal bloom (which is what i suspect may have happened.

Also, is aeration of the tank a good idea for axies?

Thanks for your suggestions!

Please Help! Sick Axie

Hi all,

I really need help with one of my axolotls who is looking pretty bad, and is not eating (last few days). I have three in the same tank, and the other two look fine.

She is floating (back up with a slight skew) at the surface for most of the day and shows both gill flicking and a curled/limp tail (but the curl is all the way through the tail, not just at the end). This has come about in the last week or so, she was fine before that, then started swimming frantically trying to escape the tank. She seems to be exhausted and just floats now!

The Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate = 1ppm/0ppm/0ppm, I have sand substrate, but the water Temp is high, at ~23oC (73.5oF) (it is summer in Australia). Im also having to change the water quite frequently (every 2 days or so) as the water gets cloudy quite quickly (bacterial.algae bloom due to temp?)

Is putting her in the fridge a good idea?

What are my options?

The other tank mates are fine.

Any opinions are greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Jonno

Hi.
I merged your two posts so we can avoid the inevitable questions that may be asked again

I think I would take her out of the tank and put her in a smaller container of clean dechlorinated water and place him somewhere nice and cool. This way you can monitor her more closely. Fridging is an option :- http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...ick-axolotl/85263-axolotl-fridging-guide.html

What do you normally feed her?

If your ammonia is truly 1ppm, you need to do more frequent water changes. That's in the dangerous range.

I normally feed them one earthworm a day (they love them!) but i change that up every so ofter with either very strips of very lean beef or frozen beef heart/liver from the pet shop. When i got them (a few weeks ago) they also had lots of feeder fish, but ive since stopped getting them for fear of parasites! (which im sure worms may be at risk of also)

To help cool your tank try angling a fan at the surface of the tank - it seems to help hold temp 3-4 deg lower there are neat tank fans available if you google aquarium cooling fan & they are cheap.

The 1.0 ammonia is high & with all the frequent water changes you've done it really shouldn't be. Have you tested or played with the Ph in the tank at all? The combination of high Ph means ammonia becomes far more toxic when Ph is higher (a much smaller safe window - as ammonia & ammonium are the same base but due to ph becomes toxic at lower levels) I've just found Phosphate off the scale in my tropical fish tank because we added very early on in the set up sodium biphosphate powder which caused it (modern way is using liquids to lower Ph - now I know!). High phosphate can cause algae growth.

As for her floating - if possible place her in a separate container / tub with fresh dechlorinated water & try & find somewhere cool for her... Maybe a dark tiled bathroom that stays cool & place her on the tiled floor - ground level is cooler by a degree or two normally. Adding a fan as well could bring it down to under 20 easily. Make sure to do daily water changes with fresh cool water.

Bunnings has booster boxes of 500 worms for under $30 & you can keep them in the box or build an earthworm farm.. They're the best food & I'd suggest a worm a day could be more - especially through summer! Their belly should be as wide as their heads are so feeding more isn't a problem - my young ones 6 months old will eat 5-6 worms each per day at the moment - my theory is if they take it & eat it, then that can't be bad! I'd avoid the beef strips & beef heart - they aren't as good as worms at all & variety isn't needed if they're fed live worms as they are getting protein with vitamins, calcium & minerals in balanced servings - worm size

Hope your girl shows signs of recovery soon..

Keep up with the water changes & remove any waste or uneaten food when you see it that will help keep too much in their creating ammonia.





<3 >o_o< <3

While your tank is still cycling you should do more frequent water changes. Mine is cycling at the moment and I change the water once a day to help keep the ammonia levels down. Sometimes twice if there's a lot of poop at the bottom of the tank. I know it's a pain but it needs to be done.

As for the temperature your fellow Aussies know best,^^^^^^^ I live in the UK so mine tends to stay cool.