Illness/Sickness: Bright Red Veins (SEE PHOTOS)

Here are some photos of my beloved Little Foot. I've had him/her for just over 2 weeks. A few days ago s/he became very ill and stopped being active and eating. I was concerned about my new little friend's well-being, so 2 days ago I took him/her back to the old, eccentric, hard-of-hearing hippy dude who owns an aquarium store on the other end of town. He tested my water for ammonia and the test tube turned black. He said that in his 42 years as a hobbyist/fish store owner he has never seen that.

(Recently a construction company has broke ground right next to and across the street from us. Every since our water has been horrible.)

Yesterday, his water was looking icky with floaty stuff in it. (This would be one day after our visit to the fish store for advice.) I went out and bought bottled water (not distilled) and have been keeping him in a 9.5 cup rectangular tupperware filled with about 4 cups water. I put a little dechlorinator in the water just to be safe and some stuff called "cycle" that I use in my other aquariums to restore good bacteria when I do filter and water maintenance.

This morning his water was clear and s/he is more active. My little foot is also eating his frozen blood worms and seems to have a hearty appetite.:happy: HOWEVER , His gills have bright red veins and there is big red spot right in the middle of his/her head. Please see photos.

If anyone has some insight, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

You made a good choice in this situation in getting bottled water for your axie, when most times it isnt the best choice. Though obviously your tap water is a no no for nobody!

The problem with bottled water is it is to soft for your axie, so you need to add the hardness yourself(Im pretty sure you get can drops to add to your water) they like hardness in their water.

are you doing 100% water changes daily? cleaning out the tub?

You really don't need to be using cycle in a tub, seeing as you should be doing 100% water changes daily there is not enough time to build beneficial bactera.

as for the red veins you'd need to wait for somebody more experienced then I, though it could be that the water is to soft, maybe your axie is in a little bit of shock from the drastic water environment change. many factors could be contributing in this

I've been doing 100% water changes making sure that the water is the same temp before switching over.

Wondering if I need to use dechlorinator if I'm using bottled water and if they sell the drops to make his water hard in the fish store? Will stop at stor and ask today.

I am pretty sure they sell dissolved metal solutions at the pet store if you have no choice but to use bottled water.
most fish dont like hard water, but axies are not fish I sometimes have troubles explaining to the people at the pet shop that I know what I'm doing I dont have a tank full of fish! when they tell me I shouldnt be buying this, get this instead or what not. expecially when it comes to chemicals, but I try to keep a as much as possible biological tank system going, except for my dechlorinator and the carbon in my filter I would rather natural remedies for anything else.

Hey even maybe its possible to find a natural way to add hardness to your water. I really dont know so somebody else will have to post/google it possibly. Who knows you may luck out!

Edit : Also your axie looks extremely skinny. how often/how much are you feeding it?

I have been feeding s/he about a third of a cube of frozen bloodworms in the evening daily up until s/he quit eating last Thursday. Please give me some feeding instructions that would help fatten him/her up since he began eating again today.

Thanks!

Hey, glad you got the water tested! I'd recommend getting your own test kit so you can keep a close eye on the tank in future. My guess is the red veins and spot could be ammonia burn? With the ammonia being that high it must have done some damage. Hopefully your axie will recover now it's in fresh water. Dechlorinator is important for every water change, just to be safe.

Have you tried feeding earthworms? They're really nutritional and a great diet for axies. Mine can't resist them! Your axie is very small so you'd have to cut the worms into smaller bits so it can swallow them easily. You can buy them from certain shops or go hunt for some in your back garden, as long as you don't use any pesticides.

You should be giving him more than 1/3 of a cube, my axies are 5" and eat up to two cubes each
Your aiming for the widest part of their tummies to be as wide as their head, then they are full
If you want to feed eartheworms, you can order 'baby' ones over the internet that come at 1" each so they can just swallow them whole

@ Alkylhalide, You are so right about the meddling pet store clerk situation. He sent me home with 4 snail shells and chastised me for keeping him in a tupperware container. He claimed the shells would help harden the bottled water and backed off when I told him I invested in two different aquariums for my axie, but haven't moved him/her in yet, because I can keep better track of what s/he eats and excretes in a shoebox-sized clear container.

If anyone knows if there is any truth to snail shells hardening the water, please let me know...?

@snuggly time, thanks for your thoughts about ammonia burn. I am such a novice when it comes to axolotl keeping, but believe me, my heart is totally into it. I've been reading past posts on ammonia burn and am crossing my fingers that any damage to his gills is not permanent.

@Layna, thanks for the advice on feeding. GOOD GRIEF! The pet store clerk told me I should only feed him every other day! This particular pet store is the only other place that I know of in Seattle that sells axolotls. Last night I fed him some tiny frozen mysis shrimp. S/he ate it, but not with the same enthusiasm as the frozen blood worms. This morning I gave him/her a whole cube and s/he has been working on it for the last 20 minutes and seems quite content.


Yesterday, I also called Seattle Public Utilities about the water and they are suppose to send someone over to check it out. (I also lost most of my tropical fish during the last water change.)

Today, I will go see the very endearing, yet eccentric old hippy man on the other end of the city to let him know that I think my dear Little Foot is through the woods and thank him for his help. Then I will buy a very complete water testing kit from him, because I want to support his business. He may even have some of those baby earthworms that you mentioned, Layna!

I plan on practicing how to use the water testing kit today and am wondering if anyone knows how to tell when my axie is well enough to go into one of his/her tanks.

Ahh good, is his tummy looking fatter now?
I got my worms yesterday and the axies went mad for them becuase they were easy to eat haha!
Then one accidently bit a worm in half and no one would touch it as it tastes nasty inside haha!
Im glad your doing everything you can to make him better, and im also glad you came on here for advice otherwise you might have had more problems!

The bright red veins may also be because albinos sometimes get redder gills and veins when active; he may have just been a little frightened and stressed out. The spot may well be ammonia burn, but fresh dechlorinated water every day should help to solve that. I've never heard of using snail shells, and I can't really find any good advice on raising hardness. Also, I know this sounds rude, but ignore the chappie at the fish store telling you that keeping your axxie in a tub is bad. My Dad reacts the same way when I tell him one of my axxies gets 100% water changes - 'you'll kill them with stress doing that!' - but both of my axxies got used to it very quickly, and clean water every day in a decent sized tub is infinitely preferable to dangerous water, no matter how big the tank. As long as the axxie can stretch out to full size, he's probably happy.

You will need to have your tank tested before you can be sure it's safe for Little Foot to move back (obviously, given what's going on with your water supply, it's not ideal). You'll have to wait until it shows signs of being well cycled and adapted for about a week (3 days would probably be fine, but I always think it's best to be safe). I'd advise testing the water now, seeing how it's doing, and doing water changes (adding Quick Start if you have it) until it cycles again. Ideally your axxie will put on weight (have a tummy as wide as his head), have lots more colour and have his gills growing back (it will probably take around a month or so, longer if they're badly damaged by the ammonia) before you put him back, but making sure the tank is cycled and safe is important.

I hate to say it but your tank may have crashed with the bad water that's been added to it. For now, keep Little Foot in his clean, cool tub and monitor him. Hope you can get some earthworms, they really are the best for poorly axxies! Good luck!