Illness/Sickness: Poorly axie?!?!

Hi all im new to posting so this may take awhile, but iv been following the forums for months and know this is the best place for advice so any help appriciated!
So, iv had my axie for about 9 months, and think he was about 5 months when i got him. Hes quite small, about 9"s. Never had a problem with him, (i thinks its a boy) always fed fine, mostly on frozen and live bloodworm. Iv recently moved house and needed to empty his tank for the drive, so took out some of his water then put it back in when the tank was at the new house. Then i needed some food so went to the local fish shop to get advuce. The guy gave me some lancefish, which i defrosted, chopped up and put into the axie tank. After that, the water started going green, so today i have moved my axie, emptied the tank and put fesh water into it. I dchlorinated it first. May seem drastic, but that water was seriously gross. I have also tried to give the axie some bloodworm, but he now hasnt eaten for a month since movibg house, so im getting worried. Have just been watchin him aswel, and hes just darted about and around himself in circles. Now im really worried. Hes never done that before!! Is it just hes still stressed or is there something more sinister going on? I also intend on cycling the tank now the water has been changed, at least once a day to begin with. Please help!! Thanks all x

What did you do with your filter while you moved? If your filter was without circulating water for too long the bacteria will have died and you're getting spikes in the nitrogen cycle and algae growth. Have you had the water tested? Axies can go off thier food if the water doesn't agree with them.
Simple solution would be frequent water changes until the cycle is re-established.

Is your tank in sunlight? That may be why it is going green.

Thanks for replies! I dont have a filter, just do regular water chamges and hes been fine upto now. Good news is that hes just demolished 3/4 a cube of frozen bloodworm! Now hes roaming around in his tank, happy as larry. Have noticed though every now and again he has been flipping around himself, writhing and hitting the things in the tank. Im sure hea going to hurt himself and its so sad to watch

bellabelloo said:

Is your tank in sunlight? That may be why it is going green.

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No, its in an alcove in my living room. Iv got it away from all rads, tvs, windows ect x

Strange behaviour?

Hi all, after last nights post, im pleased to announce my axie has started eating properly again im slightly concerned though because last night, he started freaking out. Only for about 30 seconds, but its almost as though he was writhing in pain? Like, he was bending and just freaking out. I dont really know how else to explain it, but within the 30 seconds, he hit almost everything in the tank. Once finished, he was still for about 5 mins, then absolutly fine, swimming around, checking out his surroundings! Then half an hour later he did it again? Have you ever experienced this? Is there something i should ve worried about? Pleease help!! Thanks xx

Sounds like water quality issues. Thrashing usually indicates discomfort. So is the water too warm? Or is the water polluted? Either from something in your tap water or produced by the change in diet. Perhaps the lance fish has rotted somewhere and is producing ammonia. Now your axolotl is bigger it is producing more ammonia, maybe it needs more water volume to dilute waste products.

I would suggest more and bigger water changes for now. And eventually it gets tedious changing huge volumes of water daily so a cycled tank is usually better, then you only need weekly ten to fifteen per cent water changes. In which case you are best cycling your main tank and moving your axolotl into a small tank with very large daily water changes for a few weeks.

You really need to be testing your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate using a reliable test kit such as the API freshwater master test kit. This will save you a lot of heartache (and money) and your axolotl a lot of discomfort or even an early death.

Hope this is helpful.



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Yes, thrashing is udsually associated with discomfort - one of mine did it when he was constipated, another when he had gas. That could also account for the lack of appetite - if his tummy was uncomfortable.
Or it could be a water quality thing.
I agree, a filter and circulating water are pretty much essential for any aquarium.

Almost sounds like a seizure of some type...especially if he was motionless afterwards for a while. How is he doing now?

Hello, I was wondering whether the problem might be with the water at the new house ? Perhaps if you don't have a test kit, you could take a sample of your tank water and a sample of your tap water (dechlorinated) to a pet store for testing.

Some areas have Ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrate in the tap water, this could be the problem ?

If the tap water is OK, then maybe take him out whilst you cycle the tank (in a clean plastic tub with daily water changes and scrub every 2 days). Let us know how you go anyway :happy:

Thank you all for your replies. Im going to get the water tested today so will let you know of the results! He seems fine now, back to his usual self or near enough
He seems happy and is eating again, no bloating. He enjoys being at the top of the tank and is spending lots of time swimming about. No more seizures thankfully! One more thing im worried about is his tail. Theres a dip at the top of it. Iv looked at pictures of other axies and have never seen this. My phone wont let me upload a pic but can email if u need to see it!! Imhoping this is a sign of maturity as i cant think of anything else!! Thanks again, look forward to speaking with u

Mortimer said:

Almost sounds like a seizure of some type...especially if he was motionless afterwards for a while. How is he doing now?

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Hes doing good now, eating properly and swimming lots having a slight issue with hiz tail, more indepth degails above x

Try using Tapatalk app for
caudata newt & salamander portal
it's a great forum app that let's you upload pics easily



<3 >o_o< <3

Nikki71 said:

Try using Tapatalk app for
caudata newt & salamander portal
it's a great forum app that let's you upload pics easily



<3 >o_o< <3

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Iv just downloaded it now need to try and figure out how to upload pics lol x thanks! X

No... not a clue how to use tapatalk lol. Bit of a technaphobe lol x

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