PH tablets?

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awesomesauce

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I've been working.on a tank transfer for my axie for about 2 days now. There was a complication, as I found out I was using calcium based sand. As soon as I found out, i emptied his tank and rinsed it, and bought some play sand from the hardware store. While the sand sets, i'm keeping him in his old tank. But since i put him back in his old tank, he's been darting around and like... Scratching his gills. He's also been going up for air about every 5 minutes. I read on an older thread that said he coild just be stressed, or it could be a water quality issue. I just did a pH test and it's at 7.5 so i bought some pH tablets to regulate pH and ammonia levels. It says they're safe for fish, but I wanted to make sure.

Any help at a would be awesome. Thanks.
 
You really shouldn't be using pH tablets at all. Axolotls actually thrive in higher pH levels, whereas fish are more comfortable with a stable 7.0. My own tank is close to 7.8, and my axolotl is doing wonderfully. I'm not really sure what could be causing your axolotl's discomfort though, sorry I can't be more help.
 
It's totally fine. Any advice right now is nice. I think it may be from stress of moving from tank to tank so much the past few days. We'll see how he is the next few days and hope that he calms down here soon.
 
My own tends to get rather upset with me when I do water changes. The disturbance in the water tends to irritate him a bit and he gets upset and squirmy for a while. Your axolotl's problem might be similar. Let him stay in the same container for a while and see if he improves at all.
 
I definitely don't plan on putting him in the new tank for AT LEAST 3-4 days. My little guy seems to do the exact opposite when he's stressed. He just kinda sits there and doesn't move too much. He seems to be doing a bit better now that he's been sitting for a while
 
Do not use ANY kind of chemical in your tank unless it's on the advice of a vet. Axies absorb a lot through their skin, and anything you put in the tank can affect them.

In my experience axies scratch at their gills for 2 reasons - water quality or fungus. I find chlorine upsets my albino - she's the first to scratch at her gills if I haven't used enough dechlorinator (long story but I had a dodgy batch that didn't work at the given dosage), my leucistic tells me when nitrates are too high. All of mine scratch when they have the first bit of fungus - I salt bath them as soon as it's confirmed.
 
Axolotls don't 'thrive at a higher pH'. They're tolerant of a wide range of pH (6-8), and do best in hard water.
 
His gills looks fine to me. I don't ser anything out of the ordinary on them. I'm thinking it might have been some sand caught up in them, because i definitely saw some of that. He seems to be okay now, it was probably just stress. I'll definitely keep an eye out for any fungus. If i happen to find any, how do i give him a salt bath?
 
Kaysie said:
Axolotls don't 'thrive at a higher pH'. They're tolerant of a wide range of pH (6-8), and do best in hard water.
Click to expand...

That wasn't really the way I was trying to say it. Late night, I apologize for making it sound differently than it actually is.

Anyway, good luck with your axolotl Awesomesauce! Hope he's happy and healthy.
 
Thanks so much for all the help! Everything seems better today and he seems like he's back to his good ol' self.

Thanks again!
 
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