A few questions. quick replies appreciated.

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stevencruics

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Hi everyone. ive had my two axolotls for a couple months now and im starting to get worried.
one axolotl is an albine and the other im not sure(light pink body black beady eyes)

i have one 600mm X 300mm X 350(height)mm tank which both axolotls live in. i am using a fluval mini underwater filter rated at 200L/h - 50 GPH.

question 1) what rating filter should i use for my tank containing 54 litres of water??

my water temperature is constantly between 19 and 20 degrees celcius, chlorine 0, PH about 6.8(test strips), KH 14th degree, GH (hardness) around 8th-10th degree No2+No3 0 and 0.

question 2) i would just like to confirm my water qualities are correct.....?

i am currently feeding them frozen blood worms(1 cube shared each evening) the following morning i use my siphon to remove any uneaten foodstuffs, i also take this oportunity to remove 7 litres of water and replace with dechlorinated water(each day) once a week i also rinse my filter material in USED tank water.

unfortunately one of my axolotls had a sick spell (the black eyed one) it appeared that the hairs on the gills had totally shrunk to nothing and were a deep red for a period of time. a photo will be posted soon as *photo 1*

question 3) can someone identify what has happened and probably causes?

now my albinos gills seem to be forming a silvery shine to them. i have been treating with 10ml PIMAFIX daily thinking it was a fungal infection. currently waiting for it to subside. a photo will be posted showing gill tips marked *photo 2*

question 4) can can someone identify what has happened and probably causes?

and finally i have noticed little white bugs floating about the glass in the water. im not sure what they are and a photo will follow marked *photo 3*

question 5) are these bugs damaging to my axolotls?

thank you too anyone who takes the time to read this and answer questions thoroughly.

love my axies too pieces and just want them to get better soon

much love and peace
steven
 
All photos can be found in my albums
Photo 1
stevencruics-albums-pinky-picture32850-photo-1.jpg


Photo 2
stevencruics-albums-albino-picture32851-photo-2.jpg


Photo 3a-c http://www.caudata.org/forum/members/stevencruics-albums-water-flees.html
 
stevencruics said:
Hi everyone. ive had my two axolotls for a couple months now and im starting to get worried.
one axolotl is an albine and the other im not sure(light pink body black beady eyes)

i have one 600mm X 300mm X 350(height)mm tank which both axolotls live in. i am using a fluval mini underwater filter rated at 200L/h - 50 GPH.

question 1) what rating filter should i use for my tank containing 54 litres of water??

my water temperature is constantly between 19 and 20 degrees celcius, chlorine 0, PH about 6.8(test strips), KH 14th degree, GH (hardness) around 8th-10th degree No2+No3 0 and 0.

question 2) i would just like to confirm my water qualities are correct.....?

i am currently feeding them frozen blood worms(1 cube shared each evening) the following morning i use my siphon to remove any uneaten foodstuffs, i also take this oportunity to remove 7 litres of water and replace with dechlorinated water(each day) once a week i also rinse my filter material in USED tank water.

unfortunately one of my axolotls had a sick spell (the black eyed one) it appeared that the hairs on the gills had totally shrunk to nothing and were a deep red for a period of time. a photo will be posted soon as *photo 1*

question 3) can someone identify what has happened and probably causes?

now my albinos gills seem to be forming a silvery shine to them. i have been treating with 10ml PIMAFIX daily thinking it was a fungal infection. currently waiting for it to subside. a photo will be posted showing gill tips marked *photo 2*

question 4) can can someone identify what has happened and probably causes?

and finally i have noticed little white bugs floating about the glass in the water. im not sure what they are and a photo will follow marked *photo 3*

question 5) are these bugs damaging to my axolotls?

thank you too anyone who takes the time to read this and answer questions thoroughly.

love my axies too pieces and just want them to get better soon

much love and peace
steven
Click to expand...

Q1: The filter is less important then just removing the waste daily. Yours should be enough for your size tank, however make sure the flow is not to rough for the axolotls. Also what are your ammonia readings? It seems that your tank isn't producing nitrates which makes me believe it isn't cycled.

Q2: Leaving the food in too long will cause excess ammonia to be released. This could be what's causing your axolotl to become ill.

Q3: You really should not jump to chemical treatment right away. Unless a vet advises you, many times all it takes is fixing the water quality issues.

Q4: The might be copepods which are harmless to axolotls.
 
1. Your 200L/H is fine for that size tank. You need 4x tank vol per hour.
2.If your tank and filter is new it isn't cycled yet.
3. Your axie's problems (gills) may well be due to high ammonia, you need to change more water daily. Get some liquid test kits - far more accurate
4. DON'T USE CHEMICALS on axies - many fish remedies are not safe for axies. The shiney bits on your axies gills are iridophores and are part of his normal colouring. In effect you are trying to 'cure' freckles.
5. Probably planaria or copepods. Harmless, and common in new tanks. Remove them as you see them.
 
thank you both for timely replies.
i did think of ammonia levels being high and to be honest didnt even realise i wasnt checking the levels of ammonia till today.
i did however take a sample of water to my local pet store for accurate testing and he raised no remarks about high ammonia levels.

a quick couple more questions then. can you obtain liquid test sets that test for everything? and if so where online can they be found?

also auntiejude you mentioned removing the copepods. how may this be done? they are extremely small and fast moving.

thank you all again
 
stevencruics said:
thank you both for timely replies.
i did think of ammonia levels being high and to be honest didnt even realise i wasnt checking the levels of ammonia till today.
i did however take a sample of water to my local pet store for accurate testing and he raised no remarks about high ammonia levels.

a quick couple more questions then. can you obtain liquid test sets that test for everything? and if so where online can they be found?

also auntiejude you mentioned removing the copepods. how may this be done? they are extremely small and fast moving.

thank you all again
Click to expand...

The pet store needs to be telling you readings in ppm of Ammonia, nitrite or nitrate when they test your water. If they just hand it back to you and say 'it's fine' that's not good enough.

You can buy the API liquid master test kit here: http://www.amazon.com/API-Freshwate...26&sr=8-1&keywords=API+liquid+master+test+kit
 
Amazon is great on prices for test kits.

Copepods can be removed by using a fine net or scooped up in a jug.
 
The small bugs might be little mosquito larvae - I notice you are in the UK and just the last couple of weeks both myself and another friend with axolotls have had these turn up in the tank. I think it's the time of year for them. They do no harm and eventually the axies eat them.
 
stevencruics said:
Hi everyone. ive had my two axolotls for a couple months now and im starting to get worried.
one axolotl is an albine and the other im not sure(light pink body black beady eyes)
Click to expand...

You have a beautiful leucistic and golden albino. :)
 
bugdozer said:
The small bugs might be little mosquito larvae - I notice you are in the UK and just the last couple of weeks both myself and another friend with axolotls have had these turn up in the tank. I think it's the time of year for them. They do no harm and eventually the axies eat them.
Click to expand...

I have thousands of these in my tank at the moment too. I wouldn't worry about them, they should eventually go with a good cleaning routine. If your tank is cycling I personally wouldn't wipe the tank walls to get rid of them. That's where some of your healthy bacteria will be living.

Remove food an hour or so after feeding. It's easier to put it in a feeding dish so it can be cleaned up easily. I don't know how big they are? But soon you should be able to feed them cut up earthworms which is a lot less messy!

And your pink axolotl is a Leucistic. :happy:
 
thank you everyone and yes i will be moving onto earthworms soon as i plan to have a worm farm! :)
my axies are around 5" long. should i just feed them as many earthworms as they will take?
 
At 5" an axie will take whatever you feed it! One large worm a day should suffice, or 2 smaller ones, then cut down to every other day at about 8" or when they become less active.
 
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