Is my Axolotl sick?

Hey! I have bought my first ever axolotl around 12 week ago. I was told he was about 5-6 month old. He is in a 50ltr tank I plan to get a big one when he is an adult! I just wanted to ask a few about a few things I've been unsure of. I am using aquarium sand is this ok? The tank has been set up for a while now and it is soooo cloudy? I've done 2 water changes since then and also changed the filter sponge and active carbon inside. Any ideas how I stop the cloudiness/milky water? Also for a few week I've noticed on the very top of his tail it's very thin and white? You can see maybe a couple of red vains it's only a very small part a the very tip of his tail, could this be some sort of fin rot? Tonight I've noticed something under his front leg (arm pit area) it looks like peeling white skin? Again only a small bit but I have no idea as to what this could be? Any advice at all would be appreciated.
I've tried attaching a picture( not of great quality but couldn't stop him from moving haha)

Aquarium sand should be fine as a substrate as long as you aren't feeding him directly on it - make sure he doesn't suck up too much while feeding.

What I'm most concerned about is you changing the filter sponge and carbon all at the same time - you've most likely crashed your nitrogen cycle (if you had one at all, with the cloudiness) and that's going to lead to some bad stuff for your Axolotl.

The peeling may be him shedding his slime coat, I'm not sure.

First and foremost, you need to test your water with a liquid testing kit, such as the one API makes. Test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

Ammonia and nitrite should be 0 in a cycled tank - if they are any higher than that, you need to do water changes immediately until they're under .5 ppm. Axolotls are very sensitive to water quality, this is very important.

Ammonia could be causing the issues present.

Here's an article on tank cycling, I highly suggest you give it a read: Scales Tails Wings and Things, What is Aquarium Cycling? How to Cycle your Tank

Kaini said:

Aquarium sand should be fine as a substrate as long as you aren't feeding him directly on it - make sure he doesn't suck up too much while feeding.

What I'm most concerned about is you changing the filter sponge and carbon all at the same time - you've most likely crashed your nitrogen cycle (if you had one at all, with the cloudiness) and that's going to lead to some bad stuff for your Axolotl.

The peeling may be him shedding his slime coat, I'm not sure.

First and foremost, you need to test your water with a liquid testing kit, such as the one API makes. Test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

Ammonia and nitrite should be 0 in a cycled tank - if they are any higher than that, you need to do water changes immediately until they're under .5 ppm. Axolotls are very sensitive to water quality, this is very important.

Ammonia could be causing the issues present.

Here's an article on tank cycling, I highly suggest you give it a read: Scales Tails Wings and Things, What is Aquarium Cycling? How to Cycle your Tank

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Thanks! I've been doing water changes, ammonia still sky high and my axolotl doesn't seem himself I bought a live plant today as I have read/told that might help get rid of the ammonia. Do you think I should take my axolotl out of the tank maybe? I have a tub about 20litres would that be ok for a while? Also would it be wise to start from scratch and when the ammonia rises again through the cycle treat it before it gets as high as it is now?

I would take him out immediately and start with daily water changers from the tub. Those levels of high ammonia are very dangerous. You need to have steady water parameters before your axie can survive in that tank, otherwise daily 100% water changes are needed.

JamieOleBoy said:

I would take him out immediately and start with daily water changers from the tub. Those levels of high ammonia are very dangerous. You need to have steady water parameters before your axie can survive in that tank, otherwise daily 100% water changes are needed.

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I've only got a small tub will he be ok in that? Ill do a 100% water change now and start again maybe? I know there will be no bacteria for a while but surely I can monitor the ammonia levels and when they get high I'll treat it before it's gets deadly like it is now

Please take a look at these articles, especially on water quality and aquarium substrates:

Caudata Culture Axolotl Articles

A small tub is fine as long as the axolotl can stretch to his full length and turn around comfortably. Some keepers have 'hospital tanks' which are set aside especially for this. Please be aware that if you do not have a filter for the tub, you will need to do 100% daily water changes on your tub. There is an upside, though - you can pour the old, pooey water into your cycling tank to feed your bacteria - it's as if your little guy is in the tank producing the waste the bacteria needs, without all the risks of ammonia and nitrite burns! You don't need to 100% water change the tank you are cycling - simply leave the filter running and observe the changing tank levels. It is the tub that you are keeping your axolotl in that requires the 100% water changes.

Now, you will need to test the cycling tank daily using liquid tests, like the ones Kaini suggested (you can buy them on Amazon fairly cheaply, they're super reliable and last ages - it's called 'API Master Freshwater Test Kit'). You will then need to do water changes to allow the bacteria to convert the ammonia and nitrite into nitrate (which is much less harmful - you can have up to 40ppm in your tank before it is considered unsafe, whereas, like Kaini said, ammonia and nitrite will need to have been consistently at 0 for a good while - say a week - with a nitrate reading for your tank to be safe).

Once you are getting 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and a nitrate reading up to 40 ppm for a week, you can safely place your lotl back into the water. The established cycle will take care of the ammonia and nitrite your axolotl produces, making the water safer. However, it will still be best to test the water each week, clear up all visible poops, and perform water changes each week (whether several small or one larger one) with dechlorinated aged water to ensure the bacteria can keep up their good work.

It all sounds awfully complicated, but once you're doing it it becomes much easier to understand. Daily water test, poopy water from the tub into the tank, fresh, dechlorinated water for your bubby, and you're done for the day.

Please do check the links Kaini and Jan have provided, as cycling is a bit of a pig to get your head around - I had to learn all this from scratch too. If you have any questions, please ask.

are you using a hang on back power filter?
I see that 2 of his gills are very short, i had this happen with my lotl and it turned out that he was getting caught in the filter intake when he would swim by, his gills would get caught and get torn off
Ive since added a small piece of filter foam to keep it from getting caught again

Other than that definitely do water changes

i think you could leave your lotl in the tank while its cycling (I did and I have 4 happy axolotls and 5 active fish tanks)
Just keep your ammonia below 5ppm and do 50 to 90 percent water changes every day or 2 (being sure to test water daily)
safest method though it what petersgirl and other have recommended