Dark orange axie

Hello all

I am new to this. Have had my axie since Christmas and he is not looking well. He was pale gold but has now turned dark orange after eating two feeder fish. He has not eaten for 5 days.

I did have a few feeders in the tank with him but they were annoying him and nibbling his gills so I have taken them out. He now has no cotton left on his gills (was that normal anyway?) and is spending his whole time floating right at the surface. His eyes are a little bit puffy and his face is wrinkly. He takes a large gulp of air every now and then.

It has been very hot here. Tank was about 24 degrees but I have just put an ice brick in and it is down to 20.

Help!

Hi, I had the same situation with my golden albino.

(HINT: ph and ammonia levels.too high and my malfoy went dark orange...)

Any advice would be appreciated at this stage.

Hi karen

First things first, you'll have to remove your axolotl from the tank and place it in a container of dechlorinated water and place it somewhere cool.

If your tank temperature and room temperatures are above 20-22c then you need to put your axolotl in as cool as area as possible; either in a container , then placed in an esky with wrapped icepacks or icebottles to chill the container (but not freeze it); or place it in the fridge.

The water in the container needs to be lowered so your axie doesn't float.

If placing in the fridge your temperature needs to be 5C or above.

The things that will be effecting your axolotl will be temperature and water quality. If your tank is new and you never cycled the tank before adding the axolotl then your tank is currently cycling which could be stressing your axolotl if you are not doing daily partial waterchanges.

Also, you should never use feeder fish bought from a petshop (all fish or new companions need to be quarantined for minimum 30 days to ensure they're healthy and won't pass nasties onto your axolotl. They also increase the waste in the tank (ie affects water quality if tank is uncycled).

What size is your tank - measurements?

What else have you added to the tank?

Thanks kapo,

The tank is very small. About 40cm x 30cm x 25cm. It was bought for comets, but my son had other plans. It has shell and coral mix on the base, all large pieces, and one artificial log. I have dechlorinated the water but have not added anything else. I have an undergravel filter and a pump with a spreader.

i have been changing the water about every three days.

The axie was fine until we added the feeder fish.

I have put him in an eskie. What now?

Ok, while s/he's in the Eskie the water will have to be changed completely daily (like fridge treatment); as long as you can maintain temperature below 20C. Otherwise I'd suggest placing him in the fridge and leaving him there for a week or so.

Most people don't like to place their axolotl in the fridge; but if the temperature is right (5C minimum) then it will slow your axies metabolism down and give it a chance to destress and calm down.

Your tank is most probably just cycling. See: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml
and
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/waterquality.shtml

Adding the fish to that tank increased the waste load; added to that the feeder fish nibbling at his gill filaments (the hairy bits) this would have added to his stress.

A smaller tank fouls quicker and heats up faster.

While he is in the eskie, don't bother waterchanging the tank.

If you have freshwater test kits, then test your tankwater for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and keep a record of it in a notebook by tank.

If you don't have the test kits - then take a sample of tankwater down to the petshop and get them to test for the 3 mentioned, then record it in a book and keep it by your tank. Don't buy ANY chemicals to adjust levels (ie ammolock or pH up or down etc... or something to cycle your tank). These aren't needed and invariably increase your ammonia/bioload levels or causes constant fluctuations that muck up a cycling tank.

Gasping could be related to lack of oxygen (due to warm temperatures), lack of gill filaments (from being nibbled) as well as nitrite levels increasing in the tank.

For feeding, try earthworms (even chopped up). If you don't have any you can pick some up from Bunnings stores.

Besides from the water parameters Kapo mentioned - are you sure that none of the feeder fish still sticks in your Axolotls throat? Some fish have fins and may get stuck. You should definitely have a look on that.
To do so, carefully take out your axolotl, wrap it in a wet towel and try to open its mouth with a spoon handle or something similar.
If one of these fish got stuck it has to be removed ASAP!

i would also add ,
the under gravel filter is not really suitable fo axies as it hoards the waste which in turn pollutes the water, if possilble try changing it for either an under water or external filter.these both will aid the cycling process by breeding the right bacteria.
also, if your coral/shell is to big it can cause the axie to become impacted, and possibly end up with prolapse, sand or bare bottom is by far the best alternative as it is also easier to keep the tank clean.

Hi Karen,

Did you quarentine your feeder fish? its possible you may have introduced some disease, but more likely the fish increased the tanks bioload and it couldn't cope.

From what you say I would agree with Daniel that your axie may be suffering an injury due to eatinf the feeder fish.

Also as Kapo says you need to get your water temp down and quality better.

Good Luck

Thank you so much everybody. I had no idea this would be so complicated. Poor little fish.

I will check for any feeder fish obstruction and remove all the shell matter from the base of the tank.

Should I try to feed him while he is in the esky/fridge? He is not moving at all now. Just flaps his gills occasionally.

I didn't quarantine the feeder fish. Will definitely know better next time. Actually, I might stick to worms from now on.

Hi Karen,

Just in the initial stages, once your tank is cycled and your habitat is established then its all alot easier.

Good Luck