Hi,
I have 2 golden albino axolotls, male and female (I think), approx 1-2 years old and 16-18cm in length.
I've had them since they were a few weeks old and ever since I've been struggling to keep them healthy.
I believe the main cause of the problem is Ammonia. I've tested Ph, nitrates and nitrites and they're always within a safe range
but I can't seem to keep Ammonia levels under 0.5ppm.
I realise there must already be a lot of threads on dealing with Ammonia but I've been battling with this for over a year now and I just can't beat it so I'd appreciate some advice.
My tank is approx 70l and I change approx 8l a day with tap water treated with a high dose of seachem prime.
I use a sypthon pump to quickly remove any uneaten food after feeding and any other mess from the bottom of the tank.
My tank also has an internal filter which filters either 50 litres per hour or 100, I set it to 50 because although my tanks 70, 100 sounds a little excessive for such a minimal setup and also it creates a stronger flow which might stress the Axolotls.
Once ever 2-3 weeks I'll do a larger water change and give the whole tank a more thorough clean.
I feed them a few hard pellets each day which don't create any mess.
Its a bare bottom tank with a couple of hides and a few artificial plants.
The temperature sometimes gets a little too high on a hot day but thats rare where I live.
The slightly larger axolotl which is I believe is female always seems the most unhealthy, she currently has pale gills, what looks like Ammonia burns, wafts her gills alot, can only swallow smaller pellets, curls her tail and rarely comes out of her log hide.
The smaller male isn't as bad, he has slightly pale gills, also has Ammonia burns and cannot close his mouth but other than that seems reasonably healthy.
They both seem to get worse just after a water change, I suspect this is due to stress but I'm careful not to disturb them too much.
I've tried tubbing them and cycling the tank again a couple of times, I've tried various products which deal with Ammonia, they do work but after just a few days the Ammonia level rises again and I'm back to square one.
I'm no expert but I feel that what I'm doing should be enough to keep them relatively healthy,
any ideas what I might be doing wrong
Thank you in advance
I have 2 golden albino axolotls, male and female (I think), approx 1-2 years old and 16-18cm in length.
I've had them since they were a few weeks old and ever since I've been struggling to keep them healthy.
I believe the main cause of the problem is Ammonia. I've tested Ph, nitrates and nitrites and they're always within a safe range
but I can't seem to keep Ammonia levels under 0.5ppm.
I realise there must already be a lot of threads on dealing with Ammonia but I've been battling with this for over a year now and I just can't beat it so I'd appreciate some advice.
My tank is approx 70l and I change approx 8l a day with tap water treated with a high dose of seachem prime.
I use a sypthon pump to quickly remove any uneaten food after feeding and any other mess from the bottom of the tank.
My tank also has an internal filter which filters either 50 litres per hour or 100, I set it to 50 because although my tanks 70, 100 sounds a little excessive for such a minimal setup and also it creates a stronger flow which might stress the Axolotls.
Once ever 2-3 weeks I'll do a larger water change and give the whole tank a more thorough clean.
I feed them a few hard pellets each day which don't create any mess.
Its a bare bottom tank with a couple of hides and a few artificial plants.
The temperature sometimes gets a little too high on a hot day but thats rare where I live.
The slightly larger axolotl which is I believe is female always seems the most unhealthy, she currently has pale gills, what looks like Ammonia burns, wafts her gills alot, can only swallow smaller pellets, curls her tail and rarely comes out of her log hide.
The smaller male isn't as bad, he has slightly pale gills, also has Ammonia burns and cannot close his mouth but other than that seems reasonably healthy.
They both seem to get worse just after a water change, I suspect this is due to stress but I'm careful not to disturb them too much.
I've tried tubbing them and cycling the tank again a couple of times, I've tried various products which deal with Ammonia, they do work but after just a few days the Ammonia level rises again and I'm back to square one.
I'm no expert but I feel that what I'm doing should be enough to keep them relatively healthy,
any ideas what I might be doing wrong
Thank you in advance