Illness/Sickness: Axolotl Sick?

Hey there. recently as part of a marine bio class my friend and i purchased axolotls for a project. we housed them at school for a full three terms and we had no problems with them. when school was over, i took both the axolotls home. the only real difference was a tank size decrease, but it wasn't that great because their new tank has about the same bottom surface area as the tank at school. the school tank was just taller.

anyway so these two axolotls (gerard and frank) have been doing fine in their new home, but recently i've noticed that gerard has been getting a lot thinner, and his gills are getting a lot less fluffy than when they were in the tank at school. frank is doing fine, but she (yes i know i got the gender wrong) is getting a fatter and is still active. my filtration is fine, my ammonia levels are fine. i thought about testing for nitrate but i never had to do it at school and don't have a kit available. the only thing that i can think that could cause the problem is that i use gravel on the bottom and maybe gerard has swallowed some. is there anyway i could know that for sure? and if he has, how do i fix that?

i hope that he's okay. thanks for reading.

Get yourself a liquid test kit for. Nitrite and nitrate and PH. It is important to also test for these. Testing for nitrite and nitrate as well as ammonia will indicate the status of the water quality as well as whether the aquarium has an established cycle. When posting parameters it is best to post the actual readings as it makes it easier to help. Get rid of the gravel. It is possible that this has caused an issue and if not, it poses a risk and it is best not to have gravel. Fine silica based sand or bare bottom are two suitable options. Also, what diet are they on? Could you post some photos?