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I had an Axolotl Die, I don't know why though.

Dannii

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I bought an Axolotl about a month ago as a companion for Darwin (my still living Axolotl). Her name was Esmeralda, she died 3 days ago.

When I bought Esmeralda, she had a belly full of little stones from the pet shop but she seemed to pass them all (I complained to the pet shop, and they changed the stones in their axolotl tanks).. I removed all the little stones she passed, but about 2 weeks ago, I noticed more of these little stones on the tank floor, meaning I either missed some or she passed even more after 2 weeks?
I also had two snails appear after buying live plants, a week before Esmeralda died, a snail had gone missing.

The day before she died, she was super active, like I had never seen before... she was trying to swim, maybe even jump out of the water? but she still looked healthy to me and strong.

When I found her, she looked extremely bloated- so I assumed it was the stones or snail maybe. But then her strange behavior confuses me. My other axolotl is still happy and healthy like the last two years of having him, so I figured its not the water.

Diet consists of: Pellets, Bloodworms, live fish and tiny pieces of beef once a fortnight.
Water Temperature is roughly 20 degrees Celsius.
Tank size
is 2ftx 1ftx 1ft. (roughly 50 litres)

Can anyone tell me what they think killed her? I'd like to know before purchasing another Axolotl.
 

PatchworkClocks

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Sounds like some of the stones she swallowed had probably impacted and she hadn't been able to pass them. Swallowing that snail probably didn't help, either. It's no fault of your own, the pet store you got her from should have known better than to keep them on gravel. When you get another, you should instead search around for local breeders, or even buy from owners around this site.
 

xxianxx

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I cant say why your axolotl died but your tank is a bit small for two axolotls, 50 liters is 10 uk gallons, what is considered to be the minimum for one adult. An axolotl who tries to leave the water is often trying to avoid poor conditions. Did you increase your water change regime when you added the extra axolotl ? Was there any gill deterioration before death ? Excessive activity is not generally associated with impaction, though your guy obviously had stones in its gut. Its also advisable to quarantine new axolotls for a month or so before adding them to existing pets.
 

auntiejude

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I'm sorry for your loss.
An axie who is thrashing around is often a sign of digestive discomfort - my axies did that when I fed them new food for the first time, when they had too many mealworms and were full of undigestable chitin, and one did that just before he let out a huge fart! But she could have been distressed about anything.

I'd say it was impacted stones. I've had mine for over 6 months, I've never had them on gravel, but I still find an occasional stone in their tank.

Short of a necropsy you may never get a definitive answer, but you need to eliminate the obvious problems for Darwin's sake.

And I agree with Ian, your tank is too small for 2 axies once they get to adult size.
 

Quentari

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Mine was thrashing when he had a bad fungus. Sorry to hear about poor Esmeralda. I'd guess it's from impaction though.
 

Dannii

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Thanks guys. I won't purchase another Axolotl until I get a bigger tank. I submitted a complaint to the pet shop for a bit of closure on it all.

I cleared out the little stones when I noticed them. She must have passed 20 of the things on her first night here. Unbelievable.

When I did my own research, one site suggested an internal parasite type thing. I was worried that maybe my other axolotl could get sick, so I'm glad that the stones make more logical sense and I don't have to keep worrying D:

and again, Thankyou everyone.



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