Illness/Sickness: Axolotl refusing to eat and acting strange

That's great that hes been able to see a vet, gives him the best chance.

Glad he managed to keep the worm down. Hopefully he will get back to normal soon enough!
 
I'm really glad about the vet too. We did an x-ray and nothing showed up in his stomach, so it doesn't look like he has eaten a stone thank god. He ate another worm just now, which I'm glad about. Now I'm going to wait to see if he poops, no luck yet though. I just wish I knew what made him so sick, I know my main tank wasn't cycled now but the readings were still all 0ppm which doesn't seem to explain how he got sick :/ Any ideas so I can avoid it ever happening again?

With my main tank I'm trying to see if I can get a cycle started. I've started using the Prime conditioner (I found a dropper that can measure .25mL for each 10L bucket). The thing is though that no ammonia seems to be happening. I was going to wait for that and then move my brown axie into a tub while the tank cycles. Should I drop some food in there to create ammonia?
 
I don't have time to read the whole thread right now, so forgive me if these questions are answered already, but do you have axolotls in the main tank you are trying to cycle? Or any living creature? Or decaying food? If not, you shouldn't expect ammonia. If so, it may take time for ammonia to build up to the point where you can measure it.

Are you doing a fishless cycle? I know AxolotlChris posted some good links back on page 1 of this thread.
 
There is an Axolotl in there at the moment, I was going to wait until I got some ammonia readings and then take him out. I had a weird moment where one test seemed to show .25ppm ammonia, but a second and third test immediately after showed 0ppm, does that happen? I started using Prime seachem conditioner, I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it?

My sick Axolotl (in a sick tank) still hasn't pooped yet. He is looking happier but no poop has me worried. My fridge is too cold for him I think (3 degrees Celsius). Any ideas? You have all been amazing by the way, really helped me work through all of this!
 
5 degrees Celsius is the minimum temperature for using the fridging method. I don't think fridging is needed at this stage, since your aiming to feed more, and fridging will reduce appetite. Keep trying to feed and hopefully he will get back to normal.

Exactly which Seachem product are you using? Is it just called 'Prime' ?

How you been doing any water changes in the main tank?

It would be best to remove your second axolotl and place it in a similar setup to your 'sick' Axolotl. Then begin adding food to your tank to create ammonia. A less messy way is to add the food to a tea bag, I make a slice in the tea bag, empty the contents then fill with the food, also threading cotton through the tea bag to tie it down. Otherwise, just purchase pure liquid ammonia, a couple drops would rise your ammonia, saving you the time of waiting for the food to degrade.
 
I'm really sorry for the late reply, thanks so much for all the help. My sick one still hasn't pooped yet, it's been a week since he ate a worm. I was going to wait until he pooped to try again, but would it be better to keep feeding if he will take it?

I have Prime - Concentrated conditioner for marine & Freshwater. I did a water change about a week and a half ago. It's really strange, I occasionally do a test that shows .25ppm for ammonia or nitrite, but if I repeat the test is comes up 0ppm. I did 5 yesterday to try to see what it was with water from all over the tank, 4 tests showed 0ppm and one .25ppm nitrite, has anyone else had this problem?

The idea for the tea bag is great, thanks for that. Would bloodworms be enough or should I use a prawn or something?
 
I usually take water samples using a syringe, taking water from the center of the tank fairly deep down. It is odd that you got one test result showing 0.25 nitrite.. Can you post the test result for your nitrAte?

If your going to start trying to raise your ammonia I would still remove your current healthy Axolotl from the tank into a similar setup as your other Axolotl.

Prawn would create a good amount of ammonia, just make sure not to leave it in there so it produces fungus or really gets messy.
 
Nitrates still 0ppm. I had a disaster and a bit of the rim of my tank broke ino the water, so I had to siphon out a lot of water to get all the glass out... It's just one thing after the other! Prior to the siphoning ammonia and nitrite still 0ppm.

I think I'm reading the ammonia right, to me the colour it goes doesn't look like either on the chart so I base it on any green tone to the water, so far the tube has always been yellow and over a few hours goes orange, so I'm going to take that as a 0ppm reading. Would that sound right?

Sick axie still hasn't pooped, had a little bit more food without a problem though. The vet wants me to go back on Monday and we will have to coordinate with the specialist on the phone to work out what to do
 
0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrAte, is showing no cycling going on. You should remove all Axolotls from the tank and start dosing more ammonia to get this cycle going.

Perhaps take clear photos of your test tubes next to the colour chart and post them. The test results are only meant to take 5 mins to establish their true result so the colour they turn after hours is not relevant.
 
Will those results be hurting my axie? I'll take a photo in the morning when the lighting will be clear.
 
So, out of interest, what happens if a tank isn't cycled but ammonia and nitrite are always kept in check with water changes? Is it just that there is then a risk if a spike up without nitrate in the water?
 
The nice thing is, unless you do something to kill the bacteria, the tank will eventually cycle as long as you allow a little ammonia to build up. Gradually, you will have to change the water less and less often to keep the ammonia and nitrite in check. And eventually, you will be seeing no ammonia/no nitrite, and will be just doing periodic water changes to keep the nitrate down.
 
Ammonia, Nitrite, and NitrAte all come at different stages. First, ammonia is produced from Axolotl waste and degrading food, at this point after some days a beneficial bacteria will begin to grow in your tank and feed on the ammonia, the bacteria will filter the ammonia into nitrite, then a different bacteria begins to grow in the tank and will filter the nitrite into nitrAte. nitrAte is the last stage of the cycle, there is no bacteria to filter nitrAte, so when it builds up to 40ppm you perform a water change to lower it.
 
Here are the test results, I'm havin trouble telling if ammonia is 0ppm or .25ppm :/
 

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Looks nearer to 0 but there could be a slight trace amount, virtually nothing though. The nitrite is 0.Test everyday to see if the ammonia rises. Your now wanting to increase ammonia for the first beneficial bacteria to begin to colonise your tank and filter the ammonia into nitrite.
 
Just going back to my sick Axolotl, my local vet got in touch with the specialist ad they said I need to take him in for tests and a gastro scope because he hasn't pooped for 3 weeks now. The trip there would be a 4hr car ride and the cost would be between $1500 - $2500 to have everything done. Honestly, I would pay it if I knew it would fix him but this would just be for tests and I dont even know if it would help. I've heard fridging could help with constipation? He isn't floating but I'm pretty desperate to try everything I can. I'm going to try turning my fringe up and filling it with things to get the temp greater than 4 degrees Celsius. Does anyone have any advice/reassurance or ideas? I feel like a terrible owner but I think the car trip would just be cruel on him and I really don't have $2000 lying around for something I don't even know would help ;(
 
It does seem to be a lot of money. Not everyone can afford those kind of expenses, so you can't blame yourself.

I would try fridging, considering he has eaten he could well be constipated., Fridging will slow metabolism and allow the body to secrete any waste.

Follow the fridging guide very carefully, you need to keep your fridge 5 degrees Celsius or higher: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-beginner-newt-salamander-axolotl-help-topics/f48-axolotls-ambystoma-mexicanum/f58-sick-axolotl/85263-axolotl-fridging-guide.html
 
Hi Chris.
I'm not used to posting in the forums- actually I don't know how to start a thread! I see you have quite a bit of knowledge and experience with keeping these animals, so I hope you don't mind me posting a query just here.
Apologies to my sydneysider friend !!

My axolotyl appears to be needing air much more frequently. She is coming up every 5-8 minutes or so, while the other axy barely broaches the surface.
We have a filter working fine providing oxygen to the tank water. Her appetite also appears to be decreased. I wonder what is happening to her if she seems to have such an increased need to breathe. Is it the bacteria in the tank? Somehow interfering with the osmosis process?
 
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