Illness/Sickness: Axie sick not eating due to water???

Hey there. i adopted my axie Robbie from the store about 4 months ago now i dont know hold old he is but he's quite big and he always seemed fine to me until now... He lives in a 50litre tank, with sand as the substrate, the water temperature its at about 10 celcius at the moment due to being winter here and i have a aqua one filter for a 30l tank which does make a bit of water flow but not too much. i do water changes about every week. Now he hasnt eaten in four days and im getting worried, he used to eat everyday but i know that now the water is cooler he might not have much of an appetite. i tried to feed him twice (i hand feed him) and he didnt eat at all not even a snap, and he's never refused food before!!! I feed him beef heart cubes just because thats what they fed him at the store, should i tried some other food? hes always eaten that with no problems... Hes also been floating a lot at the top and isnt swimming around much, at least not wen im lookin

The water isnt looking too good, i have a test kit and have tried staibilising the water but can never seem to get it right...
Is it the water getting my axie sick or could it be something else?
sorry if this question has been answered im just really worried

Hi Robbie,

I think its a combination of factors. Firstly, if your water parameters do not read 0 ammonia and nitrites and <60 nitrates, the elevation in these nitrogenous wastes can cause your axie to get stressed, ill and inappetant. Secondly, at 10 degrees and below, the axie's appetite is severely reduced. Sometimes they even regurgitate food in the form of a mucus bolus. This is due to their reduced rate of digestion.

I would recommend two things. Firstly, test your water parameters and perform 20% water changes as per needed. Performing small water changes regularly is better than one huge water change. How are you 'stabalising' the water? I hope you are not using chemicals to alter the chemistry. Those cause even more problems in the long run and mask underlying problems.

Next, you would have to offer a variety of more nutritious food types. Live earthworms and blackworms are ideal. Their wriggliness stimulate axie's appetite. They are also nutritionally complete and can be fed as a staple. Other suitable staples include bloodworms and pellets. Beef cubes, shrimp, fish etc are only suitable as occasional snacks.

Persistent prolonged floating is not normal. Floating is a sign of stress and itself causes stress. See if your water changes and new food types help. Otherwise, your axie might need fridging.

Cheers.

Thanks heaps i will try those suggestions...
i was using the solution to get rid of ammonia and one to lower the ph aswell.
I well test and let u know how it goes :happy:

Thanks heaaps xx