ophelia123
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Recently, my tank had a bit of a nitrite spike due to some hidden uneaten food. As a result, my axie got some mild fungus, so I tubbed her for a few days and did some salt baths as I waited to fix up the water quality in the tank.
A few days later, I put my axolotl back in her tank as ammonia and nitrites were both reading zero. I also threw in an indian almond leaf. Since I was going out of town for a week, I added some API amo lock to the tank ( I was still worried about the recent water quality issues). I had a friend looking in on my axie while I was away and told her to add the recommended dosage of amo lock while I was gone, just to be safe.
I returned home tonight to find A LOT of waste in the tank. Normally, my axolotl will poop about once every two weeks. It looked like there was about four to five poos in the tank. I immediately tested the water. Ph was six (or even lower-the API water chemical kit doesn't provide accurate data for lower). Ammonia was about four ppm. Zero nitrites.
I immediately moved my axolotl to a tub after a quick salt bath (the fungus was back..) I think the amo lock may have saved her (I understand even though the ammonia is made safe, the readings will still indicate the ammonia's presence). I have never seen ammonia that high in my tank.
I have two questions:
1. How can I ensure that my tank is safe after a water quality scare?
I think I may have jumped the gun a bit last time and moved her back to the tank too early. There's a lot of literature about cycling a tank from scratch, but am having a hard time finding info about dealing with spikes in established aquariums. Do I still add brine shrimp (or an ammonia source) even though the ammonia is crazy high? Or at this point do I just wait for the nitrite level to rise? I'm thinking the low ph may have killed off my bacteria...
2. How much/how often do your axolotls poo?
Am worried the huge amount of poo might indicate another issue... I told my friend to give her one red wiggler every other day, so she was not overfed.
Thank you so much! This forum has been invaluable to me and my axie.
Tank parameters: 20 gallon w/ sand. Fluval filter w/ sponge, carbon, and filter media. One two year old axolotl. Water temp around 19.5-20 degrees C consistently.
A few days later, I put my axolotl back in her tank as ammonia and nitrites were both reading zero. I also threw in an indian almond leaf. Since I was going out of town for a week, I added some API amo lock to the tank ( I was still worried about the recent water quality issues). I had a friend looking in on my axie while I was away and told her to add the recommended dosage of amo lock while I was gone, just to be safe.
I returned home tonight to find A LOT of waste in the tank. Normally, my axolotl will poop about once every two weeks. It looked like there was about four to five poos in the tank. I immediately tested the water. Ph was six (or even lower-the API water chemical kit doesn't provide accurate data for lower). Ammonia was about four ppm. Zero nitrites.
I immediately moved my axolotl to a tub after a quick salt bath (the fungus was back..) I think the amo lock may have saved her (I understand even though the ammonia is made safe, the readings will still indicate the ammonia's presence). I have never seen ammonia that high in my tank.
I have two questions:
1. How can I ensure that my tank is safe after a water quality scare?
I think I may have jumped the gun a bit last time and moved her back to the tank too early. There's a lot of literature about cycling a tank from scratch, but am having a hard time finding info about dealing with spikes in established aquariums. Do I still add brine shrimp (or an ammonia source) even though the ammonia is crazy high? Or at this point do I just wait for the nitrite level to rise? I'm thinking the low ph may have killed off my bacteria...
2. How much/how often do your axolotls poo?
Am worried the huge amount of poo might indicate another issue... I told my friend to give her one red wiggler every other day, so she was not overfed.
Thank you so much! This forum has been invaluable to me and my axie.
Tank parameters: 20 gallon w/ sand. Fluval filter w/ sponge, carbon, and filter media. One two year old axolotl. Water temp around 19.5-20 degrees C consistently.