Water test reading

Hi im just wondering if some one could tell me the proper water test readings that should be for axolotls like amonia,nitrite, nitrate, ph etc as i am going to test all 3 tanks in the morning when i get up as i tested there water 2 days ago and the nitrate is quite high in all there tanks and i all ways check for poo and uneaten food the only thing i can think of is that we are feeding them to much as we feed them 3 dillys each good size ones or earth worms or prawns every known and then and with the dillys when they eat them the gut splirts all over and lets out cloudy stuff the fish that is, so thats all i can think it is thats its the fish doing it. The adults rio,roxy,patchlyn, frecks and lottie are feed every other day they are all fully grown and the 2 juvis are feed every day we are starting to ween there food down for example giving them 2 dillys in sted of 3 every other day and hopfully soon cuting them down to 2 or 3 every 3rd day does that sound right to u. Well back to the water reading when i checked there readings two days ago they was, starting with lotties tank were amonia-0 nitrite-0 nitrate-160 ph-6.5 kh-80 and gh-180 the girls tank readings are amonia-0 nitrite-0 nitrate-160 ph-6.5 kg-40 and gh-180 and last but not least freckles and the juvis tank readings are amonia-0 nitite-0 nitrate-160 ph-6.5 kh-40 and gh-180. So please can some one tell me the right reading so i can get there tanks sorted asap but apart from that they look happy and look lovely as ever. Thanks Lisa.

Hi Lisa,

Most importantly your ammonia, nitrite levels are 0 and there are some nitrate which indicate that your tanks are cycled. However the nitrate levels are rather high. Although not as toxic as ammonia or nitrite, it can still be stressful to your axolotl. I would recommend a 20% water change to bring it down to ideally <60. Your water pH and hardness are fine.

Cheers

Thank you for your reply, so what is nitrate and what causes it, and yep i will be doing 20% water changes till it goes down every day, But can i have the proper readings that the axolotls water should be at so i know for now and the futcher, thank you Lisa.

Hi Lisa,

I would love to explain everything in great detail but alas i am already notorious for long winded posts! I believe these links would provide you all the answers you need. However if you need further help, feel free to post or message me.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/waterquality.shtml

Cheers

Hi Lisalee,

I'll give it a go.

If you fill a glass with water and put it on the counter (with a cover, to keep it the way it is) and let it sit for a day, a month, a year, etc., it will still be the same clean, clear drinking water that it was at the start (if not, then there was something in the water besides.. water.)

If you put an animal into the water, though, lots of things start happening. The animal breathes in oxygen from the water and releases carbon dioxide, the animal produces wastes (poo as well as excretions through its skin). This waste is poisonous because of the ammonium in it. Imagine sitting in a bathtub of your own wastes. Um, ok, rather don't.

Now, ammonium/ammonia will kill an animal. But Nature has a system for taking care of that - magical bacteria! There is a sort of bacteria that "eats" ammonia; it's "poo" is then nitrite. Nitrite is also poisonous, but lo! and behold! Nature has another magical little bacterium that "eats" nitrite and turns it into nitrate. Nitrate is poisonous at very high concentrations, but at lower levels is not a problem at all.

The only way to get rid of nitrate is to do water changes. It is the end of the line.

The desired readings, then, are 0 for ammonia and 0 for nitrite. Nitrate is more flexible, I believe one tries to maintain a level of around 50-60. In an established aquarium, this is easily managed with a 10-20% water change every 2 weeks, some people go a month (I go every weekend because I am too forgetful to manage every second week ).

By the way, live plants love nitrate. If you have potted plants around the house, you can use the water you remove from the tanks to water them - natural fertilizer, watch them double in size! You can also add live plants to your axolotl tank - make sure that the plants tolerate cold temperatures and do not require much light - and they will help keep down the nitrate levels, too.

Good luck to you,

-Eva

Thank you for your posts darkmaverick and blueberlin thats a great help ill do what has been said so what do i do about there feeding do you think i should cut there food down i dont want them to be hungry in other words how much shall i feed my axolols and when thanks lisa.

Hi Lisalee,

How much to feed them depends on how big they are (it depends on a lot of things really, but let's keep it simple for now). Young axolotls need to eat a little bit every day. As they get older, you can start skipping one day each week, then skip every third day, and then eventually you'll only have to feed them once a week.

Different foods have different (protein and fat) content so you have to adjust the amount accordingly. If you are feeding earthworms, one or two worms per feeding is enough. If you are feeding pellets, 2-3 little pellets should be enough. Live Daphnia, bloodworms, mosquito larvae are hard to to portion, but they survive awhile in the tank. With frozen foods, feed them what they will eat in about 20 minutes to 2 hours (some axolotls are slow eaters) and then clean up the rest.

Hope that helps,

-Eva