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Coaxing a finicky eater

Sablette

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It's been awhile since I last popped on Caudata which may be a good sign. My two axies have been doing well the past 8 months so I haven't needed much of one on one help, at least until today.

My Leucy hasn't been hungry the past 3 weeks. Like, at all. He has always been a very finicky eater, usually eating a Red Wiggler every 2-3 days while vegging out under his favorite hide. But the past 3 weeks he hasn't had much of an appetite for anything. Earthworms, Wigglers, Wax Worms, Gutloaded Crickets, Frozen Bloodworms, blackworms and two different types of sinking pellets. Violently writhing, blanched or simply dropped in, he hasn't taken anything other than one cricket and that was about a week and a half ago.

His Tankmate (Female Albino) continues to hungrily eat half an earthworm a day. They are both housed in a 33 gallon long. Temperature is anywhere between 16.2 c to 17.5c so chilly but not enough to skew their feeding for THIS long. Water quality is crystal clear with a 50g double sponge and 50g HOB filter with the flow broken entirely by a dollar store luffa. Params are sitting at 0amm/0ites/30ates with weekly 15% changes. No signs of stress, gill deterioration, floating/bloating, fungus or impaction as well as very little weight loss.

He'll occasionally show interest when I hand feed. His head will lift and he'll stare at what I'm holding, occasionally giving it a bite only to spit it back out followed by a shake of his head. I've been persistent with daily offerings and it's always the same outcome. I initially thought he may have had a bacterial infection. My LFS sold me some Furan-2 so I prepared a tub of halve-dosed Furan as per instructions. 3 days of tubbing and still no change. Fridging is what many people suggest but I'm afraid that'll slow his metabolism down even further if anything. There is nothing that would impact him in the tank and even so, it wouldn't cause him to completely go off his food,

What tips are there for getting a finicky lotl to try and eat? A lot of research the past week has pointed to "Don't fret it and he'll go back on his food eventually" but I can't help but think of the worst; liver failure, septicaemia, ect
 

Sablette

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Decided that any sort of action would probably be better than sitting and waiting for another 3 weeks. Tubbing him and sliding him in the fridge (Currently around 7-8c). Doing some comparison shots with older pics I redact the statement on lack of gill shrinkage. There is definitely some loss going on there but probably due to malnutrition. Hopefully that fluffiness comes back when he decides to eat again. Still looking for a second opinion if anyone is out there.
 

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Hayleyy

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I'm stumped on this. I had this with my axolotl Bucky, but I think she had an underlying issue that I was trying to figure out as she passed a few days ago. Not saying this to worry you, though! I have a suspicion that she wasn't from a healthy batch of axies, but I wasn't able to get her to a vet in time. I didn't realise how bad she must have been :( If you have one available it might be good to get to an exotics vet for some scans/checkup in case they can pick up on something.
Fridging is a good move for now, in case their is some impaction. It'll also slow any weight loss. Have you noticed if he is pooping?
 

Sablette

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I'm sorry to hear what happened to your axie. Sadly, it does make me worry just a tad bit more. I've been on the phone with at least 5 different "exotic" vets in the area and the only nearby me that has any experience with Axolotls is a whopping 61 miles out of state. So it's all on me at this point. But good news is I may have found one thing that I overlooked.

About 2 months back I acquired a fine piece of driftwood. It was already cured by the LFS I frequent but to be safe i boiled, froze, boiled, rinsed and boiled again to assure it was good for the tank. And for the time it was a beautiful setpiece and a popular perch for my two babies. But my once stable pH of 7.4 seemed to have dropped HARD in that time and I think it's the wood to blame. Tannins seep out of driftwood and tend to crash pH levels to be on the more acidic side. I checked the levels today and they were sitting sub-6.0 which is incredibly acidic for an axie. I yoinked it out and did my weekly water change, this time taking out 50% of the water. Will test it in the morning to see if there was any change. Crossing my fingers that it gradually goes back up. I just want my boy to be healthy and eating regularly again.

Good news is that after a few small dechlorinated water changes in the fridge tub, Ash's gills seem to have spruced up a bit. Still no appetite, but I wouldn't be that inclined to eat if I was locked in a fridge for a few days either.
 

Hayleyy

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I hope that is what is causing the issue! Any dark colour wood will do this, as well as indian almond leaves. I had leaves in my tank to help Buck with her skin as she was having issues but combated the pH problem by adding some coral chunks into a stocking and stuffing it into the filter. It's a good safe way to bring pH back up to good levels, for future reference :)
Once he is out of the fridge hopefully the appetite will come back! Let me know how it goes.
 

Sablette

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I added Ash back about two days ago after another partial water change. Removing the wood and adding a small solution of Baking Soda + some aquarium salts managed to slowly raise the pH over those two days where it is now sitting at about 7.2 which is perfect. Hopefully it stays there. I have a bag of crushed coral and large filter media pouches for it set aside for when I do my next change so I don't have to spike it each week. His condition still hasn't changed at all since then. He is relatively active, playing in his bubbler and changing hides every couple of hours but remains not hungry. Still offering multiple times a day and with many different kinds of foods. I dropped in three pellets next to him last night and after 10 minutes one was missing so I'm guessing unless my Albino swooped by and then repositioned herself right back where she was before, he had something. I hope that's the case.

Now for the waiting game. I really worry about him. He has always been a little chickensh*t but I still love him.
 

Hayleyy

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Keep an eye on behaviour as it is a good indicator of health. If he is acting normal it should be a good sign. Any bit of food is good so hopefully it'll bring his appetite back!
 

Sablette

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Update! My little boy is finally eating again as of last night. After re-introducing him to the tank, along with keeping the pH steady I've been doing 5% water changes every other day and it seems like that did the trick. He's now willing to eat and keep the food down. It's gonna be awhile until he catches up with my Albino in terms of thiccness but I'm sure things will get better with time.

To anyone who stumbles across this thread with a similar issue; never underestimate the power of a water change. Maybe bump that weekly change to once every 2 or 3 days if something seems fishy. And check more than just your Amm/nIte/nAte. I'll be keeping a close eye on everything in the future.
 
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