Please help my axolotl

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Hyeleno

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My axolotl gibby was doing wonderfully until a couple months after i got him he went on a hunger strike. I got him to eat by switching up his food but in the process off him not eating his gills shrunk up and they never came back... as a matter of fact they’ve gotten smaller. i’ve also noticed him getting a bit pale and looking more white than pink like he used to be. i’m very concerned cause he seems uncomfortable. i do lots of water changes to see if the water is a problem. he eats an earthworm every other day and i just installed a water chiller for him so i don’t know what to do. Please help!
 
Do you have a test kit for pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and hardness?
 
ph 6.4
ammonia : 6
nitrite: 0
nitrate:100

very concerning to me! How do i fix this? :eek:
 
Okay so it looks like your cycle has crashed. You need to put your axolotl in a tub and change the water in the tub every day with fresh dechlorinated water. Make sure there is some kind of covering on the tub so it doesn't try and jump out. Keep it dark and nice and cold.
Do a 50% water change in the tank, then wait a day or two and do 25% changes every 2-3 days for maybe a week, maybe 2. Test the water before you do a change so see if you need to do it. You want to bring ammonia back down to 0, and nitrate down to about 40. Then it's safe for the axie to go back in.
 
Ok thank you so much. So with the tub could i put him in the fridge in a tupperware? and when you say new water every day do you mean a completely new tub with water with prime?
 
You don't have to fridge, but if you do try and keep temps between 10-15 degrees. 5 is the lowest you want it, but aim for a little higher. You can keep the tub on a counter instead, as long as you keep it under 18 degrees.
When tubbing the easiest thing is to have 2 tubs. When it's time for a water change just fill the second tub with dechlorinated water (prime is great), make sure temps are the same between the new water tub and the one the axolotl is in, then you can just put the axolotl in the second tub. Empty the first tub then you can use it the next day. Basically you're just swapping between 2 tubs :)
 
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    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
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  • Thorninmyside:
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    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
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