Ph advice?

I have 2 big axolotl tanks one holding 6 & the other 7. The other week I noticed 2 of my axies in the 7 tank seem to be shedding some skin whilst in the 6 tank they were all fine. Having reading up on people's previous posts with same issue it seemed to come down to the acidity in the ph.

I carried out a ph on both tanks the 6 tank ph was 7.6 & the 7 tank ph was 6.6. How they were different like that I have no idea as both get fed the same things & water changes etc. Anyway on Sun I added ph regulator powder to the 7 axie tank which is suposed to bring the ph to a neutral 7.0 plus I added tropical salt to the tank (just a jar at the petstore thats suppose to replace nutrients in tropical water & do ph good.)

Having looked at the same axies today in the 7 tank their skin is alot better but I did a test & the ph is still the same. Any suggestions? Or should I just add the regulator powder in again?

The powder is just a short term thing. If the problem is chronic there must be an underlying reason: is there old food lying around? How many plants are present in the tanks? Lots of things can influence pH, its best to try and fix the problem. Maybe also you didnt add enough powder? Maybe add more powder, but be conservative. Also, i would suggest adding salt that adjusts water hardness as opposed to salt designed for tropical tanks, i have looked at what each of them contain and there is a difference, which may impact the pets. Another good strategy that i use in times of pH differences is water changes. The trick is to be conservative, but 20-30% should be enough, daily, or every two days, make sure its declorinated, and cool. Then, add a small amount of the water hardness modifier to the water to be added. This should get the pH adjusted nicely over the course of a couple of days, so as hopefully not upset them.

Hello MistressOfAxies,

shedding some skin whilst in the 6 tank they were all fine.

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Shedding of the skin is not necessarily a consequence of acidic water. In fact, the pH values for both your tanks are within the 'accepted' pH range, which is 6.5-8.0. Shedding of the skin is often related with stress but there are many other factors that could contribute to shedding.

Anyway on Sun I added ph regulator powder to the 7 axie tank which is suposed to bring the ph to a neutral 7.0 plus I added tropical salt to the tank

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You don't need to this because the pH for your tank should correct itself. If you really want to raise the pH for the 7 foot tank, I'd recommend that you add sea shells because they will leak carbonates which will raise the pH of your tank. Have you been cleaning out the 7 foot tank? Increased organic matter (from decaying food/plants) can lower the pH of the tank.

Do not add tropical salt to the tank, in fact, you should never add any form or salt/medication/chemical directly into the tank. The only time you should add salt is to the buckets of water to increase the general hardness of your tank. But this method should only be used if the water is soft. Why did you add tropical salt in the first place?


Jay.

In response to your question Jay I guess it would be beneficial reading the label it says Aquasonic Tropical Natural Home Water Conditioner the blurb reads has been formulated to re-create natural conditions in your aquarium. It contains the correct balance of salts, natural minerals and trace elements, plus bacterial and fungal inhibitors, to promote health & well being.

When I added this in & the ph regulator I had done a sand vacuume & 30% water change so figured it wouldn't hurt.

Since I hand feed all my axies individually there is rarely any pieces of food laying around & those that do float off end up being sucked up by either the canister or the 2 internal filters I have running. One thing though the 2 that had the peeling of the skin are looking better. This is the first time I've come across this issue with the ph. It is in the accepted range but when it was in the 7's I didn't have that issue with the axies. Despite the 2 with the skin peeling they are still eating like champions, nothing appears to be wrong from it.

No there are no plants in there except plastic ones, I feed them cubes of pea & prawn by hand which have been using for at least 5 months with no issues.

Next water change I'll try adding the regulator again or seeing how the 2 axies skin is going if clearing up still I may decide to leave it, I just am surprised one tank would be 7.6 & the other be 6.6 when both are exactly the same in operations.

the blurb reads has been formulated to re-create natural conditions in your aquarium. It contains the correct balance of salts, natural minerals and trace elements, plus bacterial and fungal inhibitors, to promote health & well being.

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I find this very hard to believe and it seems that the talked-up contents are just for marketing purposes.

It mentions natural minerals and trace elements but it does not list any of these constituents. For all you know, they could have added arsenic as a 'trace element'. The fact that it 'contains' bacterial and fungal inhibitors would mean that the conditioner has enzyme inhibitors or agonists/antagonists for specific enzymes/receptors on the bacteria and fungi. I strongly doubt that a conditioner would include such drugs. The only condition that you should be 'conditioning' is the elimination of chlorine and chloroamine. Other than that, the rest is unimportant and the aquarium will develop accordingly when you take it through a healthy nitrification cycle.

When I added this in & the ph regulator I had done a sand vacuume & 30% water change so figured it wouldn't hurt.

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These pH regulators are just band-aids for fixing the situation. You should just let the tank correct itself and use the sea shell method if you are really concerned about the pH. By adding the pH regulator, you are only going to drastically raise the pH and then in couple of days, the pH will drop again. If you keep at this, you will stress your axolotl and it will most likely succumb to illness.

Jay.

PH should be left as is, your PH levels are fine. As Jay said 6.5-8 are acceptable levels so don't stress about yours

Using chemicals will cause problems in the long term and pet stores shouldn't push them so hard in shops so I think you should leave it alone. I have shell grit in a stocking, which has worked really well with keeping the PH at 7 so look into that, you can get shell grit at petstores.

How are your ammonia levels? That can be another reason why axolotls shed skin as it is a stressor for them. But they do shed naturally sometimes so keep an eye on them and if they have no other signs of stress and are eating well I would not worry.

Ah I missed you Saspotato lol Shell grit aye? Sounds like a good idea. Ammonia's been fine for awhile now I maintain it by doing a 20-30% waterchange every week then every 3 weeks do the big sand siphoning & water change with that seems to maintain it.

Ok won't use that tropical salt mix again, was actually the first time I used it cause my partner uses it in all his tanks & he reckons its good stuff. Fed my axies today they seem fine still some shedding skin but wasn't as bad as before. Mind you this wasn't the tank where I found my axie eggs its was the one with ph of 7.8 but I assume would make no difference when it comes to egg laying & mating etc.

Only chemicals I'll use is declorinator & once a week I use stability, seems to give them a good slime coat, maybe I imagine it but I think it does. I'll keep you posted if the 3 of them go back to excessively shedding their skin again.

All your advice has been so helpful & I thankyou heaps. Pet stores dont know what they're talking about when it comes to axolotls & it really is annoying.