My axolotl really doesn't look well at all...

Hi

I have a sick axolotl...


Anyone already seen an axolotl swimming upside down ?? I mean he doesn't look capable of keeping his legs down ... he have the bottom side up... he moves but is doesn't have balance anymore...

Also, his gills are really not developped... I see three pins on each side of his head but there's no hair at all (like I see on pictures).... I don't know if there's a bad bacteria or something but...
I never seen fungus and my axolotl is small to see if there's someting about his gills...

I have it for almost 2 months ... temperature is 22-23... he's about 3-4 months old ...

First he ate each day...
now he eat 1 day on 2 ...but today it's the first time I see him walking and swimming badly like this ...
He's also skinny... he don't really look healthy like the pictures I see on the website....
Also, the fins aroung his tail looks to be shrinking slowly... as the creature itself ...

I really don't know what to do and it hurt me to look him like this ...

Please help me !


Thanks
Martin

Are you able to check the water parameters, such as pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels? Is there a filter in the tank? I would suggest first off doing a 10-20% water change, and checking these water parameters. Make sure to dechlorinate the water you are adding.

Would it be possible for you to post a picture of your axolotl?
If not could you describe its colour and any markings please?

Hi Martin, as he didn't have the feathery bits on his gills suggests he had some kind of problem (probably water conditions) before you got him.

Best thing you can do for now is put him in a small shallow container, cool him until you've had chance to test the water. Also, let us know a little more about your set-up.

Cheers, Phil

Hi guys, thanks for replies...

Ok, My aquarium is a 40 Litres, there's a filter with no too much current to avoid stressing him ...

About the water test ... PH = 7.9- 8.0 , apart from that the water is almost perfect... the best of my 3 aquarium... almost 0 amoniac and nitrites and a little bit of Nitrates ...

yesterday night he was really looking pity .... on the back again and opening his mouth... when I went to sleep I told myself I would put him in the fridge tomorrow...

That's what I did this morning... When I did get back from the job I found he is still alive (not a first but after I moved him a little I saw him moving...) I put a some frozen brine shrimps in case he would eat ... but I read that when in the fridge the axolotl will rarely eat... + he is sick ...

the temperature is now 5 degrees ... Now I wonder how long he can live in the fridge... I think I read a post of somebody saying he kept his axolotl in the fridge all summer (in mexico I think) ...


Sorry for the photos ... I tried to take a picture but he is so small I can't take a good shot of him.. the picture were not good at all and I don't want to use the flash on him ...
Just think of a skinny axolotl with no hairs on his gills ... From the top I can see the body is half the size of his head ... That why I though he was very skinny when compared to the pictures I see ...

Also, I think the fins around his tail looks to have shrank since I have it...

I can't remember for sure but I think I have see little little hairs when I first got it but they really disapeared since that... for the first 3 weeks he was really acting great ...

After that I had a problem with my filter and I bought another one... I transfered the sponge and everything to keep the good bacterias ... but unfortunately my water turned foggy for almost 2 weeks ... I did water tests and everything looked good ...
After 3-4 days of the foggy water I put him in another small temporary aquarium with good water and everything for the rest of the time ... and when the main water cleared I put it back in it ... but that's only recently I found him acting weird ... not eating each days and now he doesn't have any balance ... He try to walk and after one step he turn around on his back and really work hard to get back on his feet.... unfortunately for not too long he turn back again ....

Now I think of a bad bacteria eating him or I don't know how to explain everything shrinking ...

He didn't eat any rocks because I only have bigger rocks than him....

Do you think I should give him a salt bath ?? and How much salt should I put ?
I think I must not let him doing this for more than 5 minutes ?

I already have sea salt ... for another of my aquarium ...

I"m afraid to do this because of the possibility of hurting their gills so he would bleed ... if it happens, what should I do ?


So, I really need you help guys...
Thanks and sorry for my english ...

Martin

I'm no expert Martin ~ only recently experienced problems myself. Sounds like you've got a decent set up.

Although a salt bath wouldn't hurt; if there are no external signs of fungus etc. then I'd give it a miss (personally).

The problems are probably a knock-on effect from when you had trouble with your tank/filter. Again, no expert; but my guess would be keep him in the fridge until he starts looking better. (i.e. not floating) then try him back in the tank - if you're confident on the water conditions.

Cheers, Phil

I would also advise keeping this axolotl in the fridge for at least a few days. It will greatly slow his weight loss.

How long is he? Small live food like blackworms or mosquito larvae may be appropriate for a 3-4 month old baby. They will survive well in the cold water in the fridge, so one or two in the water with him will do no harm. Do change the water daily from a bottle cooled in the fridge.

Just a problem i had when i was fridging my axie, he used to float upside down. If this happens, i was told to just put enough water to cover him. Apparently they can get a bit confused which way is up.

Hi Again ...


Now I lost every hope .....

I did put it in the fridge Monday morning .... The evening he was moving a little ...
Tuesday I think it was the last day I have see him moving ....

He never ate what I tried to give ...

Yesterday morning (wednesday) I didn't see him move of any way... but there was blood in his gills ... although I didn't know if he was alive ...

This morning he had no blood anywhere visible from the top of him... the gills are fully transparent and no blood in the legs, nowhere ...

I still kept him in the bowl with new water but I removed him from the fridge ...

I kept him because I think he wasn't fully dead... I found that when turned back, I can see some blood moving under is neck ... I don't know where his heart is but if I see some blood moving there he must not be dead... he is also more and more skinny... hard to believe ...

Anyway, I really think he must be dead by now .... I will come back from the work in 1 hour so I will see ... but I don't want to wait until he start to smell so if I see no blood moving I think I'll have to drop it ....

Unfortunately don't think I will try to get another one because it was hard to find and they look so fragile ...
It's really too bad because they are so cute to observe ... The first month I had it was really cool ... But when it's getting bad it really gets on my mind all days until I loose it ....


so, I will never know what the problem was.... my water ? the axolotl itself ?


Thank you for all your support and good luck with your babies !

Sorry to hear your news. Its possible you just had a weak/sick axolotl from the start.

Hi


Good news... The axolotl is still alive...

In my last message I said my axolotl was almost dead but when I got home he was alive, in my small bowl out ofthe fridge... He had all is blood in his gills and moved a little ... Good since I had not see him moving for 2 days...

I wanted to put it back in the aquarium but when I took a look at the aqua before putting it in I understood why my Axie was so sick ...

There is alot of worms/leeches in the aquarium .... first time I see them... they are white/beige ...
Now I'll have to clean and wash all the aquarium ... I'll drop my plants and boil all my rocks and other stuff ...

Actually I put the axolotl in a temporary aquarium since 3 days and it looks a little better than before I put it in the fridge...although he's not perfect... he move a little sometimes... he did not eat last 2 days but today he ate a little ... Good ;-)

I have see him on upside down again ... altough he ate after that..

If he's getting worse I will put it in the fridge and but for now he looks not too bad.


Now, does anybody ever had any problems with worms or leeches ?
I think these parasites come maybe from eggs in a plant I would have buy lately ?

The guy at a petshop tells me it could came out from my axolotl or the plants ... But I hardly belive it would come out of my axolotl, especially if it was doing good for the first month .... I prefer thinking it's from the plants...

Now I don't know these parasites, are they some in my axoltol ? if yes, how to eliminate them from my axi without hurting him ?

Anyone have any idea ?
I still have hopes to save my little baby !

Thanks !

http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm That page might help you a little in understanding what kinds of parasites/bacteria may live in your tank.
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Tank_critters.shtml This link will help you to identify the worms in your tank and what they are capable of in the means of harm or beneficial bacteria.

I always clean my plants whenever they look dirty in the tank - you don't want them to develop a layer of mush around the leaves (usually transparent or white) that could lead to a fungal disease in your axolotl.
The 'worms' may come from the food you are feeding your axolotl - what does his diet consist of?
To get rid of those worms completely, you will need to cycle your tank.
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml Here is a link on tank cycling.

These worms/ leeches you are describing may be planaria. These are perfectly normal in a healthy aquarium, they actually help by eating waste. If you notice a large amount try spot cleaning more often.

Hi


maybe it's planaria ... hard to say because they are so small !!!

Anyway it's the first time I see them ....
Actually I would really like to know from where they appeared !!

I give frozen brine shrimp to my axolotl .....

I hear that it's better to give him bloodworms ! If he ever came back healthy I will buy a pack but for now I'll continue Brine shrimp ...

So, I'll make some research on this parasite ... thanks for the links ...

I still find my axolotl upside down sometimes although not as much as before ... it looks like 60% okay and 40% upside down...


Thanks
Martin

Tell us how it goes. I hope all your effort works out well

Hi


..hmm, yesterday I putted it back in the fridge ... he was beginning to be upside down again and more often ....

When I try to catch him with a bowl I see he's swimming but looks weird ... the way he move is not normal ...

Is that possible that one or some of the worms would be in him ?

When I put it back from the fridge to an aquarium he looked great for 3-4 days until I saw him getting anormal again ...


Anybody have any ideas ? salt bath ? anything ?
Because I think when I will get it back from the fridge the same thing will happens ...

Or do you think I should just wait so his system will maybe work against the bad ?

Thanks
Martin

Hi Martin,

martindap said:

He didn't eat any rocks because I only have bigger rocks than him....

Click to expand...

Are these large rocks covering the base of your whole tank?

A lot of muck accumulates and gets trapped under rock substrate and can only be cleared out by moving the rocks around - you'd be amazed at how much filth will come forth when the rocks are moved.

This filth wreaks havoc with water quality and I note you feed the axolotl brine shrimp and bloodworm - these foods are great but are very messy and contribute to water quality issues if 'left overs' are not removed from the tank with regular spot cleans.

martindap said:

When I put it back from the fridge to an aquarium he looked great for 3-4 days until I saw him getting anormal again...

Click to expand...

I think the issue is something in the aquarium. If you have planaria, there may be excess food trapped under the substrate.

I would suggest you keep the axolotl in the fridge for a couple of weeks and while he is on vacation in the fridge this will buy you time to find the problem and correct it.

A further note: When you are transferring the axolotl from the fridge to the tank, are you waiting until the water temperatures of both containers (tub and aquarium) are the same before putting axie back in the tank? Temperature shock can make an axolotl sick too.

Cheers Jacq.

Hi


Yes I am carefull when changing the water temperature....
About the Rocks I have half of the bottom covered by them ... I put a cavern on the part where no rocks are...


When I put it back in the aquarium it was another one with fresh water ... he looked better for 2 days until getting upside down again ....

Now he is in the fridge since last thursday... he ate 1-2 times but not anymore and I have seen him upside down again ...

I don't know what to do now ...

!!!!!!!!!!!! BAd ...


I left the axolotl in the fridge for almost 2 weeks and he wasn't eating in the fridge.
The first time I get it out he ate 2-3 firsts days before he started to get upside down again ...

I just wanted to feed him again and see if he would get better so yesterday I put him back in an aquarium with new clean water... I carefully put him in the water at the same temperature...

I was always turning upside down and comming back on his legs... staying more time upside down... Also, his mouth was always open ... poor thing...

I gave him food but at first he didn't eat it...
Now I just came back from my job and I seen him upside down in the corner or the aqua.... the mouth more open than yesterday ... and when getting a closer look at him I saw a big bubble of blood on the middle of his body !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now he doesn't seem to move at all .... ;-( .. I still put him back in a bowl in the fridge but I really thinks that it's time have come .... really bad ...

The bubble is 3/4 the size of his head ...
I made searches on the forum but all I have seen that would looks that would be "prolapse" ? but as I seen, prolapse looks only like a bubble of air ... this one is full of of blood and and grew in not more than 18 hours ....


I really don't know how could this happens.... I'm almost sure he never could swallow something that could make him bleed from inside ...
Would it be possible the kind of planaria worms I had would do that ?


Just before posting I was wondering what could I do ? make the bubble break ? I don't think so because with the amount of blood in it he will surely die ... anyway, I really think there's nothing more to do .. if he is not already dead ...


So.... I will never know what happened with him...


I wanted to have a great healthy growing axolotl but finally I couldnt..
I had so much trouble convincing a pet store to get one that I don't think I will be able to get another one even if I think I could try again ....

Seeing people having them for so much years is really nice but I could never think mine would only last 1 month healthy before getting sick with this kind of weird death....


So, good luck with yours !
If you have questions I will try to answer the best I can !

Hi, how big is your axolotl?
I saw a small one from the petshop the other day, ie. about 4cm and it kind of look pale, and a bit lifeless.. so was wondering if it's a little one? I think babies tend to be a bit more sensitive to look after.