Caudata.org: Newts and Salamanders Portal

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Did you know that registered users see fewer ads? Register today!

Illness/Sickness: Gill scratching and sudden bursts?

Woozel

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2008
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
Oregon
Ok so its coming up on my little guys first week in his aquarium at home. Ive noticed that he seems to struggle quite a bit with traction accrost the glass bottom, so I wash out 1liter (wet packed) children's play sand for two hours (just stuck the hose in the bottom of a bucket and and let it flush and the sand settles, overflow goes to the garden) Only used about half of it to make a layer 1/2" thick, waited another hour after refilling the tank and raking the sand to let debris settle and then released Landon back. bout Half hour later I noticed a behavior of him scratching his gills a couple times w his back leg then bursting through the sand like a rocket. happened 3 times so far since i added the sand. but he is spending more time outta his hidey hole... whats up with my dragon? is this normal behavior like an itch?
 

IanF

New member
Joined
Mar 12, 2008
Messages
305
Reaction score
7
Location
Ayr, Scotland
He's probably just stressed. Give him a day, and if he's not doing any better check him out for any health problems (gills pushed forward, unsettled behavior, etc) and check you water parameters to make sure there wasn't anything nasty in there that could have effected your tanks water.
The scratching is probably just to get any loose sand out of his gills. It probably would have been better if you took him out while adding the sand, but there isn't much you can do about that now.
Hope this helps,
Ian
 

Woozel

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2008
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
Oregon
Also, your positive it's childrens play sand and not builders sand right?
He was outta the tank and in a bucket for over an hour while the sand settled.the bag says children's play sand, Whats in builders thats so bad just outta curiosity? Yes the tip of one of his top gills is starting to point forward and unsettled as in not hiding during the day? sorry if i seem a bit pressing but... I really like the new little guy :-/
 

b00f

New member
Joined
Nov 2, 2008
Messages
269
Reaction score
14
Location
Australia
like bursts of swimming around the tank???

my lil guy does this aswell.. what size tank do you have? (not the scratching)
 

Woozel

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2008
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
Oregon
like bursts of swimming around the tank???

my lil guy does this aswell.. what size tank do you have? (not the scratching)

75liter corner half filled(approx 32liters). the two straight sides measure 24" long. the little guy is around 6" long
 

IanF

New member
Joined
Mar 12, 2008
Messages
305
Reaction score
7
Location
Ayr, Scotland
Builders sand contains chemicals, is unclean and often full of junk while childrens play sand (children sometimes eat it so it has to be safe) usually isn't. By unsettled I mean constantly moving or acting strange. By the sounds of it he's just stressed like I said, but if he continues to do this then you might have a problem. Like I said, give him a day.
 

IanF

New member
Joined
Mar 12, 2008
Messages
305
Reaction score
7
Location
Ayr, Scotland
Fill up your tank abit more aswell. They need 10 gallons and you've got about 6 if it's only half full.
 

Jacquie

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Messages
1,849
Reaction score
48
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Hi Woozel,

Gill scratching and frantic swimming is usually an indication of water quality issues. Water quality is most important to an axolotl's health.

Do you test the water for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and pH? Axolotl's are messy little grots that release a lot of wastes. Wastes and left over food can wreak havoc with water quality. Any reading higher than '0' for Ammonia and Nitrite is dangerous to an axolotl's health.

As Ian has mentioned, having more water volume in the tank will aid in dilluting the Ammonia levels.

How frequently do you conduct water changes and how much water do you remove?

Is there any water current at all in the tank? Axolotls prefer still water and water movement will stress them.

As the others have mentioned, he just may be getting used to the changes made to his environment. It can take a few days for an axolotl to settle down. Is he eating?
 

Woozel

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2008
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
Oregon
Currently hes just out and about more, air gulping every couple hours and his gills have calmed but his left top is like folded on top. pic below.

On previous tanks my schedule is as fallows. first i "cycle" my aquarium for 2 weeks with all mechanical devices running so i can check general bacterial growth in tank/filter and water current. I do water tests (one of those all in one 13 pad test strips) twice a week; Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Salinity/Specific Gravity, pH, Water Hardness, Alkalinity, Chlorine and Chloramine, Copper Phosphate, Dissolved Oxygen, Iron and Carbon Dioxide is how the bottle reads. 50% water change every 2 weeks - replaced by rain water (I recycle a lot) thats pre-tested with those same strips and I do a secondary "3 drop" pH test before introducing it. currently I have a fulv canister that I change the media in once every six months hooked to two spray bars because it cycles 200GPH. Ive been looking at this nifty filter by ZooMed that looks like a canister, comes w a spraybar and only cycles 75GPH. currently current must be low due to there being no movement of leaves or Ladons gills.

picture.php
 
Last edited:

b00f

New member
Joined
Nov 2, 2008
Messages
269
Reaction score
14
Location
Australia
wow, his got nice colourations...

umm test strips are rather inaccurate compared to the drops...

is he still eating?
 

inkozana

New member
Joined
Mar 29, 2008
Messages
397
Reaction score
10
Location
Brisbane, Australia.
You said you tested for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate but can you give us your readings?
As Aaron said, liquid tests are much more accurate than paper tests.
 

Saspotato

New member
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Messages
617
Reaction score
19
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Ok so its coming up on my little guys first week in his aquarium at home. Ive noticed that he seems to struggle quite a bit with traction accrost the glass bottom, so I wash out 1liter (wet packed) children's play sand for two hours (just stuck the hose in the bottom of a bucket and and let it flush and the sand settles, overflow goes to the garden) Only used about half of it to make a layer 1/2" thick, waited another hour after refilling the tank and raking the sand to let debris settle and then released Landon back. bout Half hour later I noticed a behavior of him scratching his gills a couple times w his back leg then bursting through the sand like a rocket. happened 3 times so far since i added the sand. but he is spending more time outta his hidey hole... whats up with my dragon? is this normal behavior like an itch?

It sounds like your axie is just stressed. My axie has always scratched his gills now and again, as long as it is not excessive and accompanied by other symptoms of stress (not eating, floating, lumps, growths, things like that) I would not worry. :) Just keep an eye on your water parameters as your tank may still be cycling if you only left it for two weeks prior to introducing your axie.
 

Kal El

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2007
Messages
426
Reaction score
23
Location
Brisbane
G'day, matey!

In one of your previous posts you said that you're using an 'all-in-one', 13 pad test strip. It's best that you stop using these strips because they are notorious for giving inaccurate results. In your case, I figure it would be worse because it is testing for a number of parameters, i.e. the testing of ammonia could be severely jeopardised as result of testing for dissolved oxygen.

Here's an analogy to help clarify my point: Mobile phones that have the ability to video record are not the best of quality, simply because a mobile phone is primarily used for tele-communication. If you want a high quality video camera, you would go out and purchase one that doesn't come in conjunction with a mobile phone.

So, in other words, you need to purchase individual liquid test kits for namely ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH.

Good luck.

Jay.
 

Woozel

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2008
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
Oregon
You said you tested for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate but can you give us your readings?
As Aaron said, liquid tests are much more accurate than paper tests.

Sorry for the late reply but w the holidays things have been a little crazy around my house. I didn't know these test strips were inaccurate and am planning on purchasing a full-set of liquid tests asap. Is there a particular one Axie owners adhere to?
the test strip compared to the bottle color chart are as fallows.
pH - 7.7
Chlorine - .001-.005
Chloramines - .001-.005
NH3 NH4 - (-).001
NO2 NO3 - (-).001

but as everyones mentioned these are totally worthless numbers are kinda worthless and mute till I have a more accurate test setup.
 

Woozel

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2008
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
Oregon
So ive noticed in the last 4 hours he's started to "gulp" a lot of air, like every 5 min. and his tail end floats for a few afterward. is this normal or a sign things are heading down hill? also, hes lost all interest in the salmon pellets but seems to have taken up stocking the mollies.....
 

Kal El

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2007
Messages
426
Reaction score
23
Location
Brisbane
Hi Woozel,

Because you have been using test strips as a means of testing, the actual results will deviate from the actual results. But seeing as your axolotl is constantly swimming to the surface of the water to obtain air, there is definitely something wrong with the water. For now, I'd suggest that you remove your axolotl from the tank and put it into a container of dechlorinated water, then put it into the fridge. The lower temperature in the fridge will mean that there'll be more dissolved oxygen in the water which, by the looks of it, your axolotl is need of.

Jay.
 

Woozel

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2008
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
Oregon
Are you serious? like right next to mums bird n' mash. crazy mate.. if you say so, but is it safe to keep them at such low temps (7*c) for long period?
 

Saspotato

New member
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Messages
617
Reaction score
19
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Low temperatures are very good for stressed axolotls. If your fridge is 5C or above your axie will be fine. Bare in mind your axie probably won't eat whilst he is housed in the fridge, but he won't need to eat as much as the cold slows down their metabolism.

When fridging your axie, change the water 100% each day with dechlorinated water. When my axie is in the fridge I have a bottle of water next to the container so the replacement water is the same temperature. Also keep the container covered with a teatowel or something so that the fridge light does not stress him out. Might be a good idea for the fridge until you can work out if something is stressing out your axie. If he shows improvement being kept in the fridge, it would indicate something is wrong with your tank water.

Seeing as your tank was cycled for two weeks only, it is possible that your tank is still cycling. You can keep your axolotl in a cycling tank but you need to change about 20% of the water each day that ammonia reads above 0. Also if you are doing water changes with rain water, is it possible that there could be other contaminates in the water that are not picked up by your test strips?
 
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Top