Squishy exploded!!!

So a while back my wife and I saw an axolotl at the local Zamzows (pet place), the lady there had no idea where it came from, someone had brought it to them.

After some research and prep, we brought her home with us.

Anyways, about a year ago, we stumbled upon some more axos at another shop and decided to aquire a second larger tank. Two of the axo were living together and we took them both home (they seemed happy together). We named the albino skittles (male) and the dark Squishy (female)... couldn't tell the sex at the time.

Water balance was great, they adjusted nicely (they were in a tiny tank at the shop).


So that's a little bit of history, now for the trouble:

Squishy has been getting fatter, and fatter... and then suddenly today we find her dead in the front of the tank... The only visible trauma looks like the cloaca exploded! It was not a pleasent sight.

So my question is can anyone maybe explain what might have happened?
Also, the alkaline has dropped really low in the water (from her corpse maybe?) Skittles still looks very healthy and deosn't seemed to have noticed his partners dissapearance.

I'll post a picture when I can, fairly graphic though.

Hi Snoopymaniac,

That was an eye catching thread title.

Firstly, do you use gravel, marbles, pebbles or anything that could be swallowed by an axie in the tank? Axies feed by a vacuum like action and can impacted by them. If you still have any of them in your tank, you would have to remove them.

Impaction can subsequently lead to cloacal prolapse which is an emergency fatal condition. A prolapsed cloaca can look 'exploded'.

I believe there is possibly an element of bloat in that axie as well. While it was impacted, it can become stressed and immunocompromised. Opportunistic bacterial infections, internal organ damage (liver, kidney, heart etc) can all cause the axie to swell from generalised oedema, giving it a bloated appearance.

I hoped you remove the dead axie quickly from the tank. A water change will be good too. A rotting dead axie fouls the water very quickly and can cause the pH drop you observed.

Cheers.

Nope, I use large 2-3inch diameter smooth pebbles for the tank surface. (I use them in order to avoid the whole swallowing gravel issue)

So if impaction is what caused it, I guess I should hunt around in the tank see if maybe something broke off. I do have fake plants in there along with a log.

I took her out asap, she could have been dead for up to a day though (I work long nights).

I am so sorry for your loss. I sure hope you find out what happened!

Hi Snoopymaniac,

Could you advise as to what the axolotl's main diet consists of? Long standing nutritional deficiencies can contribute to bloat.

If you could also take pictures of Squishy from the top, side and bottom views, this will be of help.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Diet consists primarily of bloodworms, followed by the occasional brine shrimp.
Unfortuneatly I only have one shot of her from the side, I'm not at home right now so I can't post it yet.

That is quite the depressing story. I am so sorry to hear about it. Definitly gave me a little scare, how often were they fed and about how old were they? I ask because I now worry about over feeding my 2 juvenile axie.