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Petrie's Plight And The Warm Water Worry...

big a little a

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Hello!

Firstly, hurrah, forum is back!

I had a bit of a panic on the first few days as I was actually mid-writing a post when the forum went off. So as not to lose everything I'd wrote, I saved it to my computer and then, seeing what was happening with the forum, decided I'd have to wing it on my own and keep a blog of my actions.

So, have done that, will post each day's record seperately.

If you can have a look at it and give me advice on any aspect of it - or even let me know if I have have done the right thing, or give me constructive criticism, that would be wonderful.

But remember kids, I was out on a limb, a lone ranger :eek:.

Thanks

Zoe x
 

big a little a

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26 May 09:

Hello

I'm a bit concerned that Petrie has been eating less and less these past couple of weeks.

I'll list all the info I can:

Tank is around 2 and three quarter feet long by 15 inches wide. It is around 17 inches high. I believe it holds around 80 litres.

This tank is home to one axolotl, Petrie, aged around 10-11 months - he is roughly 8 inches long.

I have an internal filter, with a spray bar set up, so flow is minimal. There are half logs and whatnot for him to hide in. There are quite a lot of live plants. I have used sand as a substrate.

So far, so good, no risk of impaction :happy:.

Water tests are great - ammonia and nitrite are at 0, nitrate is at 5 and PH is 7.5. The water in the tank is left to stand for 24 hours and dechlorinator is added prior to putting in the tank.

The aquarium lighting is on for two hours a day - it is quite a low wattage, however, I was a bit concerned that it was still too bright for Petrie, as he would go and shelter in one of his hiding spots when it came on. Sooo, a couple of weeks ago, I turned the lights into a tropical purple, by using a coloured filter for theatre lights, and wrapping it round the bulbs. There is no risk of melting, as the filter is built for theatre lights, which are MUCH hotter and Petrie seems a lot more comfortable in this lighting.

I was feeding Petrie around 4-5 earthworms (1-2 inches long when in water...they seem to look longer in water!) every other day. These worms are aquired from a pesticide-free garden.

From reading a recent thread, I now believe I may have been feeding him a little too much and 3-4 worms every 2 days would have been better (for an 8 inch axie)? However recently, his interest in food seems to be waining. I'll give a run down of what he's scoffed the past fortnight:

Day 0: 6 worms
Day 2: 5 worms
Day 4: 6 worms
Day 6: 4 worms
Day 8: 2 worms
Day 10: 1 worm
Day 12: 3/4 of a cube of defrosted bloodworms
Day 14: A couple of small bites of defrosted bloodworms

Every day, I've offered him a nice, fresh, wiggling earthworm - when his appetite first started dropping, he would at first suck them up, then drop them and so on, until he scoffed it down - then the odd one started getting away (which I would clean up). Then, he stopped sucking them up and just stalked them like a hunter, but didn't actually try to consume. Now today, I dropped one in front of him and he turned around and walked away from it, seemingly repulsed by the sight of it! :eek:

And today (day 14) he would hardly touch the bloodworms either.

The only possible cause for this, by my reckoning, is the water temp - it's got a bit warmer these past few weeks and now gets to around 21oC - I am aware that this is higher than ideal, however, to my knowledge, as Petrie is the sole occupant of a reasonable sized tank, with ammonia and nitrite testing at zero, I believed this would be ok? But temp is the only thing I can think of as I seem to recall that loss in appetite is one of the first signs of temperature stress...

Additionally, one further thing throws me (and this is really odd) - he looks ABSOLUTELY FINE. Now, something must be causing his appetite to drop - but if it was illness or stress, I would expect this to show in his physical appearance - but he looks healthy, still plump, with uncurled tail tip and un-curled gills - also, his gills are quite pink, which surprised me, as he has not ate real food in so long! I would honestly believe someone else was feeding him, if I didn't live alone...

So, to summerise (so sorry for the painfully long post), I am scouring the internet for chillers (thus sacrificing the money I was going to spend on a holiday in September).

In the meantime, should I fridge Petrie? And can anyone shed any light on to what is wrong with my little monster?

Thanks Zoe x
 

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27/05/09

Update:

Offered him a worm and he just ignored it - it was actually wiggling and lolling all over his face and he wasn't interested :(

His tail and gills are still uncurled - gills are still vivid pink and his tail looks a lot pinker today too - don't know if this signifies anything. There are no signs of bruises, cuts or fungus.

I put a jug of water in the fridge with a thermometer last night and today it was at 3oC, so too cold for fridging - I have fiddled about with the settings on it (the markings aren't on there so not sure if it's turned up or down) and left the jug in there, so fingers crossed, it will be above 5oC tomorrow.

Started using the frozen bottle system and hopefully that should help.

x
 
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big a little a

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28/05/09

Update:

Petrie again refused an earthworm, however he did eat a cube of defrosted bloodworms. This has made me start to wonder if Petrie has just massively gone off earthworms...?

I still think the temperature needs resolving, which is why I'm really pleased that I have an aquarium chiller sorted out!!! It's the 1/10 chiller on this site - http://www.jbjchillers.com/index1.html. I am picking it up on Saturday. Does anyone have any experiance (good experiance preferably!) with this kind of chiller?

Later, I was trimming fat off some pork (I may not be a meat eater, but I still have to cook for carnivores sometimes :sick:), when I remembered that raw meat can be fed as an occasional treat. I fed Petrie some small bits (with no fat on them) with tweezers - he wolfed them down!! :D

So, whilst I know this isn't suitable for regular meals, it was good to see him eating a reasonable portion of something! Even if it is treat food...

I have also started investigating about buying live blackworms/bloodworms for Petrie to eat as a staple diet, until I can wean him back onto eating earthworms. Found places selling bloodworms, but blackworms are harder to find...

x
 

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31/05/09

Update:

Got the chiller yesterday, it's quite swish looking. Unfortunately, couldn't get it up and running because, having never used or seen a chiller, I was unaware that I need some other things to operate it - I've just ordered them and so, by Wednesday, the chiller should be in action.

In regards to food, Petrie is still anti-earthworm. He won't eat pellets (bites them and then spits them out). So, think it will have to be live bloodworms for the time being - they are delivered in bags of water - how do you store them, in a tub of water? And in the fridge or at room temp? And does anyone know how long they last before they turn into flies?

x
 

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Forgot to mention, in the end I did not put him in the fridge, as the highest I could get the temp was 5oC which is ok, but I was concerned that if it dropped just a tiny bit....Petrie would be no more :eek:.

Using the frozen bottle method, I managed to get the temp down to a steady 20oC which is ok for the time being.

X
 

Kerry1968

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Hi there Zoe,

I'm sorry I don't have any advice to give with regard Petrie not eating, but to me it sounds like you are doing all the right things. Good on you for getting a chiller, I know they're expensive. I think if you just keep offering Petrie as much variety as you can then hopefully his appetite will pick up again. It's good that he's eating the bloodworms as I know they are a recommended part of an axies diet.
I can see that you're doing the best you can for Petrie, above and beyond! Just bear in mind at 8" your axie could go for quite a while without eating.
Good luck with it all, keep us posted, Kerry.
 

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Hi there Zoe,

firstly congrats for the very comprehensive notes, I would keep doing what you are doing and keep trying the dietry variations. It sounds like Petrie has just had enough earthworms for the moment.

Good luck
 

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Thank you Ian and Kerry for the support

Hope you're right Ian, though annoying all the same - live earthworms are so convenient to feed, fresh, non-messy and wiggley :(. I wonder how I can trick him into liking them again...

Justin said a similar thing to that in chat, so will keep my fingers crossed - do you think this'll be a permanent thing, or do you think I'll be able to wean him back onto earthworms in a month or so?

Anyway, will post a picture I took about 10 mins ago - his gills are a bit paler as his last meal was yesterday afternoon - but still, looks quite contented, lounging on his stone.

Zoe x
 

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John

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Isn't it very hot there lately?
 

Darkmaverick

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Hi Zoe,

In my experience, sometimes offering a novel treat can stimulate an axie to feed again. I find small bits of shrimp or prawns to be most effective as they are the most widely accepted treat out of the variety amongst my axies.

Other than that, you are doing everything else very logically and carefully.

Cheers
 

big a little a

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Hi John

Yeah, we're having a heatwave at the moment (well, hot for UK), which is why I leapt to the conclusion that this was heat stress. The's still a wind at the moment though, so I've been leaving the windows open 24/7 and having my blinds down to block out the light (it really is like owning a gremlin) - this with the frozen bottles means I can keep the water temp to a steady 20oC - and the voltage transformer and whatnot should get here today so I can use the chiller and have the tank at a permanent 16-18oC - clever me bought an American chiller and did not make the connection that the plug wouldn't fit :D.

Rayson - that's what I thought when I gave him the pork - like when you're a child and you're sick, ice cream is always what gets you back into food! I forgot about brineshrimp though, you can order the live ones that live in the tank, until your hunter eats them - maybe that might be an idea to stimulate his belly.

Cheers

Zoe x
 

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Yes. 26 degrees yesterday, dues to be 27 today where I am. My tanks is at a steady 20-21(just), but he's situated in a cold corner of our living room anyway so its easy!

The heat has diminished somewhat today...just as I was on my way to becoming a bronzed Adonis (but not quite made it) :(...good for Petrie though...

In regards to my previous post, didn't mean brineshrimp, sorry, meant ghost shrimp or cherry shrimp or something like that (will investigate further...)

Can anyone give me any info on these? I presume the 30 day quarantine rule applies? And how long do they normally live (Petrie is a poor hunter)? And what do you feed them? Questions, Questions!!!

x
 

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Ok, an update on the chiller situation - Petrie is still being kept cool by ice bottles and a fan...."STILL?!?!? STILL?!?!?!?" I hear you ask...

Well, I have absolutely no experiance with chillers, or anything really plumbing/DIY-based, so please bear this in mind before you giggle at my incompetence! It has been a long, long mission getting everything I need, with a lot of money being wasted along the way.

First I had to get a volt transformer, as the chiller is American, plus a water pump. When these arrived, I then had to go round every hardware shop in the area to find some hose that was the right size. Managed to finally get hold of some, however, I also needed a reducer as the water pump nozzle is smaller than the nozzle on the chiller. Eventually located one of these at a shop a good hour's drive away.

So now, we would think, all ready to go? Oh no. Used hose clamps to secure the hose, so no leaks there, however, where the reducer met the chiller nozzle, couldn't stop it from leaking, as both are made from hard plastic. Started pondering how I would stop this (a washer maybe? I don't know, I've only just discovered the existance of such things!), when I discovered another nozzle that came with the pump - a bigger one that actually means that the reducer was not required...

Sooo, back down to the hardware shop I pottered and got some bigger hose. Popped in all together, tightened the hose clamps (not used any inside the aquarium though, as they're made of metal) and hurrah!!! No leaks...however, the water didn't seem to be cycling through properly...almost as if the pump wasn't powerful enough (I got a 300L per hour, so minimal water flow). I reached the conclusion that the air seeping in where the leak was had assisted the water in flowing round and now the hose and everything was watertight, the pump wasn't powerful enough (I don't even know if that is possible...circulatory issues puzzle me, as do water issues...I can spend hours contemplating moon pulling tide pulling moon pulling tide pulling moon).

So, I immediately jumped on the internet and ordered a more powerful pump. There was one part of my mind still thinking though..."but why would no leaks mean less power...?".

So, had a little fiddle and suddenly!!! Water is cycling round fine! I didn't need the new pump!! So, I took the plunge and finally...finally turned on the chiller....ooooh....ooooooooh....no.

The voltage transformer blows. The voltage transformer that I spent £25 (and that was in a sale!) on. The guy I bought the chiller from said it needed a 300W transformer...so that's what I got...the transformer must be faulty!!!

So, I returned the transformer and they exchanged it for another. Took it home, set it all up, water circulating, chiller on, oooh....ooooooooh. The transformer blows. ARRRRRRRRRRRGH!

Turns out the fuse has blown. So, I do a bit of mathematical formula and multiply the volts x amps...and it comes to 312!!! So it needs a higher watt transformer that the little weasle told me :mad:.

So, today I have been to buy a fuse so that I can return the transformer tomorrow (fortunately, it works now the fuse has been replaced). And I've been back on the internet and ordered a 500W transformer for the vast sum of £45 :cry:....so, in a couple of days it should arrive and then we'll just have to wait to see what else goes wrong (whilst I sit here in my piles of unused transformers and hoses and pumps and reducers and 14,000 different sized hose clamps).

So is life :cool:.

Zoe x
 

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OH OH OH!!! OMG I just love you! You poor poor thing!!! I've walked in your shoes. I'm to scarred to relate the tale just now but {{{ HUGS!!! }}}
 

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Aww poor Zoe, at least you and the axies are safe. Water + electricity combo = bad.
 

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Update...

As of this Tuesday, the cooler has been up and running!!! Again, there were more mishaps on the way...

I got the 500W voltage transformer, plugged in the cooler and again, the fuse in the transformer blew...so I began to start panicking that the chiller was faulty.

Bought some replacement fuses and replaced the blown one in the transformer...having forgotton to unplug the transformer before commencing with Operation-Conduct-Electricity-Through-Own-Body...got an electric shock that sent my arms flying back, and left my hands in much pain all that evening, with a nasty dull ache in my arms and chest too. On the bright side, fortunately the transformer was not knackered! Finally replaced fuse, having unplugged the transformer.

Then, got an electrician friend to come round and have a gander at my "broken chiller"
(fortunately, he did it all for free - electrician's are handy people to be friends with!)...and as it transpires, the chiller wasn't broken. The transformer wasn't broken. I had just set the output wattage COMPLETELY wrong, because I am a complete spanner!

But, all's well that ends well - Petrie has been chilling at a permanent 17oC since Tuesday and he looks GREAT on it - his gills have always been in good condition, but now they seem to have grown noticeably wider and bushier.

Here is a photo I took after just 30 hours of the cooler having been on - it is terribly blurry as he kept moving (every time I put the camera near the tank, he would come stomping up to me, probably thinking it was dinner time), but hopefully you can see what I mean. :D His gills are actually about 3cms long now.

Love Zoe x
 

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Kerry1968

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Crikey, you could've ended up in A&E with a shock like that! Glad to hear it's all working now though, good to have it going in the heat we've been having lately. I've been considering a chiller for my tank, but not got the money at the moment, a desk fan over the tank is reducing the heat somewhat.
I love reading your posts Zoe, they're so funny and descriptive.
 

big a little a

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I'd say get a second hand chiller like I did, as in theory, they're cheaper....however, if your luck/capability is like mine, then they are sooooooo not cheaper! Ah well, it's my birthday tomorrow, so as least I can treat myself (all my treat money went on the chiller this month!).

I love reading your posts Zoe, they're so funny and descriptive.

Thanks, that's really nice!!! Though I am concerned about your regular reading material, if you found my posts enjoyable, as despite the comedy mishaps, the story basically consisted of me describing the electrical components and volts required to run/destroy an American chiller :D

LOL, just kidding, thanks Kerry! x
 
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