Question: My *new* Axolotl, questions health wise.

hi,
I have a few Axolotl questions and a few fotos about my axolotls, Narla. First off ill give you some information.
-This is my first post and i have hardly any idea what im doing.
-Narla is an adult axolotl wild type which i got only three weeks ago (aprox)
- She loves to hunt and swim like a spastic, some days very active, other days very still..and relaxed.
- She has ick, and although Ive been treating her i dont think its gotten any better.. it seemed to have faded slightly but now i think its spread. What is the best treatement for ick?
thats a foto of the little 'white spots' on her head and if you can see, some on her back (second foto). Is this ick? And what should i do to get rid of it? Ive been trying 'ickaway' about 30 drops in her tank once a week. It got rid of one on her back, but now theyve come back??

-Im not sure if she is really a 'she' .. after some research I was sure that narla was female, her cloacal region wasnt nearly as big as the 'male pictures' and her head is quite large. Ive never seen the difference in real life though so im still unsure.


Also her tail seems a little.. worn. Im not sure if it has always been like this, and im not sure if its normal. Im not taking chances though


And my last inqury is her tank. I upgraded from her old tank after the first week, she swims alot more now.
60/35/31 cm (75 litres) How many axolotls can you house comfortable in that? I read aprox two.. im not sure.. just curious though
Although it seems to be lacking detail. What can I add to her tank So far it has a few fake plants and her little 'hidding log' as well as a filter and large pebble rocks as the substrate.


In your opinions does she look healthy? I dont really know the differnece between an unwell axolotl and a healthy one.. this is after all my first and im a newby..

Narla and the longest lasting feeder fish, its been in there a whole day and she hasnt eaten it! which is quite a suprise..

THANKYOU so much everyone!
and sorry for the bad quality in picyures...
xx

I cant see your pics, might be why no-one answered you.

I'll answer as best i can.

1 Grrrrrr, you get the axie, and then 3 weeks later try to learn about them? Bad girl! Ok, we forgive you. Go check this site out, it has everything you need to know - Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander

2 Activity - Axies are sedate creatures, but have burst of speed / activity. They are all different, but it is not an indicator of health. Perhaps if anything, i'd be concerned if my guys were too active. they are not goldfish, so lethargy is not an indication something is wrong

3 Ich? That's icky. Probably got it from the feeder fish. Did you quarantine the feeders for min 30 days in another tank? Remember, they are not fish, so chck the treatment you are using is actually the right stuff for an axie - read the site, dont ask your local fish shop, they treat axies like fish

4 If you think shes is a she, she probably is. males have larger cloaca and are slimmer / longer. If she is an adult, should be pretty obvious. You are probably on the right track

5 Tail damage. My guys are like the 9 yr old boy who always has scabby knees. Their tails always seem to have bites, nicks, worn bits. Just watch the injured bits. make sure they dont get swollen, red (infected) or get cotton wool stuff on the (fungus)

If it doesnt look sore, it probably isnt. ANd good news, bits that get bitten or knocked off a healthy axie, will grow back - even legs - so tails are easy for them

6 Tank - should be fine for one. With a squeeze 2. But, i had a similar size tank to you, and i got a bigger one (3 x 1.5 x 1.5) i think they look better in the bigger one (but, you are not going to get another axie until the one you have is happy and healthy, and you are an expert in the care of them...... are you?)

Fake plants - your choice, reall plants help the tank cycle, but axies wreck real plants - i have real. No reason you cnt have either real or fake. Just make sure there is noting small enough to break off and be ingested by an axie

Pebbles for substrate - make sure each one is bigger in all dimensions than an axies head. If it is smaller in anyway then their head, they can fit it in their mouth. Can be hard to keep clean. I prefer sand, some go bare bottom

7 Look healthy? Cant see the pics, so dunno. BUt, if she has ich, then she isn't healthy, is she. It's one of those questions - "Does my bum look big in these jeans?" - if you have to ask, you probably already know the answer.....

Other than the ich though, you are looking for "healthy" looking skin - no redness, cotton wool, sticky white stuff, no lumps - if it looks clean and clear, it's probably ok

8 Feeder fish - i think you should get rid of the feeders for a while. She got the ich from somewhere, probably from the feeders. So, get rid of the feeders, go worms and pellets for now, treat the ich, and then if you want to get the feeders back, but only after a 30 day minimum quarantine

if you dont have a spare tank for quarantining feeders, then just dont use feeder fish, they dont NEED feeder fish, even though they will happily take them.

Hope that helps - happy reading that website!

Bren

Hey thankyou for the answer and yea.. i figured the pics didnt work im gonna post them again.
And to answer you i did ALOT of research before i got my axie, but i researched so much that my answers where confused and i didnt get a straight out answer. Ive posted questions on other sites but still.. no good answer
~the feeder fish~
i got them AFTER she had the white dots and there in a seperate tank aswell. they dont have ich either! I also feed her blood worms and sinking axolotl pallets which she isnt to fond of..
Also the local pet store i made sure to get the feeder fish one of the other ladies used for her axie and shed had no problems with. but il be sure to quarantine them longer for reasurance, i already knew about the 30 day quarantine aswell. thats why i plan on breeding my own. Just to be safe. I was just seeing what sort of food she likes and if shes a 'hunter' or a 'lazy'.
And i thought it would be really obvious to tell if she was female or male but i am really bffled, some days im sure one thing some days i am not, Im a very contradicting person!
i dont plan on getting another axie, I would want a bigger tank but it was hard enough to get te one that I have at the moment so I rather have a healthy pet then two unhappy ones.
I posted a pic on anoter site and someone said they didnt look like ich. They seem to have faded slightly, and the ones on her back are more 'patchy' sort of like a flat fungus.. its hard to explain and the pictures arent tht great quality either, im no photographer but theyll do.

thankyou though


PICTURES:
Flickr: ash_bart's Photostream


p.s
I have already read that sites page and other ones from that site aswell. They had great information but it clashed with other information i had gotten. Thats wy i posted this question

The site i posted for you is the most accurate and helpful i've found. Follow that one.

I checked the pics, because she is so dark, it's hard to predict a sex - i'd stick with what i said before - if you think she is a she from the research you've done, trust yourself

I thought ich looked smaller? I'm not an ich expert though.

The body "flat" fungus might be related to tank temp.

What are the water parameters? temp, ammonia, Nitrates, nitrites, gh, ph?

Check out how to do salt baths - might be worth trying. I have to say though, my guys has never had any skin issues so i've never done it, and i would not consider myself an expert in them -perhaps someone else can jump in?

The pebbles you have in could be a problem in the future. I note that a lot of them are actually smaller than her head. I've seen pics of what they can actually swallow, and it is amazing! They would have no problem swallowing some of those pebbles, and it would probably kill her. As nice as your tank looks, i'd get rid of the pebbles for some sand if it was me.

bren

I know! thats what i was woried about aswell, most of the pebbles are smaller than her head but at the moment it was all i could afford, in the future i hope for sand, for now i am making sure to feed her by hand or she catched the feeder fish/ other food. (i watch her when she eats)
her temperature isnt high it stays between 18 and 20 celcius (usually 19) throughout day and night. Im getting more stuff soon for the ph and amonia. For now her tank is quite clear, i have a filter nd do up to 40% water changes atleast 3 times a week. the stuff she has really baffles me, and im not to keen on salt baths. I will look more into them, ive previously done some research but ill be looking more into it for sure.

as for her sex, i am just getiing more confused. I think i may be leaning toward a male now as her tail is quite long and she is slim aswell as having a disinct cloacal region. Its not nearly as big as the other males ive seen pictures of though,, but not as small as the females.. -_- Its even harder to tell because of the colour is so dark.

thankyou xx

Even if you're hand feeding, she will still snuffle through the substrate, and can ingest it. This can cause impaction, which may lead to death. I really recommend removing it all and just going with a bare bottom. Further, feeder fish might not be the best food choice. Most folks use earthworms. Fish can nibble on the gills, and they produce a LOT of waste in the tank.

40% changes 3 times a week is excessive. Even if you haven't cycled your tank and don't have a filter, I wouldn't do more than 20% 3 times a week. Large swings in water parameters can be just as dangerous as water parameters outside acceptable levels.

As for sex, looks like a male.

For the spots: I don't know what Ick looks like. But I can tell you that fish medications are not appropriate for axolotls. They can be deadly toxic. Salt baths will get rid of a whole host of nasties while being less toxic.

Just on a quick note about substrates, I tried large river pebbles and I had a hard time keeping the bottom of the tank clean, which seemed to stress my axolotl.

I have since removed them, and I now have a bare bottom tank witch is a breeze to keep clean, so no stressed axolotl. Allthough I don't like the look, so I think I'll add a thin layer of river sand.

My point is a stessed animal is more susceptible to ailments. Maybe your axolotl is stressed.

* It costs you nothing to remove the pebbles, so i'm not sure how budget comes into that? Bare tank is 100 x's more preferable to river pebbles

* The temp is in the higher (although acceptable) range at 18-20 - consider looking into methods of cooling that tank (the search function here is your freind)

* 40% x 3 times a week is doing more harm than good - 10-20 % daily (if needed) is better while cycling a tank. if you only had the tank 3 weeks, you are still cycling, and you need to test the water. I agree this could be causing stress.

* re salt baths - you might not be keen on them, but it's not a goldfish, you cant treat them like one, so the salt bath might be a better way to go. i understand you might be nervous about it, i would be as i havent done it either. but i would just have to swallow my fear and do it for the sake of the axies health. Dont research too much and wait too long.

Thankyou blackdog, iChris nd kaysie. I do agree with you, the pebbles are much of a
Nuisance and quite hard to clean. Unfortuntly the bags I got them in where a mix of large small and medium sizes.. i really wanted to have pebbles but i'll look forward into removing the ones smaller than her head.
Also an inquiry for the pebbles. i found this mat wich had pebbles, they were smaller than my axolotls head but they were stuck firmly to the mat sort of like a 'pebble carpet'. Would this be a good substrate? I really like the pebbles! and it would be easier to clean aswell.
For now I want to remove the smaller ones but i want to remove Narla first so not to stress her out. Ive had difficulty removing her from the tank. Well i guess removing her wasnt hard but i feel like im stressing her out. has anyone got good way to remove axolotls from there tank and into a smaller container? Ive researche this like crazy, everyone tells u to remove the axololt from the tank but not HOW TO!
thankyou

p.s the water is between 19 nd 18 celcius. What is the most subtle and least stressing way to cool it slightly? Ive tried the frozen water bottle methode but it seems like it cools sections of the tank rather than all of it together?
Im trying to stay calm and positive. Recently I had two of my other pets die and I really cant handle losing another one little own stressing it out the slightest. I feel like a really bad person

The water temp is not too bad at 18-19, it just doesnt leave you much room for error (like it jumping 2 degrees up and causing stress) I used a couple of computer fans on mine, had a mate mount them on a perspex sheet to replace the glass, used an old phone charger to power it.

You can buy aquarium fans (essentially the same thing) cheap on ebay, they will drop the tank 2-3 degrees

You can increase evaporation

You can use your normal house fan

As i said, use the search function here - you will find loads on cooling the tank

For easy moving of axies - Cut the bottom off a 1.25 ltr coke bottle, try to keep it neat and straight to avoid sharp edges. simply slowly lower the open end in front of your guy and nudge him in there. Cover the open end with your hand to stop him jumping out, and put him in the container - dont even have to pick him up. if you do i slow and gentle, he probably wont even know he's been moved - Dont do it in bright light as the sudden light change might make him squirm and freak out, but even if he does have a freak out, your hand is over the end

Bren

I dont have any fans at my house unfortunatly but i will defenetly look more into it.
As for moving him I did what you said 'gently nudging him and slowly moving him' he did freak out at first but stayed calm. I also didnt use a bottle but a plastic bag (quite big) and then put him in with another container already haf filled with some wter from his old tank. i also put the thermometer in there so i coild keep track of the temp. It generally gets warmer in plastic tanks in my room for some reason. So I put a cold water bottle and wit my finger moved the water around so the temp slowly cooled and not just in sections. Is this good? Also with putting him back, i make sure the temperature is the same in his 'container tank' and his 'real tank then just rest him in the bag (floating in the tank) for about 10-20 minutes before taking him out of the bag.
I know that rapid temperature changes could mean the difference between a happy or stressed axolotl nd really rapid changes could mean the difference between life and death. So i make sure to keep a close eye on him.

Also I read that bare bottom tanks can become stressful for some axolotls as they cannot grip the bottom (in glass tanks)
so i was thinking of using sand (I want t have fake plants in there they need a substarte for the ones I have to keep them in place, and my axie really loves them) whats the best sand for this?

sorry i seem to be adding so many different things. thankyou for keeping up with me, it means alot