Axolotl won't eat and gills turned from red to black. Help!

I'm a new axolotl owner and wasn't sure what to do about the recent problems I've been having... First off, I will tell you all the condition of the tank. It stays a few degrees under 72, (around 68 normally) so that raises little concern, I dechlorinate the water with API stress coat +, and I have a low water flow filter. (A Whisper for a 10 gallon tank) There are 3 smaller fish in there for feeders and 2 ghost shrimp that she hasn't touched since I got them, but those aren't her main sources of food. I normally feed her blood worms once every other day, she hasn't seemed interested in them at all for the past 5 days now. I even tried to give her red wiggler worms, but again, no interest. Also what most alarms me is that her once red gills have turned black. (She is a wild color) I don't know what that's a sign of or if it's normal, but it scares me a bit...
If anyone knows what's going on and/or how to fix it, please let me know. I hate not being able to properly care for my animals, and seeing her like this just makes me feel awful. Thanks for reading.

Hi,

welcome to our forum.

The gill color depends on the axis metabolism. If they are active, the gills become more reddish and when they are calm, the gills become more pale. That means for an dark wild type, the gills become dark, even black. So there is nothing to worry about.

But the temp is a bit on the higher side and you should take care, that it won´t raise more. Especially in summer you should think about cooling methods. Take a look here: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cooling.shtml

Have much fun with your axie.

Tina

Thanks for letting me know! I just woke up one day and saw the color change and got really worried. Do you think I should start trying to feed her every day since they use to be red when I got her? Seeing as she must have been pretty active in the past.
As for the temp, I'm going to work on that right away. I was already thinking about moving her downstairs where it is generally cooler anyway. And would a darker area be best for her? There is a hallway in my house downstairs that gets daylight, but it's considerably dimmer than most places in the house. That is mainly where I planned on putting her.
Also do you think the temp is the reason why she's not eating? It's been like that the whole time I've had her, and she's only recently stopped eating. (I've had her for a little longer than a month now)
Again, thanks for all the help!

Hi,

how big/old is your axie and was the tank cycled when he came in? What are the water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and Ph)? What´s on the bottom - sand, gravel?

Axies don´t like bright light, that´s why they hide in holes most time during the day. So a dimmed place would be fine for them.

Tina

More trouble! This morning my axolotl looked fine but later I noticed her floating on her side on the waters surface! I immediately put her in a container of conditioned water and refrigerated her. Her gills are also much shorter than they should be and she still refuses to eat.

She is about 6 inches long and I am unsure of her age...

Here are the results of my water test-

Hardness: 180
Carbonate hardness: 240
pH: 7.5
Nitrite: 10
Nitrate: 150

Can you post a picture of your animal? Where did you get it?

Your tank is definitely not cycled. That level of nitrite is dangerous, and your nitrate is through the roof.

I would leave your little dude in the fridge, and let your tank cycle. It should be within a few weeks, since you already have a nitrite reading.

I've never had an aquatic animal like this one before and was unaware of these conditions. I planned on keeping her in the fridge until things get better, but I'm worried about her not eating while she's in there... Are there any tablets or drops I can put into my water to fix these issues or is it a matter of just sitting and waiting? I feel awful about this happening...

I got her at a local pet store that got them from a guy who didn't want them anymore. They know little to nothing about axolotls so when I went to them today, it wasn't much help...

And once I find batteries for my camera I will get a picture up asap.

You'll need to change the water in its container in the fridge daily with dechlorinated water. Unless you have well water, you need to treat your water with a dechlorinating agent. You also need to be sure this water is the same temperature as the water it's in. The easiest way to do this is to buy dechlorinator, and use an old gallon milk jug (washed!), and treat water a gallon at a time, and stick it in the fridge next to your critter. Then you can be assured that the water is the same temperature.

It's best to just wait. Once your tank is cycled, you won't need to do much other than weekly 20% water changes.