Axolotl baby dying

I have a roughly 3 month old axolotl. I got it from someone who had Axolotl eggs.

The lady was out of the city when I went to get it, and had her mother who was caring for them meet up with me. I chose the largest leucistic, with glowing genes. She had maybe 5 to 6 juvis total in a Tupperware container. Once I chose one, she got a plastic baggy and filled it up with fresh spring water, scooped the Axolotl up with a fish net (and squished it against the side of the container, might I add?) and then dumped it in the bag.

The moment I got in my car to head home the little Axolotl stopped moving, and looked dead. I immediately got out and walked back to the lady's mom and it bega to swim like normal. I was worried that changing the water like that was much too harsh for it- but I did not know a thing about Axolotls for sure, only fish, so I reluctantly took her word for it that it was fine.

I put the Axolotl in a 1.5 gallon tank with only an inch or 2 of water. That is what she recommended, so I could tell if it was eating. It swam a tiny bit every hour or so, and that was it. Then I noticed it was floating, and unable to get to the bottom. I'd catch it trying to swim down and then floating back up without being able to control it. I read that it can be stressful for Axolotls to not be able to get to the bottom and that I should lower the water level low enough to keep the Axolotl's back covered.

The next day, I tried feeding it Frozen Brine shrimp (which was the diet they were feeding as well). It was not interested at all. It's activity also dramatically decreased. I thought maybe it was freaked out and needed to get used to being without tankmates and such. Nothing improved over the next new days. I had also read that Axolotls could be very inactive- but with further observations I realized that it couldn't possibly be the case.

All the Axolotl does is float around slightly leaned to the side. It has not ate in my presence, and will not move unless you touch it or remove it from the water(I;ve done this only to see if it was even alive). It does not even flick it's gills very often now. It's so lethargic that if I flip it upside down with a spoon it will take minutes to even consider flipping itself back over.

Could she have crushed it's organs? I noticed a golden dust/shimmer to it's stomach- could it be velvet? The gold is very noticeable- but I have no idea if it was there before.

What can I do? I've never see a creature SO lethargic before.

The tank temp is at 70.

First of all, you need to lower the tank temperature. Get it in the 60's, and quick like.

Also, what is the state of your tank? Did you say 1.5 gallons? This better be temporary; an axie needs at least a 10 gallon. As a juvie, this might work until it gets bigger as long as you keep the water quality good. What type of filter do you have on the tank? Did you treat the water first? Have you tested it?

Also, I know this seems like a basic question, but you did thaw the shrimp first, right? If shrimp aren't working and she's big enough to take them, you might try food pellets instead.

If the woman you got it from was careless enough to squish the axie and "dump" them, as you say, then maybe her advice wouldn't be the best to begin with.

As far as the floating goes, unless I'm mistaken I think that sometimes younger axies might get a gulp of air and cause a bubble which makes it difficult for them to control their buoyancy. It might last a week or two, but shouldn't be harmful.

The gold shimmering could just be the color of your axie

EmbryH said:

First of all, you need to lower the tank temperature. Get it in the 60's, and quick like.

Also, what is the state of your tank? Did you say 1.5 gallons? This better be temporary; an axie needs at least a 10 gallon. As a juvie, this might work until it gets bigger as long as you keep the water quality good. What type of filter do you have on the tank? Did you treat the water first? Have you tested it?

Also, I know this seems like a basic question, but you did thaw the shrimp first, right? If shrimp aren't working and she's big enough to take them, you might try food pellets instead.

If the woman you got it from was careless enough to squish the axie and "dump" them, as you say, then maybe her advice wouldn't be the best to begin with.

As far as the floating goes, unless I'm mistaken I think that sometimes younger axies might get a gulp of air and cause a bubble which makes it difficult for them to control their buoyancy. It might last a week or two, but shouldn't be harmful.

The gold shimmering could just be the color of your axie

Click to expand...

It's definitely temp. I know they need a minimum of 10 gallons. I've dechlorinated all water put in the tank, I have not tested it, but it is cleaned everyday to make sure food isn't decaying in there since he/she doesn't seem to be eating and there is such a small amount of water.

First things first, have a read through this: Caudata Culture Species Entry - Ambystoma mexicanum - Axolotl - It will give you at least the very basics in axolotl care.

I feel the "meeting" was very irresponsible to be honest. You should have waited and visited to previous owners home, inspected the axolotls conditions and done a lot more research before making your purchase. I may sound harsh, but I feel appropriate action has to be taken when you're meeting a stranger, be it a pet you're buying or a kitchen table. A lot of people just see $$$ signs. However, whats done is done.

You need to invest in a larger tank as axolotls usually grow pretty quickly and for the time being raise the water level. The fact he has barely any water probably contributes somewhat to his lack of activity. How large is the axolotl? If he's refusing brineshrimp there are many alternatives. You could try frozen bloodworm, soft trout/salmon pellets, Hakari carnivore pellets - All readily available. The best diet for axolotls is earthworms, if you can get some they will need to be chopped roughly to the width of the axolotls head.

What do you have in the tank with him; Any plants, hides to help reduce stress?

It is always best to monitor water quality to ensure it is a healthy environment for your axolotl to be in.

Temps can be lowered using cheap, effective methods such as placing a fan over the water surface or placing frozen ice bottles in the tank (you will need a lot of bottles). the best, but most expensive method, is to invest in a chiller if you have trouble keeping the water cool.

Could you post some pictures please?