Aerobic decomposition?

Hi everyone. was moving my axie tank around today when i noticed that under one of the ornaments the sand had turned black and as i moved the sand there was a horrible smell.

i pretty much guessed what it was as i remember reading about it. i immediately removed the lotl's and did a water change. the smell has gone now. i have moved the sand and ornaments to check for more but all seems fine. i have pf course removed some sand so it is a really thin layer now.

i have put them back in the tank but so far haven't seen them as they are both hiding. this isn't unusual

just wanted to make sure i have done the right thing. is there anything else i should do? will they be okay in their tank now?

What is your ammonia reading?

You've done the right thing. Removing most of the sand will eliminate the anaerobic pockets. It's not decomposition, but hydrogen sulfide composition. Smells like rotten eggs. Hydrogen sulfide can be deadly to anything that gets in the way of the bubble.

Kaysie said:

You've done the right thing. Removing most of the sand will eliminate the anaerobic pockets. It's not decomposition, but hydrogen sulfide composition. Smells like rotten eggs. Hydrogen sulfide can be deadly to anything that gets in the way of the bubble.

Click to expand...

Yuck and eek in that order !

Is is safe to go back in the water now?

Probably. A hefty water change would be good. If you have a filter/air stone running, the gas will dissipate quickly.

thanks for the help everyone. just a little concern. i originally found the black sand after both axies were getting progressively stressed with their gills turning further forward each day. after testing my water and all was fine i decided to investigate the tank. see if there was something i had missed.

at the time, both axies were eating normally and begging for food if they saw me. but i was worried they hadn't passed any poop and their gills were really curled (hence why i investigated) after finding the black sand i thought all would return to normal.

now one axie is perfectly fine and very happy (and pooping) while the other remains really stressed and won't accept food anymore. i'm unsure if this axolotl has been pooping so thought it maybe constipated and didn't know whether to fridge?

don't know what to do for the best. my water parameters are fine and i figure that if there was a problem with the tank both axies would be stressed. they don't fight either and they seem to comfort each other.