Worry about my Aks - gills and dark points

Korney Volkov

Korney Volkov

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Guys please advise what's up with the gills of my axolotl ?
this is not the only one problem, he rejected food for 1.5 weeks, but yesterday finally started to eat shrimps.
so now i worry about the gills and dark points on his head

in Russia it is quite difficult to find any help regarding axolotls, so i hope on you
thanks in advance
 
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Can you post a picture of your axolotl?
Also do you have a water test kit? It would help to know the water parameters:
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Temperature:
 
snuggly time said:
Can you post a picture of your axolotl?
Also do you have a water test kit? It would help to know the water parameters:
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Temperature:
Click to expand...

ammonia is less than 1 (that is minimum according to the test scale)
Nitrite is 0.1 or about
pH is 7.5-8.0 and i try my best to reduce it by 7
temperature is always less than 18
thats why i also feel sick )
 
but these are current values, i haven't checked them once i filled my first aquarium - that was a gift, with axolotl inside )
and actually i'm novice - so first time was "watching only"
 
He looks a little skinny, what do you feed him? Their stomach should be around the same width as their head.
The ammonia may be slightly higher than ideal, I would do a 50% water change. If you keep getting ammonia readings I would change around 20% of his water each day to dilute the ammonia.
 
skinny i think because he rejected any food for about 1.5 weeks, earlier i feed him with fresh bloodworm (3-4 units per day), but once i noticed he puked all the food - and after that there were 1.5 weeks of rejection.
now he eats a bit of shrimps
i add some fishtamine in the water
change about 40-50% of water daily
water is from"started" with all requirements aquarium,
 
i wish he was not skinny. but i also afraid to overfeed him ((
 
Have you tried earth worms? He may like those :D I don't think he is too skinny.

What is Fishtamine? Is it to remove chlorine?

Where are the dark points? if they are the black/ grey specks on the head then these may natural colours.

Can you add a photo of the whole aquarium too?
 
no i haven't tried yet

i tried dried gammarus (sometimes eats, sometimes not)
liver (eats, but food rejection started right after 2 days of liver feeding)
bloodworms - eats always, but i heared that there is a risk of helmints and other bad things, also tried to wash bloodworms with Potassium permanganate fluid, but axolotl spits out all food ((
now i've got advice to feed him with fresh-frozen shrimps, he eats about 2 small pieces.

now he is in a small temporary aquarium, big one (60*30 and 35 height) looks this way
http://s14.postimage.org/wc6je17j5/IMG_2054.jpg

fishtamin is a "Multivitamins for a strong immune system"

i prepare water with aquatan, and big aquarium is started with "filter biostart"
 
Thank you for adding the photo of the aquarium.

I would advise you to remove all the gravel. When axolotl feed they gulp in their food, they will accidentally eat the gravel too. This may get stuck inside your axolotl and cause problems. The gravel also traps lots of waste which will affect the water quality.

Your axolotl will be fine on a bare bottomed tank, or you could add well washed play sand.
 
gravel units are much bigger than his mouth, really much, i choosed this gravel cause some units are of his head size ) and this gravel is chemically neutral (it was written on the package).
this gravel is rather fresh, i changed everything in aquarium 2 weeks ago (seems like there was Saprolegnia, so i handled axolotl with mycopur and baktopur, and put new and better filter, large gravel and artificial plants)
and did x-ray examination, no gravel inside axolotl
 
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as about bare bottomed tank, i also tried it.
but it was difficult for him to move along the tank (feet slided on the glass). yes he has wonderful tail, but my axolotl also likes to pace )
 
Then you need to ue a fine sand substrate. Any gravel you have need to be 1.5 times the size of the axolotls head. "some of them as big as his head" means most of them are smaller than his head, greatly increasing chances of impaction.
Axolotl naturally scavenge for food by sucking in substrate and spitting out everything but food- meaning he will suck in the gravel. But because it's bigger than a find sand, he will not be able to spit it up.

So, you need to remove the gravel immediately.
 
It seems your axolotl has been through illness and tank changes, maybe he just needs time to settle and adjust?

I still would however advise removing the gravel, even if you think it is large enough not to accidentally swallow, then be aware that all the waste will become trapped below. This will cause problems with your water quality.
 
ok, i will do.
today i put him in a big tank (5 hours ago) and seems like he feels good - curiously walks and swims around
 
This is not my axie but from somebodys post its a real xray of a axie that swallowed 2 stones
 

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just for your notification,
put off the small gravel
1/8 of water changes everyday,
fine aeration,
no strong waterflow
2 small pieces of fresh-freezed prawn, daily

and my girl acts and looks rather fine and curious as usual
and moreover, not so tiny :)
that isthe way she met me 2 days ago:
IMG_2920.jpg

(gills are still weak, but seems like they are regenerating)

the only question i have is - should i look for bigger tank ? the girl (i hope she is) is about 12 cm long... rather young
now my tank is 60*30cm and 45cm height, but water height is 20cm only (i still worry whether more water will be good for her ?
i've found a tank that is 80*30cm and 40cm height, perfect for the shelf, and i like it :)
 
and the plays with air bubbles, floats up and down and back ))
 
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