Unknown problem with Axolotl

[Ryan-Broady]

Hi Guys,
I'm a new axolotl owner and have had Larry (my axolotl) for 5-6 months now. Recently, I've started noticing that Larry isn't eating and she's starting to act differently. She doesn't move as much as she used to and shes started digging. I didn't really think anything of it but then she started dry heaving yesterday (This is when I noticed it, I'm not sure if it's happened before). Larry hasn't really been eating for a few days now. She's been on bloodworms since I've had her but a few weeks ago she started losing her appetite and eating less and then it turned to not eating anything at all. I've tried Daphnia and larry just turns her nose up at it. I've moved over to earthworms and for about 2 days she was eating them but now she won't touch them. I tried her again with bloodworms today and she walked away from them. I've done some research and they all point to stress of some kind but the water tests are coming back good (pH of roughly 6.4-7, no nitrate or nitrite, low levels of carbonate). So ive ruled out water chemical stress but I could be wrong. I've thought about the water flow is too strong so ive raised my pump above the water and lowered the power of it too as little as possible. I have also noticed a degradation of her tail. It almost looks like its wilting so any information on this would be massively appreciated. I've put in a picture of the tank, im aware that there is no covers for larry to hide and im currently looking at getting some plants and a main feature that she would enjoy. I'm a little worried about getting the wrong plants or where to get them so any information on the best plants etc would be appreciated (also the light is rarely on and has been used today for the pictures)

 

[Murk]

She doesn't look all that stressed to me, based on the pictures.

From the story, I could see two obvious causes for the loss of appetite:

- Too much ammonia. You have no plants and yet zero nitrates? Is the tank cycled? High ammonia levels would make sense if you spot tail problems, but on the pictures she doesn't seem to have any other ammonia symptoms. A simple ammonia test should be enough to rule this out.

- Impaction seems much more likely. Do you usually feed the blood worms like this, by leaving it on the sand? In that case, she eats some sand with every bite. Feeding an adult on blood worms requires a lot of bites, so she's basically eating huge amounts of sand. An impaction would be likely, and would explain the loss of appetite, the heaving and the odd behaviour.
Do you have sight on whether or not she still poops? If you can, keep her in a tub without sand for a few days - see if she stills poops and, if so, how much sand is in it.

It's not something to immediately panic about (axolotls can go a few weeks without food), but you do want to get to the bottom of it.

 

[Ryan-Broady]

She doesn't look all that stressed to me, based on the pictures.

From the story, I could see two obvious causes for the loss of appetite:

- Too much ammonia. You have no plants and yet zero nitrates? Is the tank cycled? High ammonia levels would make sense if you spot tail problems, but on the pictures she doesn't seem to have any other ammonia symptoms. A simple ammonia test should be enough to rule this out.

- Impaction seems much more likely. Do you usually feed the blood worms like this, by leaving it on the sand? In that case, she eats some sand with every bite. Feeding an adult on blood worms requires a lot of bites, so she's basically eating huge amounts of sand. An impaction would be likely, and would explain the loss of appetite, the heaving and the odd behaviour.
Do you have sight on whether or not she still poops? If you can, keep her in a tub without sand for a few days - see if she stills poops and, if so, how much sand is in it.

It's not something to immediately panic about (axolotls can go a few weeks without food), but you do want to get to the bottom of it.

Thanks for the help Murk,
Concerning the ammonia, I have conducted a few tests and there is no (or very little) ammonia in the water. With the feeding, I usually hold the bloodworms in front of her with a turkey baster and if she doesn't eat it then I place it on the sand in case she gets hungry later on but i will refrain from doing this in the future. Would you suggest removing the sand to reduce the risk of impaction?

 

[Murk]

Sand always poses a risk for impactions. This seems like very fine sand, so chances are good she'll poop it out eventually (if it is an impaction - could still be something else entirely).
Sand has a lot of other benefits for the axolotl, tank and water quality, and aesthetics, so I wouldn't suggest removing it - as long as you are aware that it comes with a small risk.

I would suggest not leaving food out on the sand. It's basically impossible for the axolotl to eat food like that without also eating sand. If you want to give her the time to search for the bloodworms and eat at her own pace, put the bloodworms on a small plate, piece of slate, tray, etc. - same effect but without the risk of eating so much sand.

 

[Binditheaxolotl]

Thanks for the help Murk,
Concerning the ammonia, I have conducted a few tests and there is no (or very little) ammonia in the water. With the feeding, I usually hold the bloodworms in front of her with a turkey baster and if she doesn't eat it then I place it on the sand in case she gets hungry later on but i will refrain from doing this in the future. Would you suggest removing the sand to reduce the risk of impaction?

I’m super late, but that Ph is much to low. Axolotls prefer 7.4-7.6