Tank issues possibly affecting lotl, advice please.

[Skinward]

Hello everyone, so this past weekend I did a full tank drain, clean, and refill. I put new sand in, washed out my filters and cleaned all ornaments. In the past when I have done this, after about 6 hours my tank was crystal clear, however this time I have some cloudiness as well as some sort of white slimy, strandy type of stuff that has developed over the past few days. My ph, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are 7.8 (working on lowering it little by little), 0 ppm, 0 ppm, 0 ppm. Im not sure what this is as its the first time it has ever happened, and this will be the probably 6th time I have done a full change out. Along with this issue I noticed my lotl has developed a few white spots on his body. I'm looking for some guidance on whats going on with my tank and how to fix it, as well as whats going on with my lotl and how to remedy that as well. I appreciate any insight you all can provide. I have attached some pics of both my lotl as well as some pics of ornaments and one of my filters to show the white stringy stuff.

In case these are quality reduced here are the thumbnails

 

[WaterLily05]

Hi. Do you do new sand every time? This looks like sand dust. How did you clean the filter? You may have destroyed the tanks cycle if you washed it in tap water.

 

[Skinward]

Ya I change the sand everytime I do a FULL change out but not with small changes. I did wash it in tap but I have done it the same way all other times and have never had this issue. I thought it was sand at first as well but the web stringy looking stuff and the little floaty things on the filter itself look like slime things. Also not sure whats going on with the white spots on my lotl. They came about 2 days after the water change and its the first time I have ever noticed them.

 

[WaterLily05]

Ya I change the sand everytime I do a FULL change out but not with small changes. I did wash it in tap but I have done it the same way all other times and have never had this issue. I thought it was sand at first as well but the web stringy looking stuff and the little floaty things on the filter itself look like slime things. Also not sure whats going on with the white spots on my lotl. They came about 2 days after the water change and its the first time I have ever noticed them.

May I ask the reason for changing out everything? How often do you do it? You just throw away the old sand or what?

Axolotls produce poop, which breaks down into ammonia. Ammonia is toxic and will kill your axolotl. This is why tanks grow beneficial bacteria. The beneficial bacteria converts the ammonia into nitrites, then into nitrates. Nitrites are ALSO toxic and can harm your axolotl. Nitrates are only toxic in high numbers. Regular partial water changes keep nitrates in check. They should never go above 30 ppm. Beneficial bacteria grows and lives in your filter media and on your substrate (sand). When you switch out the sand this takes a lot of the VERY important bacteria away. When you rinse your bacteria in tap water, which is FULL of chlorine, this kills the bacteria too. Now you have a tank with no way to process the ammonia and nitrites into the safer nitrates. This means your axolotl is living in the toxins of its own waste, which is a constant irritation and can lead to severe burns and death. The process of allowing your tank to grow the needed bacteria is called “cycling”. You should never have to change your sand, I’m sure that gets quite expensive? When you want to clean your filter, get a small bucket of tank water or dechlorinated water and rinse it in that, instead of direct tap water.

I am going to guess that the white stuff on your axolotl is fungus, caused by poor water quality. I have no first hand experience treating fungus, but have heard that Indian almond leaves can help, as well as keeping the water pristinely clean. I would highly recommend live plants in your tank if you can. They will use up some of the ammonia and nitrates while your tank cycles again. Look for Amazon Swords, these are low light plants (axolotls do not like bright light) that develop sturdy root systems your axolotl shouldn’t be able to dig up. They do need root tabs though as they take most of the nutrients up through their roots. You should also look for duckweed, frog bit, or azolla. These are floating plants that will eat up tons of nitrates.

 

[WaterLily05]

Also i would guess the white stuff in the tank is algae of some sort perhaps. What kind of lighting are you using?

 

[Skinward]

I change everything only because I assumed the sand got "dirty" even though it looks ok, but yeah it does get expensive at 30 bucks a bag and i use 2 bags. I have been checking my ammonia nitrate and nitrite levels every day since water change and it is all at 0 ppm. my ph was a tad high at 8 but I have brought it down to around 7.5 the past day or so. I use de-chlorination stuff since I live in the city and I am sure it has loads of chlorine in it. The only light that gets to the tank is natural light thats coming from windows about 30 feet away so it's not direct. I do have an led light on top but i only use it when i go to feed and i turn it off after im sure that the food has been seen. I have a 40 gallon tank and am running 2 40 gallon sponge filters in it. I have some of the indian almond leaves but last time I used them it turned my water kind of tinted like ultra watered down coffee but I will toss a few in there. I did this water change on Sunday and the white stuff started to form in the tank on Tuesday as well as the spots on my lotl. I figured fresh water that was de-chlorinated and ph balanced, as well as 0 ppm on the big 3 would be ok as far as water quality, but maybe im missing something on that? Like I said I did my usual routine and the past 6 times have been no issue so im not sure what I did wrong on this one. Should I do any water change like 20% or anything or just toss in some indian leaves and see where it goes? I read doing water changes can potentially worsen the issue but again I am unsure. I appreciate the feed back.

 

[WaterLily05]

I change everything only because I assumed the sand got "dirty" even though it looks ok, but yeah it does get expensive at 30 bucks a bag and i use 2 bags

I’ll bet you are glad to learn that’s not necessary! It doesn’t need changed. If it starts to look dirty, you can buy a siphon from Petco or something and such out any dirt you see.

I have been checking my ammonia nitrate and nitrite levels every day since water change and it is all at 0 ppm. my ph was a tad high at 8 but I have brought it down to around 7.5 the past day or so

what do you use to test the water? A ph of 8 should be fine for an axolotl.

The only light that gets to the tank is natural light thats coming from windows about 30 feet away so it's not direct. I do have an led light on top but i only use it when i go to feed and i turn it off after im sure that the food has been seen. I have a 40 gallon tank and am running 2 40 gallon sponge filters in it

that sounds like a wonderful setup for an axolotl!

I have some of the indian almond leaves but last time I used them it turned my water kind of tinted like ultra watered down coffee but I will toss a few in there.

the tinted color is the leaves releasing tannins. They will not harm the axolotl, they are good. Once the axolotl has fully recovered from the fungus (If that’s what it is) you can do a water change (about half of the water) and it should dilute it.

I did this water change on Sunday and the white stuff started to form in the tank on Tuesday as well as the spots on my lotl. I figured fresh water that was de-chlorinated and ph balanced, as well as 0 ppm on the big 3 would be ok as far as water quality, but maybe im missing something on that? Like I said I did my usual routine and the past 6 times have been no issue so im not sure what I did wrong on this one. Should I do any water change like 20% or anything or just toss in some indian leaves and see where it goes? I read doing water changes can potentially worsen the issue but again I am unsure. I appreciate the feed back

it could be biofilm. I am not sure why it’s there this time, but I dont think it is anything dangerous. You could do weekly 50% water changes and throw in the almond leaves. A 20% water change today couldn’t hurt if you are dechlorinating the water. Fungus can also be caused by a lowered immune system, which can be caused by stress. It may have been stressful when you changed out the sand and have nothing to do with the water quality. It sounds like you are doing a great job for your axolotl!