4 days in fridge and curved tail still there

[monomike]

Hey all, my axie doesn't seem to be relaxing or eating after a few days in the fridge. Any other ideas or more advice?

 

[Daniel]

What's the temperature in your fridge and did you cover the container with something to darken the light? With cooler temperatures the metabolism slows down (so the won't need to eat so much) and by covering it you prevent them from too much stress (lights on/off). 4 days is not a long time for an axolotl without any food if its old enough - whats the age and size of your axolotls?

 

[Abrahm]

Not knowing your exact circumstances I would say that fridging was probably not the best option for the symptoms. A bent tail usually indicates that the animal is stressed. In most cases there is something wrong with the axolotl's setup or water quality.

Did you do water tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? What kind of filter do you use? What is the tank temperature? Where is the tank located? What is it fed and how often? Is there any tank mates? What is your water maintenance schedule?

This is a situation where we need to figure out the root problem before we can fix it.

 

[monomike]

Ok thanks for the help. Let's see... I'm not sure of the exact temp of the fridge, but it has worked in the past when I had a fungus problem and housed the little guy there. That might be the problem, but I'm kind of doubtful...

As far as the tank goes, it's about a 240 liter tank and I have been working tirelessly to keep the temperature below 20, generally with success. It spiked a day or two where the temp was a little higher, but I brought it back down and still had symptoms a week later. (Floating and curved tail).
I have two external spray-bar type filters to reduce splashing but still filter the water. I live in a basement apartment and have housed the guys here but plan to move them to my school in a couple days where the temperature is a lot more stable due to the constant air-conditioning. I hope that will help. I feed it mostly blood worms, try soft-pelets with limited success, and even used earthworms for a while but they seem a little big and they worked infrequently. I have tried live black worms and they seemed to like those. I have 2 sub-adult about 12 cm axies in the same tank and haven't witnessed any conflict. The were eating a good bit more a few weeks back but both slowed down a good bit recently. I have been using evaporative cooling and thus have to replace water frequently, about 20% weekly. I also try to suck out waste every couple weeks but there really isn't much. I fugure this also manages salinity from the evap cooling so I keep at it. Oh, and I have monitored ammonia consistently and it is good and low. The tank has been cycled for months now. I have been using large gravel for a substrate and am planning on moving to sand when I move the guys to school in a few days. I think the gravel is big enough but am through risking it. I've lost 4 of six juvey axies and am doing all I can... Help!

Thanks again!

 

[monomike]

Oh, and I have covered the guy in the fridge too! Thanks!