Ammonia in tank but Axolotl not stressed

[Lil RED]

Hello! So today I cleaned my Axolotl tank and I decided to test the water my Axolotl has been acting great no gill curling or tail curling but I tested the water and it was at 2.0 ppm I immediately changed the water abt 20% then waited abt an hour or two then changed abt 40% and it went down a tiny bit but my Axolotl has been acting happy all day (nitrates are 0) it’s really weird I am changing water and getting my ammonia down ASAP!! Why is he acting fine? He’s also active at night and slow in the day!

 

[wolfen]

Hello! So today I cleaned my Axolotl tank and I decided to test the water my Axolotl has been acting great no gill curling or tail curling but I tested the water and it was at 2.0 ppm I immediately changed the water abt 20% then waited abt an hour or two then changed abt 40% and it went down a tiny bit but my Axolotl has been acting happy all day (nitrates are 0) it’s really weird I am changing water and getting my ammonia down ASAP!! Why is he acting fine? He’s also active at night and slow in the day!

what is the water ph?
axolotls are mostly nocturnal and tend to rest during the day.
how was the tank cycled? nitrates shouldn't be zero

 

[Covey]

Unless your tank is not cycled or planted tank, your nitrates shouldnt be zero.

 

[Lil RED]

Oh my gosh! It auto corrected I meant NITRITES and the ph is 7.8

 

[wolfen]

test the water on the filter outlet for ammonia.
with the ph at 7.8 unless the temperature is at 10°c or lower the free ammonia is at the warning level and he should be stressed, 0 - 0.0250 = safe, 0.0250 - 0.050 = warning, 0.050 > = danger, even at 15°c your free ammonia is 0.0329.
there could be waste in the tank giving the high ammonia reading.