Question: Ammonia Poisoning?

[Mona]

Hello,
I apologize for not introducing myself and my axie and starting ahead with a question but I'm just too worried to do it at the moment.
I have just returnd from holidays and for 10 days my 2 year old axie was in "care" of my mother who apparently dropped more pellets in his tank that he was able to eat and let them to foul the water. I immediately noticed that his gills were unnaturally pale and he was very letargic. I immediately tested the water quality and the results showed extremely high levels of ammonia.
Of course I have made the water change but I wonder if there is another treatment you would recommend for his condition.
Is there a chance that his gills will turn to normal colour again?
What damage does ammonia poisoning do to an adult axie? Except of the gills I don't see any changes but I'm very afraid some other invisible damages may have been made, for example to his eyes etc.
Please help.
Thank you very much!

 

[xxianxx]

Excessive ammonia strips the protective slime layer off the axolotl , it then burns the skin and damages the gills making it more prone to fungal infections, as long as you change the water and keep an eye out for fungal infections it should be ok in the short term. I dont know what the long term implications are, if any.

 

[Mona]

Thank you for your reply. I continue with the daily water changes but the axie still doesn't look much better. His gills are pale and he is spitting his food out. I feed him axolotl pellets and he always ate them without any problems. Now he snaps them as usually but he seems like he can't bring them down. He just chews them and spits them back out. I would be very grateful for any ideas about this problem and how to solve it.
Thank you!

 

[Jenste]

If there was food left over, he probably gorged himself until he literally couldn't fit any more food.

Hold off feeding for a few days and keep him clean, calm and quiet.