Anorexic? Martini hasn't eaten for ages.

C

casey

Guest
Hi guys.

Martini hasn't eaten properly for ages. She was eating a couple of pellets per week and maybe some beef-heart but for over a week now she hasn't eaten anything, or tries to eat and then spits it back up.

She is very skinny and her gills have deteriorated. She also has little red spots (blood?) behind her gills. I have seen her scratch here so I'm not sure if that's what has caused the spots.

She often leaves her mouth open a tiny bit, like she's just letting water go into her mouth and she's become very lethargic. When she does try to eat it's like she can't open her mouth wide enough.

The temperature is around 20c as I have a chiller and Stella, my other axolotl, is doing just fine, active, eating heaps, nice healthy size etc.

I'm beginning to think that Martini is trying to die.

I don't know what to do. Please help.
 
Need more info.

What do you use as substrate in the tank?

Have you tested ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte levels? In any event, water changes never hurt.

Have you tried salt baths? Scratching can be a sign of parasites or fungus.

Pictures always help.

Also, have you tried feeding black worms, earth worms or bloodworms (if frozen, defrost and pour off the liquids)?
 
I use sand, checked the levels a week ago, so I will check them again tomorrow, I do regular water changes - once a week about 25%.

Tried salt baths for a week, seemed to make her worse.

she doesn't like earth worms at the moment and the last big meal she ate was over a month ago and that was black worms which she loved. I haven't tried her again with them because I don't want to pick her up and stress her out and I only like to feed them to her live so I have to take her out of the tank and put her in a bucket to do that. Otherwise they wriggle into the sand.
 
Some members suggest using tweezers and dangling them in in the axie's face. That would be a stress-free way to try to feed her.
 
Okay I've tested the water. My Nitrates are really high. PH is at about 6.4, Ammonia & Nitrite both 0.

I know that plants can help to lower nitrates, as well as water changes. I've got 4 live plants and have been doing regular water changes of about 25%.

Stella seems unaffected by the nitrate levels. Is it possible that this is why Martini isn't eating?

Jinny - thanks for the advice, I use chopsticks to feed redworms or beefheart etc to my axies so it's not stressful for them (I don't want to put blackworms in the tank), or I put pellets in there, which they are both capable of hunting for - Stella finds them easy but Martini just doesn't seem like she can be bothered with them.

Do you think it's a size difference and that maybe Stella is dominating the tank? Martini seems to have shrunk. Stella is about 19cm now and Martini's probably only 14 or 15cm.
 
probably not size related unless stella is picking on martini. i know that high nitrates can affect fish so i dont see why they wouldnt affect axies...
 
Do a bigger water change, or take Martini back out and put her in fresh, clean water. You should test your tap water (if that's what you're using for water changes), and get a baseline nitrate reading. The pH is also kind of low. How hard is your water? Maybe you could find some limestone or sea shells to put in the water to raise the hardness and pH slightly.
 
I put some crushed sea shells in the water but it didn't do anything. Do I maybe need one big shell?

I don't know where to get limestone from either.

I'll check the nitrate level in my tap water today.

I don't want to put Martini in the fridge because it seems to have made her worse when I did that last time and I can't leave her out in freshwater in my room because it's going to be 41c on the weekend and the water will get way too hot.

If I do a big water change will it affect the natural bacteria?

Thanks for the advice.
 
no- unless of course you clean every single little piece of ick out AND clean all the filters lol.

i assume the shells would take a while to work, shells are pretty hard so i dont think they would be quick to leach?
 
The water change will not affect the bacteria population. They cling to many different surfaces and usually aren't floating in the water.

Also, regular water changes will prevent your ph from dropping so low (i.e. if you haven't done a water change in a while, the accumulation of nitrAtes and food/poop particles led to the ph drop).
 
My Shakespeare has not eaten in nearly two weeks. It is the Australian heat. Last year was the same and the same before. I really freaked out. Hope this eases your mind.
 
Thanks LCD but it isn't the heat because I have a chiller so the water is at a constant 20c.

Here is a pic of Martini.

Her head has changed shape and she's moving very slowly, she's also gashed her tail and and behind her gills.

I don't know what to do. I don't want her to be in pain.

52613.jpg
 
WOW! she almost looks like shes morphing! is her chin usually that way or was she just eating in the photo? i think its the chin swelling that indicates heart/some organ failure? not to alarm you, please someone correct me on that organ failure signs thing.

she really doesnt look the best, if shes not morphing and wont start eating soon i think you may have to let her go :'(
 
Swelling and bloating is a sign of kidney failure, but I don't think it would be localized swelling. You'd have fluid buildup over the whole body.

Maybe she is morphing, her tail is very small. That's very weird, Casey. I just don't know.
 
how is she today, i lost mine at christmas he had those blood marks but had fungus with it. the swelling is local has she got a blockage that has become infected? her top fin also looks narrow has this disapeared as mine also lost his fin. sorry not much help but i would try and get a look inside her mouth.
 
I'm no expert on this but she does look to me like she could be morphing. They loose the gills and the dorsel fin and the they change shape. I know how unusual it is for it to happen but that's how my first 2 died (both within days of each other)I would provide her with a way of getting out of the water if you can. Mine drown because I didn't realise what was happening.
 
Her chin has only been like that for the last few days. It is permanently like that, she's not eating in the picture.

I can't get a look inside her mouth - i've been trying but she won't open in wide enough. From what i can see it looks normal.

Her fin used to be big but it's narrowed over the last couple of months and her gills used to be quite big, but they have also deteriorated of late.

If she doesn't get better i will euthanise (sp?) her. I can't bear to think that she might be in a lot of pain.

If maybe she's morphing what should I do? I can't lower the water because of where the pipe goes in from the chiller.

I'm completely broke at the moment so I can't afford a new tank or anything either.

I can't see any sign of fungus.

She stays in the same spot for most of the day, then she'll move somewhere else and stay there.

I did see her swim around the top of the water really quickly about three days ago for about 30 seconds - like she was trying to find a way out. Maybe she is morphing.

What should I do?

thank-you everyone for your help. It's nice to have people to help you when something like this happens.
 
I think she is mophing looking at her, especially the gills and tail. You can provide a land space for her using rocks and driftwood, even using sand and bricks.
 
Is it possible to move her to a container like a big bucket or large plastic container or bin and lower the water as much as poss and put something in the middle for her to get up on? Sorry, that's assuming you have something like that.
 
I've bought a big rock so that she can get up on it if she wants. I want to give her the best chance, I just hope she is morphing and not in pain.

I can't move her to a bucket because it's 40 degrees celcius here today and she will just boil to death in that kind of heat.

Hopefully I've done all I can for her.

Anymore suggestions are very welcome.

(Message edited by caseyb on January 26, 2006)
 
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