Anxious newbie with ammonia problems - suggestions/solutions needed!

[Ernest Cable]

Hi all, I've had my axolotl for about a month and, having joined the forums, realise I've made a lot of rookie mistakes. Things were going fine for about three weeks and then I started getting this weird white stuff growing (pic attached) in the tank. I freaked out and cleaned out the tank, changed the filter, and got rid of the elodea I had in there, and of course totally crashed my cycle (I realise this is hindsight only). I'm now trying to fix the problems and would appreciate any help/comments/advice people have.

1. Re: the ammonia- it was 2ppm a week ago and since then I did one 50% water change, one 25% water change, and one 10% water change (one every second day). It did get down to 0.5ppm at one point, but never to zero, and currently back up to 1.5ppm. I was testing for nitrates and nitrites every other day too (all dipstick testing) and was always 0. Current water parameters below. Any advice for how to get on top of this? Would getting some new live plants help? Local aquarium has suggested Bioboost? Worth a shot? Has has seemed fine, but gills starting to look a bit stunted (pics attached) so getting worried now :/

2. Re: probable overfeeding. I now realise all this has probably stemmed from me overfeeding. I have been trying to read through old posts to sort out how much he should be getting. He's 6 inches/15.5cm and I don't know how old (I have had him a month - calling the source store tomorrow) but I had been trying to restrict to once/day and remove non-eaten food. He has been getting a block of frozen (irradiated) bloodworms (TMC gamma blister), but I also have some Axolotl junior pellets (NT labs).
I'm confused about whether he should A: still be fed daily on basis of being a juvenile or f I should switch to every 2/3 days B: how much to feed - I have been feeding a whole block of the worms which might be too much? and I have seen people talking about feeding 2 - 3 pellets a day, but these are tiny pellets? Any advice welcome.

3. If anyone knows, I still don't know what the white stuff is and there is some in the tank still so if anyone has any ideas about what it could be and what to do with it I'd really appreciate it!

Picture of set up attached (37L/8 - 9G tank) - he is behind the log hide.

Current water parameters:

KH 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
pH 6.8
GH 14
Ammonia 1.5 ppm

 

[EllieWind]

Right now your best bet would be to tub your axie and do daily 100% water changes (for the tub, of course) while the tank is re-cycling. A bio booster can help kickstart the cycle a little, or some filter media from an already cycled tank if you have access to one.
The white stuff that was appearing in your tank is just a slight buildup of bacteria and is completely normal/harmless. Using a scrub on the glass when you do water changes will reduce the amount of buildup.
Hope this helps!

 

[JM29]

I notice there are no plants in the tank.
Most aquatic plants uptake both NH4 and NO3
Aquatic plants with a rapid growth will consume ammonium.
https://dianawalstad.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/biolfiltration2017a.pdf

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

Hi all, I've had my axolotl for about a month and, having joined the forums, realise I've made a lot of rookie mistakes. Things were going fine for about three weeks and then I started getting this weird white stuff growing (pic attached) in the tank. I freaked out and cleaned out the tank, changed the filter, and got rid of the elodea I had in there, and of course totally crashed my cycle (I realise this is hindsight only). I'm now trying to fix the problems and would appreciate any help/comments/advice people have.

1. Re: the ammonia- it was 2ppm a week ago and since then I did one 50% water change, one 25% water change, and one 10% water change (one every second day). It did get down to 0.5ppm at one point, but never to zero, and currently back up to 1.5ppm. I was testing for nitrates and nitrites every other day too (all dipstick testing) and was always 0. Current water parameters below. Any advice for how to get on top of this? Would getting some new live plants help? Local aquarium has suggested Bioboost? Worth a shot? Has has seemed fine, but gills starting to look a bit stunted (pics attached) so getting worried now :/

2. Re: probable overfeeding. I now realise all this has probably stemmed from me overfeeding. I have been trying to read through old posts to sort out how much he should be getting. He's 6 inches/15.5cm and I don't know how old (I have had him a month - calling the source store tomorrow) but I had been trying to restrict to once/day and remove non-eaten food. He has been getting a block of frozen (irradiated) bloodworms (TMC gamma blister), but I also have some Axolotl junior pellets (NT labs).
I'm confused about whether he should A: still be fed daily on basis of being a juvenile or f I should switch to every 2/3 days B: how much to feed - I have been feeding a whole block of the worms which might be too much? and I have seen people talking about feeding 2 - 3 pellets a day, but these are tiny pellets? Any advice welcome.

3. If anyone knows, I still don't know what the white stuff is and there is some in the tank still so if anyone has any ideas about what it could be and what to do with it I'd really appreciate it!

Picture of set up attached (37L/8 - 9G tank) - he is behind the log hide.

Current water parameters:

KH 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
pH 6.8
GH 14
Ammonia 1.5 ppm

View attachment 86894

Hello!
Couple of things
Your ammonia is definitely way too high. Toxic levels are really anything over .5ppm. Over 1ppm becomes lethal pretty quickly. You should tub you axolotl until you can at least get the ammonia level down and stable. I would also recommend getting a liquid test kit. Strips are not accurate. Do 100% changes on the tub daily. Live plants can help lower nitrate levels, but that's not your problem right now. Adding beneficial bacteria can certainly help reestablish you bacteria colonies, but it will still take time to get the tank cycled and stabilized.

A 9 gallon tank is also way too small for an axolotl (which explains part of your ammonia issue). The bare minimum requirement for an axolotl is 20 gallons. Axolotls grow quickly and produce a lot of waste.

At 6 inches, he really should be transitioned onto earthworms (cut into pieces if they're too big). Bloodworms are fine for babies, but are basically like feeding them french fries. There just is not much nutritional value to them. My usual food rankings in order are european night crawlers, red wigglers, pellets, and repashy grub pie. Feeding daily is also fine at that size. Some of how often you feed will depend on the tank temperature. The colder the water, the slower their metabolism.

 

[Ernest Cable]

Thank you so much for the advice everyone - the ammonia level is coming down and am hoping to get on top of food too. I'm looking at large tanks for him too. I've noticed a lot of axolotl lids have a mesh top. Mine is mostly covered (it has vents) - is this just for oxygenation or might this help with keeping ammonia down too?

 

[Ernest Cable]

I just wanted to say thanks so much to everyone for all your advice - tank is now fully cycled and axolotl is happily back in - thank you!

 

[EasternRomioi3]

Oh that's wonderful news! Glad things worked out.