Axie hasn't eaten in a month!!! HELP

H

helen

Guest
I've just bought an axie. Never had one before and I got the works - temp control and filters and everything - but it won't eat. I've had it for over a month and it only ate once (at least that I know of) in that time. I tried leaving food in a dish a couple times just in case the scare factor was putting it off but it never looked like it ate any even though I gave it a few hours or even overnight/whole day a few times. Its still moves around though. I've got the temp thing set to 18C like I've been told although the other temp gauage has been saying more like 20/21C. No way I can lower the temp without it being too cold and flucuating all over the place. I've tried fresh beef heart/liver/kidney, fish meal, axie pellets and frozen bloodworms. The time he did eat, it was small pieces of beef liver on a skewer but its a bit hard to skewer bloodworms! Tried using tweezers but makes no difference. Hes a fairly small fella though (about 15cm) - is it possible he just doesn't need more food yet?

HELP Please!
 
Hello Helen and welcome to the forum. try giving your axie earthworms. they love them! waht do you mean by temp thing? do you mean a heater? if so then you dont need a heater in with your axies. do you have a thermometer? if not then id advise you to get one. if the temp really is 21C then try to cool the water down by putting ice bottles in or blowing a fan over the top. where abouts are you living?

oh and axies only need to be fed every other day just incase you didnt know.
happy.gif
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(Copy from previous thread "How I can do hand-feeding")

You don't need a heater at all for axolotls - they prefer cold water. I am also in Australia and ambient winter temps here are perfect for them. What you will need most likely is some type of cooling strategy in summer - be it a fan, ice blocks or ordinary room airconditioning is perfect. Queensland - how hot does it get roughly in summer?



(Message edited by waltona on June 23, 2005)
 
Hi again!

Well, I got some snails and some feeder fish on the weekend. I've been told that the axies love feeder fish and hopefully it might spark his appetite. Won't the snails and feeder fish need the heater? Mostly I got the heater because the temp in my unit flucuates pretty wildly and I thought it better to have a steady temp.

Also, got the nitrate and ammonia kits as well - water was well within the acceptable ranges so its not that.

Queensland can get pretty hot but I'm not to sure about my area as I only just moved here. Generally in middle of summer between about 28 and 48C. Plus, I don't know how much effect the unit will have on temp too.
 
Most people here will advise against feeder fish as they can introduce disease. Try prawns - all my axies love them. Regarding the temperature thing, A couple of years ago I lived in a non climate-controlled house (no air-con) through both summer and winter. Summer temps used to hit around 35C in the house but the axies made it through ok.

I just picked this out of the other thread you posted on -

"I've been doing complete or half water changes once a week (use a water treatment then on the town water) and I change the wool in the filter then too."

If this is the case, I would say your tank hasn't cycled yet and this would be stressing your axie maybe. What exactly were your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings - we need this to determine if the tank has cycled or what stage it's at.

(Message edited by waltona on June 29, 2005)

(Message edited by waltona on June 29, 2005)
 
Helen,
Stop taking advice from the people that told you about heating and feeder fish. Check here and Indiana University axolotl colony site for axolotl advice. Your tank can't get to cold for the axolotl unless the water starts to freeze. I would try small earthworms or pieces of earthworms to entice the axolotl to feed. I would depend mostly on axolotl pellets or shrimp pellets for food. In the U.S. I use salmon pellets.
 
If there is any ammonia at all present in your tank it is either not cycled or could be very dangerous for your axie. I feed feeder fish occasionally to my axies but they are bred at my home and just little guppies. Keep your cage as cold as possible if it reaches over 21 degrees it will be very stressful for your axolotl so keep it as cold as possible.
 
Helen - You may want to check out caudatas sister site http://www.axolotl.org
for axolotl care information.

And also the axolotl colony site: http://www.indiana.edu/~axolotl/axolotls/faq2.html

Pet stores do not always give sound advice when it comes to axolotls.

As others here have said; you do not need a heater, axolotls need cool water under 20C. Feeder fish carry parasites and can nip your axolotls gills off,so they are also not a good idea either.

If you want to keep tropical fish and snails they should have their own tank. Axolotls should only have axolotls as tank mates.

There isn't an "accepted range" for ammonia and nitrite they should both read zero.
 
Hi! Well, he finally kicked the bucket. Who knows what it was. He used to spend a lot of time sitting under the heater though. Trying to remember back, I think the nitrate was at .5 and the ammonia was .2. I might have another go in a month or two - just in case it was the whole biological filter thing that was wrong. Of course, he may have been a bit sick when I got him and the stress of moving and a pretty new tank was just too much.

Thanks for all your help guys. I'll probably ghost for a couple of months until I decide to give it another shot.

Seeya
 
Helen - If you decide to get another axolotl do keep your tank running now to let the tank finish cycling. Remove the heater now or 4 days or so before you put an axolotl in the tank so it has time to cool down, and you may need to baffle your filter or turn it down if it has that option so there is little/no current in the tank.
 
My Shakespeare once went without eating for 3 months! But I live in QLD, Australia and it was summer time. Are you handfeeding him? Try that.
 
LCD: Dead = Kicking the bucket.

Cynthia: Yeah - I was planning on keeping the tank going as I've got all the plants in there and snails and feeder fish. I figured it would give the biolgoical filter a good chance to kick in too. Can the faily big tank snails handle the cold temps that axies like?

By the way, the feeder fish that I got were in a aquarium in a pet shop with axies and the axies there had just recently spawned (or whatever you call it) so I figured that they must all (inc fish) be pretty healthy.
 
Helen - Most snails can live in axolotl tanks with out heat.

Spawning isn't always an indicator of good health and feeder fish are not always good tankmates/food regardless of their health. I do not recommend keeping fish in with axolotls because of gill nipping, diseases and parasites.

It would be a good idea to get a test kit that will allow you to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph.
 
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