Axolotl gill-hair loss.

[melissuhh]

Hello, so i need some help.
i recently changed my axolotl from a 10 gallon tank to a 20 gallon. he seemed alright with the switch, but several days later i noticed his gills seemed a more faded shade of pink than usual; almost tattered looking.
when i came home the next day the hairs on his gills had disappeared.
his eating and activity seem normal, and he seems actually really happy with the new tank.
when i first changed his tank the water temperature was a little high, around 74-76° F (which is very unusual) over the next day it went down to 70° F and is currently at 68° F.
i was wondering if the water temperature could have been the sole cause of this? should i try to lower the temperature more? if so, what ways are safe?

here are some pictures, the one at the end was him before the tank switch.

 

[lea]

When the gills disappear like that it usually means a water issue. Seeing that it is a new setup are you doing daily 20% water changes? are you doing daily water testing?

 

[melissuhh]

thanks for getting back to me. :]

yes, i've been doing both. everything is normal except the ammonia is slightly high, which i'm guessing is just because the beneficial bacteria hasn't caught up with what my little dude is putting out.
so today i bought one of those bottled bacteria things, and just put it in. figured it couldn't hurt, right?

he seems to be doing better, and it looks like his gill hairs might are growing back. but im not sure, it just looks like super tiny hairs are coming back around the outside.

how long should it take for them to grow back?
and should the bacteria i added keep the ammonia levels down for awhile?
or is it a constant struggle to maintain the right balance?

it seemed like i was doing everything right in his first tank, and now it feels like i'm just running into problem after problem.

 

[Jenste]

The bottled bacteria generally does not work for the main reason that bacteria needs an oxygen supply to survive - - bottle it and your oxygen supply disappeares and the bacteria you want dies long before it gets to the pet store shelves.

Water changes are your best bet for removing ammonia safely.

Think of it this way - - the best thing to give a fresh water species, is FRESH water