Illness/Sickness: Axolotl not eating...

[wemily]

Hiya, my axolotl Archie has stopped eating, she started acting weird mid week, normally if we tap her slash guard she'll swim over looking for dinner. we feed her a mix of earthworms or frozen bloodworm which she normally loves. she also enjoys the odd finger if waggled in front of her noes

This week she has refused to eat anything, in-fact wont even chase fingers This morning shes been hanging around the top of the tank a lot, floating, which isn't always uncommon for our Archie, she likes burping air sometimes! but not normaly for hours at a time.

Today we have changed her water, rinsed out her sand incase it was bothering her, the water prams where good and still are with the water change. the temp is 17 DC.

She's now stopped floating, seems to be sulking on the sand, and still wont eat or take notice of anything! generally not very active, not her usual self.

She shares her tank with a smaller Axie 'Pebble', they have been together for a while now, so i don't think they have upset each other. Pebble is eating as normal.

Should i be concerned? its unlike her to ignore food!

Thank you

 

[dragonlady]

Excuse the questions, just like to get a better idea of what might be going on.

What are the parameters? Do you use a dechlorinator? What kind of filter do you use and how often have you changed all of her water? If not all, how much water do you remove and how often for maintenance? How big is the tank? How often are you feeding her and how many days has it been since she last ate?

 

[wemily]

Hiya Shannon,

we generally do a 50% water change with dechlorinator every month, we net in between if there is mess and clean the sub every other. We have a fluval filter.. i think it is a U1, we clean that out weekly with dechlorinated water. and change the pads as recommended on the box, we always test strip it and do the am/ni water test and it is always with in normal ranges with no ammonia. the tank is 70L longer rather than high. we feed her 3 times a week and she always eats it all with no mess. she last eat on Monday.

 

[dragonlady]

Okay, so I see a few things going on here that may actually be stressing her a bit. Her gills are facing forward in your pic, so that's why I wanted to ask some questions. In case you didn't know, the forward facing gills can be a sign of stress. btw, is her tail kinked at the end?

This is probably going to sound a bit harsh, but based on the info given and experiences of other members who have been in similar situations, I see some areas for improvement that could be causing her some stress right now.

Generally speaking, 20% weekly water changes are the norm with daily housecleaning, usually with a vacuum. What kind of dechlorinator are you using? Stress coat is popular but it can put a layer of slime on EVERYthing in your tank - not saying you use this, just a little FYI.

Also, I'm a little curious why you clean the filter so frequently? Is it fouling that quickly?

You mentioned using strips, unfortunately, these tend to be inaccurate. The drop type tests, while a little more costly, are much more accurate. Sometimes you can find a master kit online fairly cheap and keep in mind it should give you a year's worth of tests.

Hope this is helpful to you. Love to see her tankmate - she is a cutie!

 

[wemily]

hiya,

her gills just happened the swish as i took the pic, heres a second. she is sitting tight up against the corner of the tank, but her tail isn't kinked, just bent round the corner, looking at her now shes edged forward a touch n is now fully extended.

we have tetra aqua clear, its the same stuff we use on the tropical fish tank. the reason we clean the filter so often is that the we do it for the fish so its easy just to give it a quick clean, its never particularly dirty.

we relised the strips aren't as accurate but we do have some chemical tests that we do if the strips look remotely odd or if the fish/axies look weird. we have checked and they also are fine at the moment.

its got a bit dark since i took Archies pic, but iv added to of Pebble. hes a few months younger then Archie but they are friendly with each other :happy:

I will look at doing a more frequent water change, neither of them are a big fan of water being poured in. but it is netted regualry so there isnt food or any axie solid waste left in the tank

 

[sek]

Hi wemily,

I'd suggest not having a more frequent water change as this will stress your axolotls more. Do a 20% once a week as well as vacuuming. It's the best option to only rinse the filter once a month, as it allows bacteria to build up, and taking the filter out constantly is probably stressing her too. Once doesn't tend to stress axies. Also, does she have a hide?


I hope you can get her to eat.

 

[melfly]

As far as i am aware water changes are only needed when the nitrate test shows it to be.
Your axolotl looks chunky to me (i don't mean fat though) maybe she just needs less food.
How old is she. My adults eat about twice a week (earthworm) if i feed more than this they start to look a bit too podgy.

Mel

 

[wemily]

Hiya melfly

We bought Archie in May last year around 2" and she's been grown steadily since, tehe i guess she is a little chunky, but she's normally a greedy bugger when it comes to food!. shes still not eating i thought it might be a good i dea to stick her in the fridge for the night to see if she improves..

i was wondering if she could be constipated? im not sure when she had her last movement... but shes being a right grump at the moment.

 

[wemily]

Axolotl still not eating...

Help, my Axie still isn't eating,

Last week i posted to say she'd stopped eating. she still hasn't eaten anything! or passed anything! she is doing lots of frantic air trips and being a bit manic 2nite.. not sure whats best to do, really quite concerned... her tank mate is still fine just Archie that is acting up!

has any1 got a suggestion?

 

[dragonlady]

Re: Axolotl still not eating...

What have you been attempting to feed her?

When you say manic, could you describe in a little more detail? Does she seem to be thrashing her head about any or attempting to scratch her gills?

 

[sek]

Re: Axolotl still not eating...

What temperature is your tank? Is she stressed from temperature or another reason?

 

[wemily]

Re: Axolotl still not eating...

We been trying to feed her frozen bloodworm cubes, she usually we eat every single one but wont even open her mouth to try them She seems to have calmed down for the moment this morning n is just gulping air... but last nite she was rushing up to the top of the tank, madly swimming against the edge of the glass like she was trying to escape! if she wasn't doing thats she would float perfectly level about half way up the tank for quite some time b4 sinking and repeating..

she did manage to touch her back foot to her head yesterday! i think it was an accident, it seemed to make her jump

their tank is 19C, if it gets above 20 i add an iced bottle into their tank and that drops it back down again

 

[dragonlady]

Re: Axolotl still not eating...

Sounds like your temp is okay. Are you sure your parameters are all good? I think I recall you saying in your previous thread that they were all okay. I would suspect an ammonia problem or something internal with her.

If your ammonia is right at 0 according to a drop test, then I would suspect a parasite or a small tank invader like planaria so I would give her a salt bath. Some might disagree with this, but it has worked for me.

 

[Crysta]

Re: Axolotl still not eating...

I might be a good idea to video what you're decsribing (if you can?) about the frantic air trips.

 

[wemily]

Re: Axolotl still not eating...

Yes the tank levels are still ok also Pebble is still fine and not showing any for Archie's symptoms. How would u bath an axie? what concentration?

At the moment he is just floating casually at the top of the tank with his head to the glass.. but il keep an eye out for an mental moment and try to capture it for you

 

[HitmanSougo13]

Re: Axolotl still not eating...

Hiya since she hasnt been eating for over 2 weeks to 3 weeks you can consider force feeding. If what you have done still has not helped her, force feeding her 3 times or so would at least give her energy and not cause her to become too skinny. It can give you more time to help make things better for her. Though she still looked like she was in a good weight. You decide what is best. Keep watching her weight!

 

[sek]

Re: Axolotl still not eating...

I would only recommend force feeding if it is your last resort. Have you thought about taking her to the vet? That should be an option.

 

[wemily]

Re: Axolotl still not eating...

Last night I moved a few minnows over from our other tank, they are Archie's favourite treat... I did not get a chance to look this morning, but some have gone tonight I am taking that as a good sign! although she is still being a right grump. It looks to be an improvement. YAY.. I am assuming Archie did eat them and not Pebble. He is not known to eat them before.

I will keep you posted, hopefully she'll return to normal.. more active tonight, although still lots of floating mid tank height .