Illness/Sickness: Axolotl not eating :/

D

DerpasaurusRAWR

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I got him a week ago, he ate the first night but hasn't eaten since. He seems happy walking around the tank and is swimming for air fine... tail is a tiny bit rugged but aside from that looks normal.

Could he just be adjusting to a new place?

Its been 6 days so im starting to worry.
 
Have you tested your water quality? What are the parameters? What substrate is he on? He may just be readjusting but it's worth asking as problems can arise when an axolotls environment isn't spot on.
 
I haven't tested the water quality but I've replaced it 3 times and used the drops to decrease the chlorine levels in the water, part of the tank has gravel and the other part is just bare.
 
Gravel is bad. You'll want to remove all of that and just go fully bare bottomed, or replace it all with a thin layer of sand.

What kind of food are you offering? How big is your axolotl? What's the temperature of your tank?
 
He's about 3 inches maybe a bit bigger, I only have the frozen pellets, I asked the guy at the pet store what they ate and thats all he said... im going to buy something different today invade he just doesn't like them. But I assume thats what they would have fed him at the pet store. The water is at 20 which I know is too high .. I've tried putting bottles of frozen water in there to cool it but it doesn't cool it down enough. The guy at the pet store said I wouldn't have to worry about geting anything because axolotls like cold water. So I read up about it and now feel terrible, if I knew that I would have gotten all that stuff before I got the axolotl :/ im looking at fans etc at the moment.
 
Unfortunately, you'll learn like everyone else that pet shops rarely know jack about axolotls. They just want to sell you stuff.

Get some earthworms! Axolotls love earthworms!
 
Oh cool, I will do that, thanks!

I know pet shops just try and sell.stuff but I thought there'd be knowledge behind it! But I thought it sounded a bit dodgy so i looked it up luckily.
 
Just thought I'd add your temps aren't catastrophic to slightly put your mind at ease :happy: it's when temps reach higher than 25 that problems can really begin to occur. Obviously 16-18 is ideal but I wouldn't worry too much. As Kaysie said, earthworms are great! Being as your baby's still tiny you may have to chop them to make them more manageable to eat - approx as wide as the axies head.
 
Blood worms work pretty well too. Maybe not as a staple, but they can tide them over until you can get your hands on some worms.
 
Earthworms are by far the best diet for axies but if they're unavailable and you don't trust digging them up from your garden (due to fertilizers, etc being used) or don't have a garden you can put them on a staple diet of soft salmon/trout pellets. You could also try 'Hikari carnivore pellets' which are usually very easily found in aquatic centers/pet shops supplying aquarium goods. As said, bloodworm can be fed but I don't recommend it as a stable, it's fine for smaller axolotls. If you have a fishing bait shop locally you may be able to get earthworms from there or even online! Hope this helps :eek:
 
You're in Australia :D

Head to bunnings & in the gardening section they sell awesome boxes of earthworms for worm farms - boxes of 500 worms = $25

I keep the box in the bottom of my walk in pantry (cool tiled floor) & a few in a round Chinese takeaway with holes in lid in the fridge it has dirt in it & makes for easy access to worms - I rinse them thoroughly then feed them :)

Or you could always buy a worm farm while you're there.

Bunnings is awesome :)



<3 >o_o< <3
 
Okay so i got worms, and he just seems angry that they're in there, doesn't snap at them at all... flicks his gills then just runs away from in :(

I went to 2 different pet stores and one said they feed it frozen whiting so i also tried that and nothing, also seemed angry that theres something else in the tank with him.

I got a new pump and did a PH test and everything is fine

AGH why wont he eat!

He's also starting to look skinny now too :/


I've read up about fridging on here, is that something i should start considering?
 
Can you post a pic?

Frozen whiting is a total waste of time (saltwater fillet isn't beneficial!) - sadly the pet shop just had to sell you something :(

Fridging will slow metabolism & eating - so not ideal unless your struggling with tank temp.

Posting a pic will help to see if he looks like he's starving or if it is crucial he eats urgently.

What is your tank temperature?



<3 >o_o< <3
 
Also Ph is the least useful test.

The most important tests to carry out are Ammonia / NitrItes / NitrAtes
these will help you work out how your tank cycle is going. Have you tested these parameters?

Tank temp is important too - have you been keeping an eye on the temp? Have you got a good easy to read thermometer in the tank?



<3 >o_o< <3
 
tank is at around 20 degrees.

i THINK he just ate a worm, i wasn't watching him but i cant see it anywhere, he refuses to eat any more.

i havent checked those yet, i will have to get a testing thing soon.
 
DerpasaurusRAWR said:
tank is at around 20 degrees.

i THINK he just ate a worm, i wasn't watching him but i cant see it anywhere, he refuses to eat any more.

i havent checked those yet, i will have to get a testing thing soon.
Click to expand...

The sooner the better ;)

Possibly eating a worm is a good sign - hopefully he'll get back to normal soon :)
(We're all worry warts when we think something's wrong :eek: ) keep a close eye on him & the water testing is really essential - even with water changes you need to know accurately :)

Post a pic if you can



<3 >o_o< <3
 
not very good lighting in here so thats the best i could get.

most of the tank doesnt have the gravel that he's sitting on, i moved it on one side so he could get up for air easier in case he starts struggling when im not watching. (caus he isnt eating)
 

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As said by Kaysie, it'd be best to remove the gravel all together - it causes more trouble than its worth. He doesn't look terribly underweight to me at the moment. I think the best course of action for now is remove the gravel and keep it bare bottom, check your water quality asap, keep trying to get him to eat and monitor his progress. If it's going to be hard work getting a test kit quickly it may be worth putting him in a container so at least then you can be sure his waters clean (change daily, dechlorinated), cool and it will be easier to see if he does eat anything.
 
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