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Axolotl not eating

megpo21

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Hello, all! I posted this on another forum before I found this one that's specifically for axolotls, but I thought I should post it here too!

This is my first post on this website and I have come here with an urgent question. For approximately 1 1/2 to 2 months now, I have noticed that my axolotl’s appetite has been diminished. I chalked it up to the cold weather, as I live in the basement of my apartment complex and it’s rather cold down there. I thought that perhaps his metabolism had just slowed down…

Anyhow, recently my filter broke and I had to buy a new one… The one that I bought is rather loud and has a heavy flow. I haven’t managed to find a store in my town that sells the cotton to put in the filter to quiet it down yet, but it’s on my to do list. Anyhow, I have been alternating turning the filter on and off because I noticed something about my axolotl…

He has always had white dots on his face and gills and I figured that this was just part of his natural appearance. However, when I noticed that he really wasn’t eating much and that the white spots were getting bigger, I googled them and learned that this can be caused by high water flow and/ or stress. I figured he was really stressed by the filter, so I have been trying to reduce the flow in the water.

Now, he is eating less than ever. For this entire period of two months, he usually would snap at the pellets that I dropped for him and then spit them back out (he’s very sassy so this is not completely out of character for him). However, he was still eating the pellets off of the ground up until recently. Now, I have noticed that he’s not even eating them off the ground and they are just melting into piles of sludge...

Basically, my question is, is there something wrong with the environment of my tank, is my axolotl sick, is there something wrong with the way that I’m feeding him or raising him? What is going on here and how do I help get rid of the white dots on his face and improve his appetite?

He’s a 4 year old, wild type male. I have raised him since he was a one inch long baby. He lives alone in his tank. The tank has fine sand at the bottom, some typical fake aquarium plants and decor and a terra-cotta pot that I busted a hole in to make a cave with a big rock on top to divert the filter flow. I haven't noticed him getting really skinny yet, but he definitely does look a little slimmer than usual.

Thanks for your help!
 

Chinadog

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I think you need to diffuse the flow from the filter, Axolotls get very stressed by moving water. I use a spray bar on the outlet that's pushed into a piece of filter sponge, this stops the water movement without affecting the turnover of the filter. Turning the filter on and off is probably making things worse. The bacteria in the filter rely on a constant flow of water and quickly die in stagnant conditions. I would test the water for Ammonia and Nitrite to make sure the new filter is still properly cycled. I think once you've corrected his conditions he should bounce back, especially if its very cold water.
Hope this Helps.
 
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