Axolotl Shedding and Refusing Food

[granny.izz]

My axolotl Nacho has recently started shedding and refusing food, last time she ate was 2 days ago and she had 2 sinking pellets.

Water parameters:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: I don't have a test but I'm assuming low as I did a 50% water change a week ago.
Hardness: 130ppm
pH: 7.5
Temperature: 18 - 19°C

I'm at a bit of a loss, I did a 25% water change yesterday and she made no improvement. Her gills have also started shrinking.

Her tankmate Chilli also passed away on the 7th of October when their 280L tank bursted, Nacho suffered minor injuries, she quickly recovered, I'm not sure if it's relevant by I guess more information helps.

I'm so incredibly grateful for any help.

 

[Autistic Catholic]

I'm sorry to hear about Chilli. I know how much you loved her. All I can think of is that it may have something to do with the tank bursting...??? Maybe she incurred an infection that is now starting to manifest???

 

[wolfen]

with her shedding skin and shrinking gills I would normally say that there is ammonia issues but your test is coming back as zero so there is something else that is caustic in the water, is she in the same tank that burst, if so was the silicone cured before placing back in? if its a new tank has it got traces of any cleaner in it?
it might be an idea to tub her until the cause is found, also try to get the temperature more near fifteen degrees to aid in healing.

 

[granny.izz]

I'll drop the temperature today, I put her back in her old tank when the big one bursted and I cleaned it with concentrated vinegar, rinsing it out before filling the water back up. Her old tank was really left to collect dust but it still had its lid on it, I'm not sure if anything would have gotten in. Would doing another big water change help? I'm also reluctant to tub her as her tank has a chiller, a tub does not and in Australia we're getting 30°C days at the moment.

 

[wolfen]

be careful about using strong vinegar near the silicone on the aquarium as it can soften the silicone and is used to remove excess, I can't find anything towards acetic acid being harmful to axolotls so I don't think it's the vinegar or the silicone if it is acetic acid based.
you could probably make holtfreters up as that should help make the water more inhabitable and should protect against nitrogen compounds, also make sure the water is as oxygenated as possible.
also which dechlorinator are you using?

 

[granny.izz]

I wasn’t aware that vinegar softened silicone. From what I saw, it only made the water slightly more acidic for a day or two. I added some holtfreters and lowered the temperature to 16*C. Her shedding seems to be decreasing and I saw her eat a pellet this afternoon. This is really bizarre though, her water parameters have been on point forever.

I’m using Aquasonic’s goldfish conditioner, my rainwater is naturally soft so this product contains minerals that harden the water and dechlorinate it. It doesn’t contain any iodine or malachite green, any of that.

 

[wolfen]

does the aquasonic container have the ingredients listed as I can't find a listing anywhere.

 

[granny.izz]

The package says it contains sodium chloride, magnesium sulphate, calcium sulphate, potassium chloride, strontium chloride, sodium biophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium thiosulphate and acriflavine. It says it raised the GH by 120ppm and salinity by 225ppm. I know the GH is fine, is the salinity too high?

 

[wolfen]

225ppm salinity is very low, if the water doesn't have any other minerals in it then 120ppm/6.7° is low for axolotls, by the looks of it it raises the salt/mineral levels a lot less than 50% holfreters would.
some of the ingredients are more for condition/medication than others, sodium thiosulphate is a dechlorinator and acriflavine is a fungal medicatine.
some are ph adjusters, sodium biophosphate is ph down where as sodium bicarbonate is ph up (also kh up).
the general hardness is increased with calcium sulphate and magnesium sulphate.
non of the ingredients have been reported as harmful to axolotls at such low levels.