Illness/Sickness: Axolotl sick? Please help!

[AlexandraVdB]

Hey, I have a question about my axolotl.
I got her (?) for my birthday last week and this is my first axolotl, I had however already read up on them. When I got her she was on gravel because the shop had recommended that to my mother (they also kept them in water of 24 degrees Celsius), I immediately switched to fine aquarium sand and her water is now about 19/20 degrees. I was however worried that she may have swallowed some gravel, when she sits you can sort of see it inside her. She seemed to act normal, ate and pooped twice in two days.
Yesterday when I came home from work I found some gravel and I think most of it is out of her now, but she didn't want to eat anything yesterday and this morning she ate some worms but it was like she couldn't swallow them and they just fell out of her mouth. The last time she pooped was yesterday morning, and her behaviour seems unchanged . I did remove my filter, because even though it hardly made a current and I blocked it with a large stone it seemed to be causing a lot of stress.
Is there something I could do?
Thanks, Alexandra!

 

[Zobug]

Wait so your tank does not have a filter in it? If so that could potentially be a reason as to why your axolotl isn't eating. What are your water parameters? Axolotls are messy animals, and they need a well-cycled tank to keep up with their bio-load. If you've removed your filter from the tank and your tank was previously cycled, you've likely crashed your cycle because most of the beneficial bacteria live in the filter media. There would be some on the substrate/tank ornaments, but not enough to keep up with your axolotls output. I use a spray bar with my tank to reduce the flow, and I've found it works really well. I would personally suggest that.

 

[AlexandraVdB]

Thanks for your answer! My tank wasn't cycled when I got it so I'm doing 20% water changes as I read on the forum that that is advised, is that ok? I had only put the filter in yesterday morning but she seemed very stressed in the evening and I removed it, there really wasn't any current but she freaked out. It seems like she is really interested in the food, and tries to get it but it's like she can't swallow it, I give her frozen bloodworms and pellets.