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Axolotls showing signs of stress after being reintroduced to tank

marlin234

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Hi all. Recently my cycle crashed after a power outage. I tubbed my axies for ~2 weeks while I reseeded the tank from another established tanks media and recycled.

My ammonia and nitrite had been at 0 for 2 days while adding their dirty tub water so I added them back into today after acclimating (I also did a ~40 percent water change to get Nitrate below 20 ppm).

They looked good for a few hours but recently have seemed very stressed, they are thrashing about, gill scratching, occasional floating, in general looking very unhappy.

Current parameters:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10

Temp 66 F (was the same in the tub)

I used Prime during water changes and Stability during the cycle. They are 2 ~4 year old female axies in a 55 gal.

Any ideas what this could be? Is it just stress from being re-acclimated to the tank or should I tub them again?
 

marlin234

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Yes - forgot to include pH it is 6.8. I know it's a bit low but I have crushed coral in there to bring it up. GH and KH I have not - I have the API liquid test kit, what can I get to measure those? I've never used any salt solutions in my tank so maybe my hardness could be off?
 

Calgarycoppers

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That pH could be causing some stress and yes low pH can be a sign of low GH.

Its an API test kit with both in it - I test monthly now that mine is stable with adding Johns solution.
 

marlin234

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Thank you - I just re-tubbed my axies because they seemed very stressed. They are immediately more relaxed in the tub.

If they are happy in fresh dechlorinated tap water, what could be causing the difference in the tank water? In the meantime would you suggest I add John's solution to my tank?
 

marlin234

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Thanks so much. I ended up doing a 75% change on the tank, reintroduced the axolotls and have seen no signs of stress since. In the meantime I have ordered the materials to make Johns solution and will be adding it as well.
 
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