Cat is drinking tank water will it hurt axel

L

louise

Guest
hi, new to all this axolotl stuff and have a few question if you don't mind.

my tank sits on a cupboard in my motel reception room, my cat satan drinks the water from the tank will this put germs in the tank and make axel sick.

also should i cover the tank at night as i have to leave some lights on.

i have live plants in the tank and some are dying, should i remove them as soon as i notice them doing so.


is there any other fish that can live with the axolotls that he won't eat or won't eat him.

at the moment axel is very sick and only being new to all this i'm trying anything to get him well again. i have a wonderful pet shop helping me with medicine.

any help would be great thanks
 
You should cover the tank, as if the cat decides to play with the axie, it has been known if you search the forum you'll find stories about it, it can kill your axie.

The best companion for the axolotl is himself or another axolotl. Fish can pass parasites onto your axie especially if it isn;t quarantined. They may also nibble the axie gills. If it has spiney fins and the axie decides to try it (they do have big mouths) the spines can impale the axie and get stuck down its throat, also another story on forum. So basically, if you want a happy healthy axie, no to fish and cover it with a lid.

If there's heaps of bright lights either cover the top with a cloth or if you stick floating plastic plants in or as long as it has a cave to hide in when lights are on.

Remove the dying plants as soon as poss as it will add extra waste and can invariably stress or make your axie ill.

What do you mean by sick? Are you sure your cat hasn't got to him at all? Any scratches or wounds?

How long have you had him?

Did you cycle your tank prior to adding him? See: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

What is the temperature of your tank? Axies prefer cooler temperatures and anything above 22 degrees will stress and make your axie sick. You need to cool your tank if this is the case. Do not use icecubes. Use a fan blowing across the surface of the tankwater. The lights will also heat tank, are you able to move it to somewhere cooler? Or use frozen bottles of dechlorinated water in the tank. Not too many. Just before one melts completely, swap it for another frozen bottle otherwise fluctuating temperatures also stress your axie.

(It has to be dechlorinated water as straight tapwater frozen/icecube form can make your axie sick and invariably it could die, if the bottle burst and the water wasn't dechlorinated. - This happened to an axie owner a few years back.

You should be careful what they recommend you as fish medicines can be very toxic to your axie and kill him. Post here what ingredients/medicine is before doing anything.

If your axie is stressed/ill usually the best place for it is the fridge (this cools them down/slows their metabolism down to give it a chance to heal and also destresses them).
 
hi Heihei, thanks for your reply

the cat doesn't play with axel, satan just drinks the water.

i removed the dying plants this morning but now the water is very misty looking.

axel was floating and gulpping air. pet shop lady got on this forum and some-one said to lower water level and watch the water temp, he might be stressed as well.

i have lowered the water level, he now has a pipe he lays in too.

after read some other posts i'm thinking of putting him in the fridge, should i put some of his water in a container with him or get fresh stuff. just a bit scared that it might be too cold for him in there.

i did cycle the water had the tank set up for about 3 weeks before i got him. but didnt know about testing for bad stuff.

i have melafix for any bacterial and other illness and protech as he isn't eating.

i have only had him 2 or 3 weeks, only got him as my daughter wanted one, now she don't want to look after him so its up to me.

really dont want this little guy to die because of something i might have done or didnt do right.
 
how big should the container be that i put him in for the fridge stay?
 
Ok Louise, don't bash yourself up about it; there is alot of people that end up at this site because of problems and not knowing things and then they find this wonderful site.

You need a food safe container - ie, anything food's been in, but be careful not to wash in detergent/dish wash liquid/powder as residue could harm your axie. All my empty icecream containers now get rinsed in hot water, then washed in with baking soda and water and left to dry.

Basically any container with a lid that he will fit into lengthwise without bending his tail. (I know someone used a roasting dish and one of the fridge vegetable bins solely for their axie when they fridged them!)

Your tank wouldn't have cycled in 3 weeks and would need to have done daily or every 2 day waterchanges to keep it safe for him to live. If you don't have the water test kits, take a sample of the tank water and get your petshop to test it for ammonia/nitrite and nitrate and give you the figures (write it in a notebook so you have a record of it - I keep one in with my freshwater master test kit box)

First test your fridge. Place a thermometer in a cup or glass of water. Check it in about 15mins-30mins. If it is 5 degrees or above then it's safe enough for your axie. They prefer colder temperatures anyway.

Then Put your axie in the container and fill with fresh dechlorinated water (tapwater with added water conditioner/ager/dechlorinator to remove the chlorine and chloramines).

Put the lid on (no need for holes as cold water has more oxygen in it. the lid also stops your axie jumping out of the container while in fridge).

Wrap with teatowel or other cloth and place in the fridge. (to stop fluctuating temperatures and the lights flashing as the door opens and shuts for normal usage)

Fill a bottle (softdrink bottles are fine) with dechlorinated water and place in the fridge too. (this is to be used to replace the water in the axie container the next day and has to be the same temperature as his axie container - you have to do complete daily changes.) Remember to fill it up or place an extra bottle in their so you have plenty.

Also, regarding your cat he may only drink the water now and I have read on this forum similar threads then they've found their axie on the floor beside the tank or in the tank with scratches/tears to their skin. Remember anythng that moves for a cat if it's small enough they'll play cat and mouse and bat it around. Just because nothing has happened now, it can and will in the future happen; so it's always safer to keep something (either a mesh topping with small enough holes or glass lid so they can't get their claws/paws in. If the cat's thirsty it can drink from it's own container. I have 5 cats/3 dogs and I don't take the chance, mine are covered.

I've kept one of my babies in the fridge for a week, my sister has had hers in for at least 2.5-3 weeks, when they've been sick.

The cold water slows their metabolism down so they may not eat. But it also gives your axie a chance to destress/calm down and heal if needed.

Don't use the melafix or anything yet. Wait till you've tested the tankwater, come back here once you have results, if unsure. Your axie may not be eating because the water conditions could be stressing him.

Also, what have you been trying to feed it?
 
i have been feeding him meal worms (hope that is how you spell it ) he hasn't eaten for about a week now.

he is in the fridge, this is his 3 day. i have been doing the 100% water changes, but he isn't looking any better.

i got the water tested lasted week and the pet shop said it was very close to being right.

they didn't give me any numbers but will get the water tested again tomorrow, also will try and get a pic of him on there too. he is still kind of floating in the water.

i will get glass cut for the lid too.

thanks
 
when you get it tested take a little book/pad and ask them to write it down. " very close to being right" really isn't acceptable for them to say when it means our axies will suffer but then some petshops tend to do it .

With mealworms you should be decapitating them/chopping heads off, as they can nip/hurt an axie as he tries to swallow it. Also, try and get other food, preferably find a source of earthworms - mealworms are not a good primary food for your axolotl whereas earthworms are excellent, also try an axolotl pellet (there's an aquarium science and master foods brand which I'm sure is avail in Oz. My sister's don't eat them but I'm trying to get my babies to take them as an alternative food to earthworms.

He's only been there a few days - but so he doesn't float tip a bit of the water out so it covers his body but his feet rest on bottom and he doesn't float. Same for waterchange just tip enough to cover him.

(Message edited by heihei on February 05, 2007)
 
ok i have the water tested yesterday, Nitrite 0 the other N 0, Ammonia 0 and PH 7.6.

pet shop said water is now ok.

Axel is still in the fridge but is moving around more. looks happier too.
lol.gif


how do i move him from fridge to tank without stressing him ?

i have frozen water bottles to float in his tank to help keep the temp down.

will find a bait shop today for earth worms.

i have removed the gravel and have pool flitter sand, plants and a pipe for him to hide in, trumpet snails and next week i will have fresh water muscels.

is there anything else i should be doing ?
 
ok at those readings your tank is not ok

All of them being 0 means your tank is NOT cycled.
The nitrate should have a higher reading than 0.

Leave him in the fridge till your weather is cooler and your tank cycled.

I wouldn't advise getting fresh water mussels - the best companion for an axie is another axie or just himself. Your axie could get caught in the mussel when it opens and closes (it's damn sore when I've got my finger stuck in one let alone what it would do to your poor axie). Who advised you to get these as companions?
 
hi Kapo, i read on here that the mussel would be ok as it will live in the sand and help with dead spots. ok so i will cancel the mussels and get another axie. thanks
 
You can get rid of deadspots by moving the sand round, ie use the turkey baster daily or every couple of days, we run ours in rows through the sand lengthwise/crisscross in each tank, then once a week or fortnight do the same with siphon and gently shake it so sand falls back down. We also lift/tip the decos/caves over to do under them (our axies get quite put out especially if their head's stuck in one of the pipes! We haven't, as yet, had a problem and only axies are in the tank, no other fish/snail/mussel etc... Tho one of my tanks has a bunch of daphnia in it, to clean the green water in it.
 
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