Cause of Death

[Quentari]

So a friend of mine had two axolotl in a 10g tank (2ft by 1ft). Had a filter, some sand and some fake plants. Changed about 20% of the water every week and rinsed out the filter every so often as it got dirty quickly.

Then one of her axies died.

It was a white albino, and she's not sure what caused it. I didn't get a chance to check the water for her but she does have a photo of it before it died. Apparently it started floating the night before and was going sideways, I advised her to put it in the fridge because I assumed it was an air bubble but it passed away in the night. From the picture it looked healthy enough, chubby with fluffy gills and no curling of the gills or tail, and it's tank mate is fine. The only thing is its gills went dark, but other than that and the floating it looked okay. If it was nitrate poisoning wouldn't the gills lose their fluff? It probably wasn't ammonia because it didn't go that harsh veiney red. I'm mainly worried because i want the other one to stay healthy (especially since she's given it to me because she's worried she can't take care of it properly)

 

[Mortimer]

Did she check her water parameters? A 10g is too small for two axolotls that size (I'm assuming they're similar in size). Is the other one still seeming to be okay?

 

[Quentari]

Did she check her water parameters? A 10g is too small for two axolotls that size (I'm assuming they're similar in size). Is the other one still seeming to be okay?

She got rid of the water before I got there (she didn't have anything to test the water with) and yes they were the same size. I didn't even know she had two untill she offered me the other one. The other one is still very healthy though, he's now at mine enjoying a freshly cycled cool tank filled with baby guppies for him to snack on fluffy gills and on the chubbier side (could be chubbier, but by no means starving).

She mainly wants a bit of closure on the cause of death. It was probably the water...