Change in behaviour/unable to eat

[Gim]

Hi all,

We are having a particularly hot summer here in the UK at the moment. My axie is 5 years old and has never been sick, he has been fridged before over summer but we usually manage with an azoo tank fan and ice bottles. I was offered the lend of a brilliant tank chiller so jumped at the chance and installed it last wednesday (24th July) I also fed him some pellets. Since then he has started to act differently, not swimming, just moving round the bottom. He is also very friendly and would normally be snapping at fingers etc when you go to put food in. At first he wasnt even following us but now we have that back he just seems now to be making very half hearted attempts at snatching food up then giving up.

The tank chiller was completely washed through before use, i have now put the inlet/outlet pipes together and have bolstered the out flow with a carbon sponge to stop the current so much.

is it normal for an axies behaviour to change this much with the introduction of something like this? i have the chiller set to 18 degrees C in the tank.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Gemma and Heafy *(o_o)*

 

[Quentari]

In cooler temps your axie would move less, possibly not at all (they are lazy) and in higher temps they tend to get active.

 

[Petersgirl]

Agree with Quentari. Temp, along with water quality, is one of the biggest factors for an axolotl's behaviour and health. Cooler water makes them lazy and less inclined to eat because they don't need the energy as much - he hasn't gone off you by any means, he just feels very chilled is all!

My axolotls love fingers. I was sorting out a filter that was refusing to give me any output when I felt a cool pressure on my left ring finger. I think Toothless took a liking to my engagement ring and thought she'd help herself to some bling! >.< (Don't worry - my engagement ring is a completely flat silver ring, no stones or claws for her to get snagged on or swallow).

 

[Gim]

Still having trouble getting food down him. Water conditions are nh3 0mg/l no2 0mg/l and no3 80mg/l I will do a water change to get the nitrates down a bit. He still won't snap, is 18 degrees really enough to have this much of a change in behaviour. The highest he was reaching before the chiller was only 22 degrees centigrade? I have turned the chiller off and gone back to the tank fan just to see if it was the current stressing him out. Getting quite worried :/

 

[mewsie]

Still having trouble getting food down him. Water conditions are nh3 0mg/l no2 0mg/l and no3 80mg/l I will do a water change to get the nitrates down a bit. He still won't snap, is 18 degrees really enough to have this much of a change in behaviour. The highest he was reaching before the chiller was only 22 degrees centigrade? I have turned the chiller off and gone back to the tank fan just to see if it was the current stressing him out. Getting quite worried :/

You definitely want to get those nitrates down, for sure!

With regards to feeding, it could be many factors, two of mine seem to be extremely fickle and sensitive to temperature/water conditions changing, and I really wouldn't be surprised if this is the case with Heafy.

Get the nitrates under control, maybe in a couple of water changes, and try and keep the current minimal as it does really upset them. It may just be that so much has changed recently (temp up/down, nitrates up, current higher) and he's just feeling a bit out of sorts.

I have found that when Albi and Chester are being difficult, dropping a pellet directly over their head usually makes them snap enough to take in a small pellet. If I try and get a worm down them when they are being like this, they'll just spit it out.

If you get really super concerned and Heafy starts getting skinny, I have found that bloodworm is almost irresistible to them, no matter how grumpy they're feeling.

I would recommend that gently scooping Heafy into a tub to feed bloodworm is a lot less messy than bunging a cube into the tank. With frozen bloodworm, remember to defrost it in a little bowl first, so he doesn't get ice cream headache

Edit: I meant to say - yes, a couple of degrees colder can make quite a big difference (it certainly feels different to my hands when they go in the tank!), and I agree with everyone elses comments about the colder temperature slowing him right down. When axolotls are sick and need to be refrigerated, they will move very little and usually won't eat at all, for example.

 

[Petersgirl]

It's worth mentioning too that a fat, well-fed axolotl can survive for 1-3 weeks without food and they won't eat in the cold. Just keep offering a variety - bloodworm in a jar or separate container is popular as Mewsie suggested - as well as pellets, worms if they'll take them or blackworms - and see if they'll eat. He should take food once he's a bit calmer and warmer.

You can also get your nitrates down by using live plants as well as water changes, if it helps. I've only got java moss balls atm - my Mini Water Lettuce and Java Moss died because I couldn't give them enough light (Toothless gets really grumpy if I turn the tank light on!).

Hope your boy starts to look better soon!

 

[Jen10s]

Just wondering whether the temp change might have been too sudden? When I connected by chiller, I had to lower the temp gradually over a week so they didn't go into shock.

Also, I added a spray bar to my chiller's outlet hose to diffuse the current and faced towards the back wall of the tank - might help???