Why would it be odd? And i actually have the nitrite test, but i don't ever use it because whenever i'm at work and i test nitrates and they're high/low, nitrites are normally the same.. i realize they're two different things, but i guess i might wanna test for it.[/
Hi,
From what I can gather some level of nitrates show in a cycled tank (with ammonia and nitrites showing 0 due to only trace amounts being present). When there is a 0 nitrate reading, it would typically make one think that the tank is still cycling. As your tests are showing 0 ammonia and nitrates without a nitrite reading for comparison, it could be that your tank is in the second phase of cycling where the bacteria is readily converting the ammonia to nitrites, but nitrites are not yet being converted to nitrates. (Sometimes, it also means I didn't shake the nitrate test bottle #2 well enough and so get a wonky reading!)
That being said, there can be times where a tank is understocked, over-filtered and/or has lots of nitrate eating plants causing the nitrate reading to be minimal in a cycled tank.
How is Cheese doing now? Might be useful to have some information on whether your tank is established and for how long? Given little Cheese's behaviour, it may be wise to test your nitrite levels and retest your nitrates if you didn't shake the bottle/tube vigorously.
Have you added anything new to the tank recently or given him different food? How do you do your water changes? There have been some threads on the forum of axolotls having had negative reactions to changes to tank/food and also using filtered water for water changes.
Hopefully, you are able to work out what the issue is and Cheese will be feeling better soon!
