Concerned Axil Dad

[Zack]

Good morning everyone!

My name is Zack and i’m a dad of a Leucistic axolotl named Axil. The origin of his name comes from my country, Algeria, and i found it pretty nice because it has the same base of name. Anyhow, i am concerned about my little boy or girl , i don’t know yet because he is still young. It’s been a month i have him in my aquarium that i will attach pictures with this. Today is the second day he is hiding behind my sponge filter and not move that much. he comes out to eat and eat really well, he doesn’t present any symptoms of stress nor anything (no curled gills or curled tail). i don’t know what to do or what is going on. my water parameters are good ( 0 ppm ammonia , nitrite and close to 0 ppm nitrate). my ph is hovering around 6.5 but not higher and i don’t know what i can do to raise it and make it neutral. so here are my questions. it’s cold now because of winter and the water temperature dropped from 61f to 57f.

1- how can i raise safely my pH and maintain it around 7 ?

2- does the drop of temperature reduce his activity?

3- is the light the cause ? (it’s set at the lowest possible)

Thank you very much for the time and information you’ll provide!

 

[axie.newbie]

Hi!!
I’m not an expert so some of these things may not be true it’s just what I’ve researched/learned!
As for the pH I do not know how to help as I sometimes have the same problem, water changes usually help get mine around 7 (I also put in dried leaves that you can buy which helps).
The temperature could be the reason he’s not moving much, they usually prefer temperatures around 18 degrees Celsius (not sure of what that is in Fahrenheit sorry!!) to 20 degrees Celsius. A lower temperature can slow down their metabolism.
The low light won’t be an issue as axies usually prefer lower light conditions/ shady areas due to their natural habitats being ponds.
But overall I wouldn’t worry too much about him hiding sometimes, he’s likely a little shaken up from being moved and will need a few days to come out and explore, just give him time. Also depending on his age, older axolotls don’t swim around the tank much anyway they prefer to sit at the bottom and only come up for air whereas younger axolotls like to swim around more frequently.
My axolotl also likes chilling near the filters sometimes! Could just be because he likes the moving water.
Hope this helps!

 

[Zack]

Hi!!
I’m not an expert so some of these things may not be true it’s just what I’ve researched/learned!
As for the pH I do not know how to help as I sometimes have the same problem, water changes usually help get mine around 7 (I also put in dried leaves that you can buy which helps).
The temperature could be the reason he’s not moving much, they usually prefer temperatures around 18 degrees Celsius (not sure of what that is in Fahrenheit sorry!!) to 20 degrees Celsius. A lower temperature can slow down their metabolism.
The low light won’t be an issue as axies usually prefer lower light conditions/ shady areas due to their natural habitats being ponds.
But overall I wouldn’t worry too much about him hiding sometimes, he’s likely a little shaken up from being moved and will need a few days to come out and explore, just give him time. Also depending on his age, older axolotls don’t swim around the tank much anyway they prefer to sit at the bottom and only come up for air whereas younger axolotls like to swim around more frequently.
My axolotl also likes chilling near the filters sometimes! Could just be because he likes the moving water.
Hope this helps!

thank you for the time you gave me!!!
your information gives me a big relief! i will take the idea of dried leaves and add them to the tank (almond leaves). i’ll give updates and see how it evolves!
Thank you again!!!

 

[wolfen]

axolotls don't like light much and tend to hide in shaded areas, also although axolotls don't like strong water flow they do seem to enjoy a small amount of water movement over their gills and have been known to hang around filter inlets and outlets.
6.5 is to low and likely to cause cycle crash if not monitored, use bicarbonate of soda to increase the ph gently to 7.4-7.6, test your kh and gh.
ideal temperature is 15°c-18°c (59°f-64°f) although they are tolerant at lower (down to 4°c/39°f for short periods) and higher temperatures (24°c/75°f for short periods), higher temperatures will cause stress and below 10°c (50°f) will cause sluggish behaviour, colder (15°c/59°f) is better than warmer (18°c/64°f) although harder to maintain.

 

[Zack]

axolotls don't like light much and tend to hide in shaded areas, also although axolotls don't like strong water flow they do seem to enjoy a small amount of water movement over their gills and have been known to hang around filter inlets and outlets.
6.5 is to low and likely to cause cycle crash if not monitored, use bicarbonate of soda to increase the ph gently to 7.4-7.6, test your kh and gh.
ideal temperature is 15°c-18°c (59°f-64°f) although they are tolerant at lower (down to 4°c/39°f for short periods) and higher temperatures (24°c/75°f for short periods), higher temperatures will cause stress and below 10°c (50°f) will cause sluggish behaviour, colder (15°c/59°f) is better than warmer (18°c/64°f) although harder to maintain.

thank you for all those information! How much baking soda would be needed for it to go 7?

 

[wolfen]

start with a teaspoon added to a jug of tank water then added to tank, test after 1 hour, if more needed add after 6 hours, (reason for length of time is to reduce stress caused by sudden ph increase).
make sure to monitor other water parameters.