Covered in veins

[Dominick]

Five days ago my axoltol died after showing some very strange behaviour; I tried fridging him but it was too late.

One of the signs that stood out to me was that his body was covered in veins that weren't there before. Here is a picture:



Could this be a symptom of something? I tested my water for NO2, NO3, GH, KH , pH, Cl2, NH3 and NH4. Everything is okay, except for the pH, i'm not sure about that. It is possible that my pH is too high (8.0 - 8.4). My water supplier says that their median is 8.2 (I don't get why they not just put an average on their website...)

But could this be connected AND be fatal? What can I do to lower the pH (since water changes obviously won't help).

 

[Chinadog]

There are additives for lowering the ph available from tropical fish outlets, or adding genuine bog wood will also lower it slightly. 8.5 seems fine to me though.

 

[Dominick]

Most municipalities treat their water so that it is within a few degrees of pH 7 (neutral). My local water is 7.2 after treatment. For axolotls, a pH of 6.5 to around 8.0 is acceptable, but 7.4 to 7.6 is probably ideal.

This is what's I found on the axolotl.org website, that's why I am a bit worried. And that's the only thing out of the ordinary I could find that could have had something to do with the death of my axolotl.

I will check for some additive to lower the pH, because the difference between 8.0 and 8.5 is quite big if you ask me (with my limited chemical knowledge).

But the question still remains: what could be the cause of those veins? Could it really had something to do with the pH?

 

[rachel1]

Ammonia is more toxic in water with a higher pH. You didn't list your specific readings, but assuming ammonia and nitrite were 0, that would be ruled out. Ammonia poisoning will cause dark veins and behavioral changes. It's certainly possible that keeping an axolotl in a pH that they are not adapted for could put stress on the animal long term and weaken it's immune system. Septicemia and some other poisonings will also present with dark veins and would result in death pretty quickly.

 

[Dominick]

You are right, I forgot to specify. I measured NO2, NO3, GH, KH , pH and Cl2 with JBL EasyTest strips so I don't have exact measurements, but everything was in the OK-zone (except for the pH).
When looking at the strip, OK means:

Cl2 = 0
GH = > 7°dGH
KH = 6-10°dKH
NO2 = 0 mg/l
NO3 = 10 mg/l
pH = 8.0-8.4 (unclear)

I bought a liquid NH3 and NH4 test from Sera and it clearly said 0 mg/l.
I'll also buy a seperate pH-test that is more accurate.

If we can rule out those factors, how can I find out if it had something to do with septicemia and other poisonings?

 

[rachel1]

Really the only way to know for sure would have been to send the body in for necropsy, and even then results may have been inconclusive. Unfortunately, you will probably never know for sure what happened.