Illness/Sickness: Deteriorating gills?

[Mewtwo]

Um, I trusted my grandmother to feed the axies while I was at my orchestra concert, and she over fed them.....will this hurt them or something?

 

[Kilolotlkeeper]

No they will be fine, I'm not seeing what you mean by the gills are deteriorating? They look fine to me however you've only showed us one of your axolotls


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[Mewtwo]

The tips of the gold axies gills are turning white and losing the fluffy bits. It's starting to defend down the stalk =(

 

[Donna001]

If you can get some close up pictures of the gills that would be great.

 

[AxolotlChris]

Over feeding wont cause the gills to deteriorate, unless the mass amount of food in the tank has caused an ammonia spike leaving you with poor water quality, but if that was the case the you would likely have worse symptoms.

I expect the 'over feeding' hasn't caused any issues, and that potentially the water quality was already poor.

Post test results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrAte, and PH.
And post your water temperature.

 

[Mewtwo]

I've tested the water twice today, after yesterday's PwC it's back to
0ammonia
0nitrite
20 nitrate

I haven't had ammonia in months.mthe over feeding only happened once, but they where so..erm, well...chubby, I suppose, and I didn't know if that would have adverse effects. I have now showed my grandma how to feed them, and she won't do it again.

EDIT:
My temp, currently, is 73° F, or so says my ever faulty thermometer. The only other one I have is metal and I don't feel comfortable having it in their tank.

 

[Donna001]

I see what you are saying about the gills. The middle one on the right looks paler at the tip and the feathers don't go all the way to the top.
Your water parameters are fine but you need to drop your temperature as it is nearly at the maximum tolerated by axolotls. Aim for 60-64F. See the link for tips on cooling. :happy:
Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

 

[Mewtwo]

Well, I bought a bunch of stuff. I got a sponge filter with a spray bar, but the flow even on lowest is WAY intense. How do I fix this?

 

[Donna001]

I have a similar type of filter and I point the spray bar towards the glass. I also have the spray bar under the water, with the water flow pointing upwards and towards the glass, this makes sure that the water flow is breaking the surface to get oxygen into the water, but keeps the water flow at the bottom of the tank to an absolute minimum.
I also have plastic plants next to the spray bar to reduce water movement, and a hide underneath.
I hope this helps.