DOA/Lone survivor, help!

[pennyroyals]

My big tank finished cycling and so we decided to get some axies - 3 to be exact. Unfortunately they arrived in the mail today and 2 of them were DOA (they have large dark spots on their sides??) but the last is still hanging on.

photos as they arrived

Kind of panicking. I was worried it was the water quality in his baggie so I transferred him into the tank ASAP, and he seems to be perking up a bit (well, at least, he's not floating) but all he'll do is wave his gills around. I turned all the lights off in the room and tried to make it dark because he also doesn't seem interested in swimming for cover. He's just exploring the bottom of the tank ATM.

S/he must have been without food for several days now and s/he is only 4-4.5 inches, but I doubt s/he would eat if I offered it. I tried giving him a pellet to no avail, but I have bloodworms in the freezer I could try. Would it be better to just leave him/her alone for a while?

They were shipped Monday and arrived today. The weather has been cool today (it's 65 right now) so I don't think they got too hot on the truck. I also don't think they were shipped improperly as they were well packed and the box was in great shape but have already let the seller know.

Is there anything else I can do to ensure s/he pulls through?

 

[rachel1]

Wow, the water in those bags is nasty! I would recommend treating her with methylene blue for ammonia/nitrite poisoning. A lot of people on this forum have problems with any kind of chemical or medication, so this may not be a popular opinion. But gill flicking is a symptom and poisoning seems a likely cause of death In the others. You can soak her in a methylene blue solution of 10 drops per gallon water. This will remove the ammonia that is bound to her red blood cells and allow her to better carry oxygen. She can soak in the methylene blue solution for a couple hours. Obviously she needs cool clean water as well. She may pull through just fine on her own with plenty of clean water and time. However, since ammonia poisoning has an antidote, I see no reason not to treat her. If my dog ate rat poison, obviously I would take the poison away, but I would also treat it with vitamin K, since it reverses the effects of the poison. My reaction in this scenario would be the same. Feel free to treat your own animal as you see fit.

 

[pennyroyals]

Yeah, judging from the difference in water quality from her bag to theirs (hers was still dirty but not that gross) and the absolutely overpowering smell that came out when I got the box open , my guess would be that the other two axies were probably already goners before they arrived at our zip code. Bad luck I guess.

I have been keeping an eye on her but your bath solution seems like it might be the ticket. Any advice on what to do to get her eating? How long can she safely go without food?

 

[rachel1]

They can go quite a while without eating if they are fat and healthy. I wouldn't start worrying until after a week. She's probably feeling pretty stressed. Try wiggling something tasty in front of her nose. Mine love thawed prawn as a treat, and I have heard they love scallops as well. Or try a nice earthworm. I blanch them when I'm trying to stimulate appetite- they have a bitter secretion as a defense mechanism, and some of my spoiled picky babies refuse to eat them live. Just drop the worm in very hot water til it stops wiggling, then give it a rinse with cold water. She'll snap it right up once she's feeling well. Earthworms are a nice healthy staple, so you might as well get some now if you haven't already.

 

[HannahMarie]

I think I got mine from the same shipment. It ate a few bloodworms after an hour or so when I wiggled them by its face. Next step is teaching my lil one what a feeding jar is

 

[pennyroyals]

Oh good! Tried the face wiggling too but she wasn't buying it. I even moved her into a feeding container (getting it to find a food bowl in a 75g was a bit of a chore).

I didn't try the methylene blue yet, to be honest I didn't have any on me and the only thing I saw at the store was amino-lock? Plus she started looking perkier and was exploring the tank when we left.

When I got back she still looked good but I noticed her just now kind of floating at the top of the tank. I flipped the lights on and she swam back down - is it normal for them to just drift around like that?

I should...probably stop obsessively hovering, lol.

 

[HannahMarie]

Yeah the floating is fine as long as they are choosing to do it. I've heard it referred to as "discovering the third dimension". Even my adults grab onto the floating plants to stay up top as if it is more interesting (and where the baby shrimp hang out!)

 

[Skudo09]

That water in the bag is putrid...

You may find she improves simply by having her is good water conditions. Axolotls are amazing healers. A tea bath may help soothe her skin. I would maybe see how she goes. She is probably quite stressed from her journey especially in that water. She will probably take a little while to calm down. Keep offering food. She may eat once she settles in.

 

[pennyroyals]

Well, I checked on her this morning before I left for work and she was still poking around the tank. We're going to pick up some other kinds of food as suggested here if she keeps refusing the bloodworms/pellets, but I suspect she was probably just stressed yesterday.

 

[bethinak]

I suspect the box got left in the sun or something and the animals died and decayed in the bags. Very sad.

 

[ladygodiva35]

I hope you were able to get your money back or a replacement from that seller. That is terrible what happened to them! I'm glad the little survivor is doing okay considering what it went through.