Elize

[elize]

Hi,
I am very worried about my axolotls. My smallest one died about 2 weeks ago, he was the the smallest, about 10cms long. the other 3 are all bigger. The female lost most of her gills months ago, someone said the others were probably picking on her, I have never seen any of them behave this way. A few weeks ago, I noticed a few insects in the water, they looked just like a flea, and swam very quickly. I did a 90% water change to ensure I got rid of them. Tonight I have noticed my pink axol has also lost alot of gills, he has been healthiest so far. The flea things have turned up again and also what I can only think is a mayfly nymph. Can anyone tell me if these flea type things grow into the nymph? I am only guessing what they are through searching google.
For now, I have put the 3 axols in new water and fridged them. I am planning on cleaning tank out tomorrow, even the entire canister filter - which will mean losing all those good bacteria that have been accumulating over the last 15 months.
Things have gone a bit pear-shaped since the 1 female laid hundreds of eggs back in June/ July.
Does anyone have any experience with the 'parasites' in the tank? How do you sterilise a 400 litre tank in a day?
Any help would be greatly appreciated - thanks...

 

[Hayleyy]

Do you have the test results for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate on the tank? This will help us determine what is causing the gill issues, most of the time it's water quality.
Any pictures of the axolotls will help too. If you have a good camera (or newer phones may pick it up) see if you can get shots of the insects.
Does your tank have a lid? Is the surface of the water still? I'm not sure what it is like with mayflys but mosquitos like to lay larvae in still water, it's an issue I have in my outdoor pond. Having a lid/screen on top and something to slightly disturb the water surface (like a sponge or hang on back filter) should help.
400 litres is a huge tank, wow! Lucky axolotls! I thought at first maybe there was a biological overload when the eggs were laid but with a tank that size maybe not. How many axolotls live in there? I'd be reluctant to clean it all out unless the insects are really really bad. A siphon may be able to get a lot of them out.