Filter fell on my axolotl :(

[ParanoidLondon]

This morning I woke to find my Axolotl trapped between his filter and the wall of his tank. He loves his filter and is always going underneath it, so he must have been chilling there when it fell on him! It's a Jewel one that sticks to the side of the tank with rubber feet.

It must have slipped off after I cleaned his tank last night (Nitrates & nitrites were very high so needed a quick all round clean) and it probably had difficulty sticking back for whatever reason.

He didn't move when I freaked out and moved it away, but I wiggled my finger in front of him and he lethargically dragged himself towards me. I thought he was dead. I am worried now though that he may be hurt. I have no idea what to do. I'm at work now, but my mum is keeping an eye on him. He's probably really freaked out now... I have no idea how long he was under there. I feel really awful about it.

Has this happened to anyone else? What did you do to make sure your axolotl was okay?

 

[auntiejude]

Does your axie have any obvious injuries, like tears in his tail or missing gills? Axies are pretty hardy and can take a few knocks and bumps. If he's moving around and doesn't appear too badly injured he will probably recover on his own - cool clean water and plenty of worms is the standard cure!

But you need to keep an eye on your water quality - be vigilant on waste and excess food removal and change water out regularly to keep your nitrites and nitrates down.

Unfortunately the suction cup filters tend tend to fall off regularly, even the big brand ones, so you could consider securing it another way or get a cannister.

 

[ParanoidLondon]

Ahh, thank you so much for getting back to me! What temperature would be optimal? I've heard a few varied ideas on tank temp, so have never been totally sure about it. It's currently around 20 degrees. It is getting warmer here so is difficult to keep cool, but I will try an ice cube trick I read about on here to try to keep it cold.

I know about the cleanliness- I was so anal about cleaning my tank when I first got him, but since I started working I've had hardly any time to give him the full works. I have vowed not to neglect him anymore. It was a few weeks since I last cleaned his tank... :S

No serious, obvious injuries, he just seems a little slow. Well, he was this morning, I will look again later. Poor baby

 

[auntiejude]

20C is an upper limit, 18C is better if you can get it down, fans are great for that.

 

[vlcuXX]

20C is an upper limit, 18C is better if you can get it down, fans are great for that.

I think the max temperature really is around 23-24 anything above that and I'd definitely invest in either a chiller or a home method of keeping it below that.

Mine's usually at 21 though, sometimes it can spike but since we got our central air running, it stays at around 21 or so, again with the OCCASIONAL spike of 23 or so. All of my axies are healthy and no sign of stress/fungus, and eating like pigs.

I am awaiting 2 USB adapters and 2 USB mini fans, 1 for each of my tanks, to help maybe cool it down to 18-19 or so.

As for your little lotl and the filter getting on him, he should be fine so long as he doesn't have any heavy internal injuries and his external injuries are minimal to none, as auntiejude said, clean and cool water is the best medicine for an injured axie!

 

[kjnorman]

I think cooler is generally better while they are healing - helps prevent infections and the like, and they are more comfortable at cooler temperatures. What Auntejude recommended sounds ideal and she sure knows her stuff.

Unless your filter is unusually large or heavy, I would be optimistic about his recovery. Things don't fall as fast underwater, and force = mass x acceleration. It probably wasn't fun for him, but also probably not as traumatic as it first looked.

Do keep us updated on his progress! We'll all be thinking positive axolotl thoughts for him.

 

[vlcuXX]

I think cooler is generally better while they are healing - helps prevent infections and the like, and they are more comfortable at cooler temperatures. What Auntejude recommended sounds ideal and she sure knows her stuff.

Unless your filter is unusually large or heavy, I would be optimistic about his recovery. Things don't fall as fast underwater, and force = mass x acceleration. It probably wasn't fun for him, but also probably not as traumatic as it first looked.

Do keep us updated on his progress! We'll all be thinking positive axolotl thoughts for him.

I think she knows her stuff, but don't think that you need to have something under 20C at a normal housing temperature, temps can go up to around 23-24 and be safe, anything after that is pushing it.

But while he is healing, I agree, the cooler, the better.

All of this is just my opinion and I have success with it, and happy healthy axolotls.

 

[Possum63]

100% agree with all auntyjude said. Above 20 and you can start to get health issues ranging from not so serious fungus, heat spots, etc to a lot more serious things like organ failure which you can't see instantly (obviously organ failure probably won't happen at 22 for example but it can happen from heat stress and if it stays high over a period of time). And they will be "eating like pigs" because the warmer the temp the higher their metabolism = eat more.

 

[vlcuXX]

100% agree with all auntyjude said. Above 20 and you can start to get health issues ranging from not so serious fungus, heat spots, etc to a lot more serious things like organ failure which you can't see instantly (obviously organ failure probably won't happen at 22 for example but it can happen from heat stress and if it stays high over a period of time). And they will be "eating like pigs" because the warmer the temp the higher their metabolism = eat more.

Yes I know they'd be eating more because of the temperature, which is why they eat less in the winter... as for health risks I think it's safe up until anything above 23-24, unless proven otherwise.

My 2 fans came in and they cool the tank down to 19 mostly sometimes 20-21, which isn't dangerous at all and is completely safe, I certainly don't think they would get fungus or heat spots from a temperature like this, and most definitely not organ failure. I still continue to put 2L bottles of frozen water ( ice ), in sometimes throughout the day, just to cool it down a bit further to 16-18, but I don't see the need for that, since in Canada, Winter will be amazing for them, so some hot temps during the Summer shouldn't bring too much fuss, especially 19-21 degrees.