Floating progressed to paleness with dark insides

[xrainxbowx]

Sorry this is long. Axolotl is dying/ probably dead. A lot has happened quickly.

I have a young axolotl that is tubbed while a tank cycles. Maybe 2.5 inches ish long. Daily water changes. Has thermometer and fan when needed. Temp stays 60-65 with exception of one night it dropped to 55. It is offered a pinch of black worms twice a day. It appeared to be eating 3-5 worms twice a day. Then a week ago it dropped to once a day. I still offered twice a day and then changed water 1 hour after offering food. Using well water that is on the hard side. When I got it most of its toes were missing and in the past 2 weeks it had started to regrow all its toes. I really thought it was doing good.

Last week I went for pm water change and it was upside down at the bottom of the tub. Not floating. It was lightly blushed in color and very veiny looking. I changed water and it thrashed about a bit. It did not eat that night. It was laying sorta on it's side in the morning and did eat that morning. That was it's last meal and it stopped eating. I read that lowering the water level so it could be right side up would help reduce stress so I did that. It hasn't eaten in days. I tried to increase water level and it lays flat in it's side and you can see the air bubble in its abdomen. So I lowered the water back so that it would be right side up. It's stomach is completely clear. The red veiny lines went away and its overall looking rather pale. I noticed at one point a couple days ago a dark spot in its throat. It's stomach was empty. Over the past couple days still not eating but seems to right itself better when stimulated. The dark spot is growing exponentially on the inside. From the throat down now into the mid section. I thought maybe it was eating. But I've been more meticulous about counting the worms and it is not food. It's hard to capture in photos but I'll try to share what I have. It's so weird like it looks like it's pooling full of blood on the inside. There was no trauma or rough handling. Everythings been pretty consistent. With the increase in size of the dark spot, paleness of the body, and overall lethargy. I think he might be a goner. Attached pictures were taken over the course of the past week. The larger the dark bruised spot, the more recent the photos. It is in freshly changed clean water in the photos, any discoloration is from the surface underneath.

I've read so much but for every bit of advice there is more that contradicts it. Put it in the fridge. Don't. Salt. No. Tea. No. One post said sometimes they are just wonky, stop panicking and it'll probably work itself out. I was frozen in fear on what to do, so I went with that method and I fear I have doomed this poor little creature. He is currently resting the right way in water that is plenty deep enough for him to float or flip and he appears normal aside of the coloring. And if I try and stimulate him to move, he does not. If I flip him over he wiggles a bit to right himself and that is all.

 

[wolfen]

because of age and size there is no guarantee even if he/she receives the right treatment the he/she will survive, but that isn't to say that he/she won't.
what is the ph of the well water (kh and gh if possible).
add 2g/l non-iodised salt to the water.
if using leaves for beneficial tanins use almond/catappa rather than tea due to acidity, crush leaf into mug, add boiling water, stir and allow to cool, strain and add liquid to tub till water goes yellow (save remaining liquid for further water changes)
use glass, pyrex or ceramic rather than plastic to reduce chances of bacterial infection.
this part might be difficult, ensure water temperature is kept cold (no lower than 10°c, fridging may be too much) but try to prevent water evaporation due to using salt in water.
change water at least twice daily to reduce ammonia build up, try feeding bloodworm and brineshrimp as well, if he/she s accepting dead food also try mysis and krill (worms are fine whether they are black, blood, earth etc.. but they don't contain all the vitamins for organ support hence feeding brineshrimp, mysis etc..)
even though the well water doesn't contain chlorides it can contain other impurities, test the water, if there are issues with the water switch to distilled with 50% holtfreters plus 0.1g/l magnesium sulphate.

 

[xrainxbowx]

Thank you. I just did the salt as that was the easiest first step while I get to the other things. He flopped about some when I switched him into the salted water and looked like he pushed air bubbles out from his gills. I switched to glass and have slowly lowered the temp from 64 f to 60 f. Working towards 55 f.

I did pick up catappa leaves when I first got him but the directions on the bag made me concerned with using them. That they might be contaminated. So I never used them. Is all the washing or rinsing necessary? I added a photo of the bag.

I have the API master kit, getting ready to test PH straight from the tap with drops. As for KH and GH, I only have the multi test strips, not the drops. I couldn't really understand the colors well so I kinda put those to the side and ordered the API kit, didn't realize it didn't come with KH/GH.

 

[wolfen]

because some of the leaves are picked up from the floor etc.. it is a good idea to give them a rinse before using.
even though kh and gh are important for axolotls they tend to be missed out because they don"t come with the test kit, test strips are good for testing kh and gh as the required level is quite wide higher being better, kh ideal is 3°-8° (54-143), gh is 7°-14° (125-251).

 

[xrainxbowx]

Just did his second water change today. No major change in behavior. Seems swollen/distended or extra wide around what would be the "lower ribcage" area. (Sorry not solid on their anatomy yet). Lethargic. Overall body pale but gills a little pink. No change in the large dark mass in chest.

So I tried my best to choose the right colors. I've gone cross eyed staring. Not sure what all is applicable.

Currently being housed in the untreated well water. Added on my test for my aquarium that I've been cycling for when he's bigger. Not sure how applicable given that he probably won't make it,but if you have any suggestions if I need to do anything for it, or it's on course and just time.

Test strips for well water
Total hardiness 50
QAC/QUAT 5
Sodium Chloride 75
Total Alkalinity 80
Carbonate more than 240
PH over 9
All 0: Free Chlorine, Iron, Mercury, Total Chlorine, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Manganese, Fluoride, Hydrogen Sulfite

Test tubes well water
PH 7.6

Test tubes for aquarium water that's been cycling 1 month
Nitrate 5
Nitrite .5
Ammonia 4
PH 6

 

[wolfen]

going on test trips your ph is bad - too high, your total hardness is bad - too low, your qac/quat (quaternary ammonia compounds) are very bad - way too high, your carbonate are too high which is contradictory to your total alkalinity which is just in good level although could be improved, don't know what the salinity is measured as ie.. thousandth, ppm ?
test tube well water ph is good.
test tubes for aquarium are as expected apart from ph which is bad - way too low with a likely hood of crashing the cycle.

 

[xrainxbowx]

Okay, I am going to test again today with a second opinion to compare the colors. I'm assuming with these numbers I just need to switch over to bottled watered? I tested the water that goes through our filter for drinking and the numbers look the same to me.

 

[wolfen]

make sure you use mineral bottled water or use a solution such as 50% holtfreters + 0.1g/l magnesium sulphate to provide the required minerals.
use bicarbonate of soda to bring the ph to 7.4-7.6 in the tank, keep the ph monitored whilst cycling don't let it drop below 7.
Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity