Fridging my Lazarus

[Joy]

Hi, I had written a couple days ago that my sweet Scotty got poisoned by the Algaefix that the pet shop guy sold me on the weekend. I was horrified at how quickly he went from being a healthy 8 year old to not moving much and in contorted positions. I put him in the fridge for the first time and in the morning yesterday he was upsidedown on the bottom of the container rigid and lifeless. I checked him again 4 hrs later and still no response. I cried the whole day yesterday and just prayed that somehow he's come back to life or wake up....I really thought he was dead. Anyway, I came home yesterday after work and he had flipped over on his belly and his head was right at the edge of the container. I was thrilled! I couldn't believe it. So now I've been changing his water daily 100% in the fridge and set up his tank again b/c i had to drain out all the poisoned water.
He looks so skinny and his back legs are in a weird twisted back position. Is this neurological damage do you think due to the poisoning?
How long should I keep him in the fridge? Also from teh standpoint that I now have a whole new water set up in his tank. Is there anything I can do cycle the water faster? I just put the dechlorinator in there but I don't have a filter unfortunately.
I tried to offer him so blood worms tonight but he won't move. I know their metabolism decreases a lot in the fridge.
I'm still worried of course about him pulling through this and getting back to normal. I feel so awful for putting that poison in his tank. I went back to the pet shop and told them at least so they won't sell it to other axie owners.

 

[yellowpebble]

I'm sorry to hear that, you did the right thing. I'd say keep him in there for another week or so, they usually don’t eat in the fridge any way.

You do not need to cycle a tank that has no filter... cycling is to build up good bactirea in the filter so it can combat the chemicals in the axolotl's waste, but in your case, without a filter, doing regular water changes combats the chemicals too... it's just harder work than having bacteria do it for you!

Good luck with Scotty, i think you should write a formal complaint to that pet shop.

 

[Joy]

Thanks Yellowpebble, So I don't need to do anything at all with the water in the tank that I already put in there after I cleaned up the old poisoned water? just let it sit for another week till I put Scotty back in?
Do you have any idea if the backwards legs is a sign of neurological dysfunction due to the poison b/c I read something about that on this site. I'm really worried about my sweet thing getting back to normal.

 

[Mark]

Hi Joy, glad to hear the little fella is hanging in there.

Just make sure you’ve rinsed and scrubbed everything well to remove all trace of the chemicals. Without a source of ammonia the tank won’t cycle so the cycling process will start once you put the axolotl back in. It’s fine to cycle a tank with the axolotl living in it, you just need to be vigilant with water changes and spot cleaning to prevent a build up of ammonia/nitrites. 10-20% water changes every few days should do the trick. A tank will cycle without a filter as the nitrosomonas bacteria grow on any surface, including glass and furnishings. A filter provides more surface area for the bacteria to grow on but for one axolotl it's not always necessary assuming the tank is of adequate size.

I think it’ll be difficult to say exactly what body functions have been affected by the chemicals. Limbs stuck at strange angles might indicate damage to the nervous system. It’s just a waiting game I’m afraid. Axolotls have remarkable regenerative abilities so there’s always hope that any cellular damage is repairable over time.

Good luck to you and Scotty!

 

[Joy]

Hi Mark, thanks, that's encouraging. I have read a few previous posts about neuro damage as well and I'm quite concerned, esp since Scotty is 8-9 yrs old now and maybe won't heal up as well as a young one.
Do you think I can put him back in the tank soon or should I wait a week?
I'm just not sure what the fridge will do for long term in this case. I cleaned his tank really well and got all the algae out of the cracks and dried it all out before I added the new water.
The water has been in there for 2 days now with the dechlorinator. Does it matter how long the new tank sits there with the water ie will having it sit for days or weeks change anything if I'm not cycling the water?

 

[Joy]

My little guy died yesterday. I can't believe how sad I am. He was so part of the family. It's such a loss due to complete incompetence of the pet shop. I'll have to get another one but may wait a bit. Thanks for your help with everything