Gill Deterioration

[rflection]

Hi all! I've been reaching out for help on other platforms, but I wanted to get a second opinion here as well. I've had my axolotl since he (sex unknown as of right now) was 3.5 inches and now he's a whopping 9 inches! While his tank was cycling, he was tubbed for the last 4 months or so and was doing well.

The tank had finished cycling last week ish in which I did multiple 50% daily water changes to get the nitrates down from 80-100ppm to 20ppm. After that, I acclimated him to his tank and things seemed to be going well; he was eating the first two days and had no visible signs of stress (no curled gills, hooked tail, etc). However, after day 3 of being in the tank, his gills started showing signs of deterioration and were white at the back. At this time, he also started to not eat (he started running away from his food). I chalked it up to stress over the new environment, so I let him vibe for a few more days. The nitrates were also a bit on the higher side of the tolerable threshold, so I did a few more water changes to get the nitrates down to 5-10ppm.

After this, I saw no visible improvement in his gills, nor any further signs of deterioration(?) though I could be wrong. I tried feed him blood worms just to see if he would eat and he did, so it might just be picky eating. He is currently tubbed right now. Could it be fungus or a mucus stress response? Any guidance would be appreciated!

Tank Parameters:

Temperature: 63-65°F

PH: 8.0ppm
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 5-10ppm

GH: 9° 140-200ppm

KH: 6° 50-100ppm

 

[wolfen]

ensure good/adequate water oxygenation, although you have a sponge filter installed the bubbles produced tend to be large which only provide minimal water oxygenation via dissolving.
ensure the sand is turned over regularly, do routine checks on plant roots to prevent rot.
what is the ph of your tap water?
apart from loss of appetite and deteriorated gill filaments has there been any other unusual behaviour ie.. surface gulping, panic swimming etc..

 

[rflection]

ensure good/adequate water oxygenation, although you have a sponge filter installed the bubbles produced tend to be large which only provide minimal water oxygenation via dissolving.
ensure the sand is turned over regularly, do routine checks on plant roots to prevent rot.
what is the ph of your tap water?
apart from loss of appetite and deteriorated gill filaments has there been any other unusual behaviour ie.. surface gulping, panic swimming etc..

Aside from lack of appetite and gills, he hasn’t done any of that either. He honestly doesn’t even seem that stressed despite everything. I have a sponge filter, a canister filter with a spray bar, and a bubbler (which I plan to get a stronger air pump for). Plants are okay. PH is 8.0ppm. Tried to get him to eat cut up earth worms last night and he ate two pieces. Night before he ate blood worms, but not as voraciously as usual.

I want to say my theory is that I am underdosing my tank when I water change which I just realized last night per Prime instructions. It says to dose tank entire tank volume when adding water straight to tank and I’ve only been adding as much for the water I take out with my python. With a high PH and despite not showing any other symptoms, could this be it?