lilyoel
New member
My 7 month old axolotl seems to be having trouble with its gills. I made the mistake of letting him eat fathead/rosy red minnows about 10 days ago and it lost interest in any other food source immediately. I gave in to his food preference and introduced even more minnows, and 2 ghost shrimp, to make sure he had plenty to eat, then I found out about the thiaminase issue. I immediately removed all minnows except the two largest minnows, hoping they could be tank companions along with the ghost shrimp. This morning I noticed the missing gill feathers on the top left gill appendage and removed the remaining minnows, assuming they were nipping at the axolotl's gills while it had its guard down. The attached pictures are from this morning.
After returning home this evening I noticed some of the remaining feathers are now gone, there are just a few on the end right now.
I left the shrimp in the tank (20gallon long) since they seem much too small to be the culprits. After doing a 50% water change today (dechlorinator and bacteria added) today, the axolotl's appetite seems to be returning to normal. Today he ate 5 or 6 wax worms, showed disinterest in earthworms, and ate some bloodworms. I will be picking up a liquid test kit tomorrow.
I made the mistake of not quarantining the minnows and shrimp before introducing them to the tank. I will be sure to quarantine in the future if I decide to introduce some white clouds.
Thank you in advance for any help or information you can provide.
After returning home this evening I noticed some of the remaining feathers are now gone, there are just a few on the end right now.
I left the shrimp in the tank (20gallon long) since they seem much too small to be the culprits. After doing a 50% water change today (dechlorinator and bacteria added) today, the axolotl's appetite seems to be returning to normal. Today he ate 5 or 6 wax worms, showed disinterest in earthworms, and ate some bloodworms. I will be picking up a liquid test kit tomorrow.
I made the mistake of not quarantining the minnows and shrimp before introducing them to the tank. I will be sure to quarantine in the future if I decide to introduce some white clouds.
Thank you in advance for any help or information you can provide.