Gill Frills are gone

[Ryanne]

When I first got Chester 4 years ago he had gill frills. Not huge ones but frills none the less. Now he doesn't seem to have many and the ones he does have seem to be red? I have slowly removed most of the sand over the last 4 years and I added another axolotl a couple years ago. Steve doesn't seem to have any issues with his gill frills other than they are short, but they always have been. I don't have any good pictures of Steve because he blends in with the sand. So, what could have caused his gills to disappear? I do a once a week 50% water change. They eat red wigglers. There is a bubble bar barely bubbling in the tank, they seem to like the bubbles but I keep it low so as not to stress them out. There is a chiller attached to a canister filter so the water stays between 63-64 degrees. The flow through the spray bar is low. There are a couple live plants and some moss balls in the tank and some IAL floating on top. Any ideas? I was told that he doesn't have long frills because the water is so well oxygenated, but that doesn't seem right. The vet has never said anything about his frills but now I'm worried.

 

[AMurry24537]

How old was he when you got him? It could just be symptoms of old age if he was already an adult

 

[Ryanne]

I think he was youngish, maybe a year at the most

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

When I first got Chester 4 years ago he had gill frills. Not huge ones but frills none the less. Now he doesn't seem to have many and the ones he does have seem to be red? I have slowly removed most of the sand over the last 4 years and I added another axolotl a couple years ago. Steve doesn't seem to have any issues with his gill frills other than they are short, but they always have been. I don't have any good pictures of Steve because he blends in with the sand. So, what could have caused his gills to disappear? I do a once a week 50% water change. They eat red wigglers. There is a bubble bar barely bubbling in the tank, they seem to like the bubbles but I keep it low so as not to stress them out. There is a chiller attached to a canister filter so the water stays between 63-64 degrees. The flow through the spray bar is low. There are a couple live plants and some moss balls in the tank and some IAL floating on top. Any ideas? I was told that he doesn't have long frills because the water is so well oxygenated, but that doesn't seem right. The vet has never said anything about his frills but now I'm worried.

gills shrinking usually has to do with water quality. I know you said you do 50% changes, but what are your water parameters? Ammonia, Nitrites, nitrates, pH?