Gills got smaller

[paul]

so can i take a guess and say that it is due to lack of aeration. i do water changes weekly and i remove any un eaten food immediatly (there very rarly is any). i will monitor the situation and see how she responds. how long should it take for her gills to regrow in well maintained conditions.

 

[joan]

If the tank is well aerated, the gills will shrink. This is normal and nothing to be worried about. If they get extremely small, I'd worry. But it sounds like you're doing everything right, Paul, and worrying for nothing.

 

[vanessa]

Daniel- i think i know whats wrong with your axolotl have you checked the phosphate readings? cause i used to own a male black/wildtype axie and he was fine until i added a female axie and didnt quarantine. she was quite big and i dont think the 2ft tank could handle both of them in their with the filter i had. both of them started kicking their gills with their back foot. my phosphate readings were off the charts and consequently killed my new female wildtype. i think also she had scoliosis. i tryed to reduce the phosphate by doing water changes every three days but it didn't do anything, he wouldnt stop kicking his gills and started to lose his appetite so i moved him to a freinds tank with healthy water, he lasted about two weeks but i think he was two far gone. i moved him cause i had to strip down my whole tank and replace the gravel, get a new filter and start again just to get rid of the phosphate. so the symptoms of your axie sounds similar to mine. it could be phosphate thats making it kick its gills. if it is i would suggest striping down your tank and starting the tank cycle again. sorry that this is so long.

 

[paul]

well i took the chance and i added an air stone to the tank. one side has started to grow fury already and the other has some better colour. thanx heaps

 

[brian]

Paul - glad to hear your axies are looking better.

Vanessa - what kind of phosphate reading is too high? I have live plants in with my axies, which means I need to add fertilizer, which contains phosphate. I don't know my phosphate level currently, my test kit expired a couple weeks ago and I havent gotten a new one yet.

 

[vanessa]

Brian- phosphate (PO4) should not exceed
0.25mg/1
0,50mg/1
1,00mg/1
i use the test kit brand sera so if you use different test kit brand your readings may have different numbers. but the first sign of phosphate levels being to high is the itching the gills with the back foot. hope this answers your question.

 

[brian]

I use Hagen test kits. With the plants absorbing it, the phosphate should never build to that level. I'll just have to make sure I don't over fertilize until I get a new kit. Probably cut back to half doses, just to be on the safe side.

 

[joan]

Brian, if you have a balanced animal/plant ratio, you should not have to add fertilizer.

 

[brian]

I'm all about the jungle-looking, heavily planted tanks, so I usually have to add fertilizer to keep up.

 

[amy]

my axies gills were shrinking at one point too but i put it down to the fact they were stressed because they had anchor worm at the time and were going through some harsh treatments. as soon as that was all sorted, they were fine. good luck.

(Message edited by blinky000 on May 02, 2005)