Help! Axie not eating after water change

[jwickham]

Hi,

I have just taken over the care of an adult axolotl. My friend who I live with wasn't feeding it enough or changing it's water at all. I would feed him worms when they were available but he has not been getting fed nearly enough for some time and is very thin.

When I took over his care I decided to move his tank up to my room in the process of doing a full water change. I didn't clean any of the rocks or scenery from his tank so the good bacteria would still be on them. While I was doing this I put the axolotl in the fridge because I thought that might be good for him.

When I came to put him back in the tank, I knew I should leave his little container floating in there for a while to let the water temperatures even out. I'd been talking to someone else about putting him into his new water and for some reason (moment of madness?) I then decided to tip him straight out into his tank after only a few minutes!! I exposed him to a sudden temperature change of around 10C!

He swam right to the bottom corner of the tank and stayed there for a long time, I was really worried I'd killed him. After a while, I tried feeding him a small worm which he took straight away. I covered the tank to give him darkness and left him for the rest of the night.

The next day he had moved to a different part of the tank, but still was not moving around much. I tried feeding him again but he wouldn't eat at all. I've never known him to refuse food before.

It's now two days later and he still hasn't eaten anything! When I offer him a worm he reacts to it and moves around but doesn't take it. His mouth seems to always be just a tiny bit open, I'm not sure if that means anything.

I'm assuming he's not eating because he's stressed, a couple of his gills have turned forward a bit. Can anyone suggest what I can do to help him get well again???

Thanks,
John

 

[Hayleyy]

Post a pic of the gills so we can see. If they are curled it is a sign of stress. He would have been shocked from the temperature difference but since it's been a couple of days he should fully recover.
What are your water parameters? And current tank temp?
Was the water dechlorinated when you did a water change?
The best thing to do is keep him in cool clean water. As long as the tank is cool and cycled he should recover.
If you're not already I recommend feeding nightcrawlers. My boy was skinny when I got him but one nightcrawler a day has fattened him right up (sometimes two if he is ravenous)!

 

[jwickham]

Sorry I can't get a pic right now, It's just one of his gills that's curled forward, matches the pics I've seen of stressed 'lotls online. I'm not sure of the exact tank parameters, I have this combination test for NH3, NH4 and Ammonia and according to the colour chart it's less than 0.25mg/l. Whether that's for all three contaminants combined I don't know!

Temp's at around 19C, and yes, water was dechlorinated. He's still not eaten today but he's looking a lot more alert today, I think he's on the mend. Sadly I don't know where to get nightcrawlers here in the UK, but he's always loved normal earthworms. I think I'll give him another day or two to start eating before I worry much more as he does seem to be acting a little more like himself.

Thanks for your help

 

[Hayleyy]

They do fine a few days without food, just keep an eye on how much weight he is losing. Maybe bloodworms or frozen axie food is worth a try.
See if you can get the API master testing kit. It tests ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH and high pH. It's a liquid test kit which proves to be a lot more accurate than the strips you can also get. The combined one you have is probably not giving off the most accurate readings. I've found it much cheaper to order online on ebay than buying in store, but that may just be an Aussie problem
Goodluck!