HELP!! Charlies gone nuts!!!

[kapo]

Apart from adding dechlorinator to your tapwater, do not add any chemicals, not even ph up or ph down. If you have a problem with ph, post it here and someone will be able to advise you.

How long have you had your axie?


Read the following article on cycling: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

Your petshop should sell test kits and am surprised, if they sell fish, that they don't have someone testing their tank water (our local petshop does). If you can't afford the 3 test kits AND your petshop won't test your tankwater, see if you can find another petshop that will.

I know I am repeating myself but its extremely important. Sometimes half the problems/illnesses start with water quality (more so ammonia and nitrite than ph).

 

[shaun]

For ph, I use these white rock things that you rub together and they work great- made the axies happier as well- that's right- axies. I got a new guy! It's a 4 inch wild type and it gets on really well with my 6 inch leucistic! Neither have even tried to nip each other yet (been 2 days) I just changed from stones to sand and the white rock things worked a dream. I can't remember what they're called though...

 

[denise]

shaun could they be marble rocks cause sometimes when my ph is too low i add marble rocks and they encourage the ph up, they are also white and my pet shop said that i could rub them together to get the ph up faster but i dont want it up too fast

 

[deemi]

the tank has been established for over a year ( fishy got eaten by a bird, the tank use to be out side). i've had charlie for about a month, but i use to own axies with my dad years ago.

i think i will have to find a better pet shop! Charlie's looking heaps better , he's more alert and not bashing his head against the tank now, and he's eating again! he still has the white stuff on him, and i have lowered the temperature to 18 degrees. Thank you for all your advice!!! ill make sure to get rid of the gravel in his tank now!

Is it possible the white stuff is a fungal infection or might i have burnt him with chlorine and now his bodies just healing?

 

[denise]

thats great that hes nearly back to normal, i would do salt baths for a couple of days twice a day and see how his gills go, when i do a salt bath i dilute 3 teaspoons of salt in 2 ltres of water and i use tank water, leave him in for no more than 10 mins, this works a treat. let me know how you go with your axie

 

[lorie]

It wont harm the axie if you treat her/him anyway. As long as you treat them correctly.

 

[edward]

snip "its possible there could have been a slight water temperature difference ( to tell the true by that stage my hands where numb) the water was a little out of balance but it was on the opposite side of the scale chlorine wise , "endsnip

If you were attempting to balance the temperature by "testing" it with your hands then the temperature difference could be have been great enough to cause the skin issues you have observed. Testing the water by hand is not exact enough to tell whether the temperature is corrct.

Ed

 

[cynthia]

Deemi - You need to slow down and do some reading, and research.

A lot of things have changed in your tank VERY quickly! It is no wonder your axolotl is stressing.

From your posts of the past days:

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i changed the water, gravel and plants in Charlies tank
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its possible there could have been a slight water temperature difference ( to tell the true by that stage my hands where numb)
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i used the ph down (or was it ph up?) powered disolved in water (it was the right one to add according to the chart thingy)
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i have just used a Aqua master " Ammonia Chlorine and Chloramine Eliminator" too. and i also have now replaced the filters in the water filter.
---




I would recommend:

Provided the filter you changed was a cartridge; If you still have the "dirty" filter cartridge and it is still wet, I would put it back in the filter.

Stop adding chemicals to alter the ph of your water.

Go back and read Kapo's posts to you again. Read the link on cycling.

Purchase a test kit that will allow you to test ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

All the changes you just made in your tank quite possibly killed most of the biological filtration in your tank and filter.

Your tank is probably going to re-cycle. You will need that test kit(s) so you can monitor the situation.