I think he's dying, please help me.

[Sylerwin]

it is true that axolotls like colder temperatures but fridge temperatures are used to help heal their body in times of great distress. Its been proven that lowering a axolotls body temperature promotes healing. But this is to the temperature if almost death pretty much. Yes an axolotl can live in cold temps but not below freezing. For long anyways(they can live up to 48hours in the freezer though) but its not good for them. Thats why they recommend when fridging tokeep the water above 5 preferably around 10 though most peoples food would rot at 10C

10C is the temp in which they have found being the best temperature to let an axolotls body heal.

However you suffer a great loss when fridging an axolotl, it causes them to become more lethargic, their metabolism slows down so they are not hungry, they wont eat, then dont "need" to eat most times but if you are adding an axolotl that is thin and you are trying to rehabilitate back to health it really isnt the place to put your lotl. We are trying to get him back up and healthy as soon as possible, not prolong his suffering. Ive read that a lotl can live comfortably up to 10C any lower and you are slowing down their system to much and unless its a life and death situation then it really isnt the place for them to be. I very rarely recommend it. Maybe twice ive told somebody to put their lotl in thefridge. Ive had to do it once when my water temp went over 74 and i couldnt cool it down, this was at night, the next day it went over 80, i was working that day, had i have not done what i did they potentially could of died. Does this explain it a bit better? If not i can figure out a different way.


Your lotl probably still wont eat because it can take upwards of a week after renoving them from the fridge before they will eat again, expecially since he didnt have much of an appetite before. all i can say is keep trying to feed him. It is what he needs.
As far as the twitching goes i really dont know what could be causing that, has he stoped?
He does look better in the newer pictures then he did before.

The best thing you can do for him is to just keep him in cool clean water(mid to low 60s which i think is what your thermometer said anyways) and 100% water changes daily with dechlorinated water

May i ask what kind of dechlorinator you are using?
Also, before you added your new axies to the tank, were they quarantined? Also have you added anything new to the tank since he has started to go downhill? It probably is nothing but id like to rule out any kind of infection that could of been introduced to the tank. I still firmly believe this i ALL caused by water quality and just keeping up with his tub and trying to feed him, id say you should start seeing imrovements within a week.

Good luck and keep us posted.
The only thing i could think of that could be making the twitching happen is your dechlorinator. Hense why i asked, if you could tell me what kind it is it will help me out.

It's just Aqueon water conditioner Central Aquatics Aqueon Water Conditioner (16 fl oz) I have Prime which was recommended, but I don't use it for smaller doses because it's just too potent and difficult to measure out. He has stopped twitching, it only happened for a moment. That was before I moved him to clean water though, that water was filled with food.

 

[Sylerwin]

His tank mates were itty bitty when I got them so those two were together in a divided tank for a few months and perfectly healthy before I added them to his tank. The only thing I could think I added was the plant, Hornwort, which was removed because it was losing all of it's needles and making a mess. I've only had success with hornwort in warmer tanks. I have a lot of mulm in the tank that I vacuum daily and some nematodes but I've been told that they are harmless.

 

[Alkylhalide]

Okay, thank you for providing this information.
I had great success in growing hornwort in my tank, till i added my juveniles who one ate literally 9' of hornwort in maybe a week! I was completely amazed and a little angry! You know yelling at an axolotl to stop eating your plant does not work,nor does any discipline you try to do.

For future reference i did some research and prime is 2drops per gallon. If you want to use prime in smaller doses. I use nutrafin chloro change and it is 1drop per gallon, and comes in a small dropper bottle, so the last bottle i had when it was empty i just rinsed it out and put prime in it(i marked it prime so i can differentiate) and now I use prime, mostly because it helps detox ammonia, which in turn creates less nitrate at the end of the cycle which is whAt i have problems with.
I am not sure about aqueon somebody with more experience with this type of dechlorinator could shed some light. It could be as simple as the dosage was wrong and it irritated your lotl temporary, if it stoped i wouldnt worry to much just keep an eye on it and look for patterns if it happens again.

 

[Sylerwin]

Okay thanks for the tip. I'll use prime when I take them out of the tank to add their 3d background and sand, because it's going to have to cycle all over again before I'd feel comfortable adding them. Luckily I have a good size tub to put them in while that happens, just the 100% water changes will be a pain in the butt for a tub that size... but that's later. When that happens I'll add lots of live plants to help the cycle along as well.

 

[Alkylhalide]

Thats great! Yes 100% water changes daily are a pain. I did it for two weeks with my oldest, then they went into a tank as my eggs were hatching so i did 100% daily water changes for 31axolotls for 6weeks, for two of those 6weeks i had 31individual tubs. For the first two weeks i was doing twice daily water changes.
After that i only had 3left, and i had them in a 10gallon rubermaid that i did 50% one day and 100% the next. For 4whole months i did daily water changes in tubs and trust me i dont miss it! Now i have 5lotls in a 25gallon tank, and they make a lot of waste and though my filter can handle it, if i dont do huge daily water changes my nitrate goes through the roof! But they all get along fine in there and its easier then normal maintenance on the tank and water changes in the rubbermaid..
*crosses fingers she will be getting their permanent tank soon* i keep saying that and i keep realizing i cant afford it right now so i need to wait till next pay.

 

[Sylerwin]

Today's update: Just tried feeding him, I tried thawed out bloodworms, newt pellets, and a small piece of cut up red wiggler. He went to bite a pellet when I first dropped it to him, but an an attempt to "chew" he spit it out and didn't try again. He got maybe one or two bloodworms in his system, that's all he tried for. Going to put him in clean water now. His lack of appetite worries me...

 

[Alkylhalide]

Just keep trying.
I dont know if you can easily get live food like blackworms, something that you can leave in his water without it fouling the water on you. But it is also maybe something to consider.

 

[snuggly time]

Today's update: Just tried feeding him, I tried thawed out bloodworms, newt pellets, and a small piece of cut up red wiggler. He went to bite a pellet when I first dropped it to him, but an an attempt to "chew" he spit it out and didn't try again. He got maybe one or two bloodworms in his system, that's all he tried for. Going to put him in clean water now. His lack of appetite worries me...

It's a good sign that he tried to eat them. Hopefully he will start to get an appetite. My fingers are crossed for you. :happy:

 

[layna]

Have you tried black worms? i hear a lot they're like crack cocaine to lottles
Another side note, i notice you said you dont do any water changes and that you just add more water to your tank.
This is a bad idea, when the water is evaporating, its making the remaining water more concentrated with nitrites and nitrAtes ect, then your just adding more (to replace the evaporation) and diluting it again, your not actually REMOVING any bad chemicals.
The reason we take bad water out and put fresh dechlorinated water in is to remove the bad chemicals.
Id advise you to actually do a water change of 20-30% weekly then you know its not leaving you open to any problems

 

[Sylerwin]

Have you tried black worms? i hear a lot they're like crack cocaine to lottles
Another side note, i notice you said you dont do any water changes and that you just add more water to your tank.
This is a bad idea, when the water is evaporating, its making the remaining water more concentrated with nitrites and nitrAtes ect, then your just adding more (to replace the evaporation) and diluting it again, your not actually REMOVING any bad chemicals.
The reason we take bad water out and put fresh dechlorinated water in is to remove the bad chemicals.
Id advise you to actually do a water change of 20-30% weekly then you know its not leaving you open to any problems

I didn't know that, I assumed that the bad chemicals evaporated with the water.... I'll have to do that then. Thanks.

 

[Alkylhalide]

I dont agree with that entirely. In nature technically nitrates are removed through plants and evaporation, however i dont think it removes anything else. So natures water change is evaporation and rain. However you need a nitrogen cycle to get rid of ammonia and nitrite to make nitrAte.

I was explained that it would take over a 100gallon tank with only maybe one or two axolotls in that tank, in which is cycled, in order to just use evaporation as your water change and topping off the water.

That is ultimately why we do wAter changes, we have made an artificial environment for the lotls, so we need fo do artificial water changes, which is us physically removin and adding water, to keep the nitrAtes within safe levels.

 

[Sylerwin]

HE ATE! He had one pellet, and a few munches of bloodworms that I put to his mouth. Not much, but he kept trying. One thing I'm concerned about is his "balance". Could axolotls get swim bladder issues? He does the "dead mans float" most of the time, and has issues staying balanced. He teeter totters. I have a video, but my phone isn't letting me set it as an attachment :/ Should I be concerned about that?

 

[Alkylhalide]

As far as i know its not something to be concerned about as long as it doesnt happen often, and in patterns. He may be inhaling air which makes them float and ive seen the teether tooter effect on. Someone elses lotl who as far as i am concerned is fine now.

Id be worried if he doesnt stop floating and doing that. But still if he is eating that is thumbs up! Yay! Any food is better then before so it means he is slowly getting a appetite back.
So many variables go into a axolotl floating and most times are harmless. I normally give it 24hours before i worry that something unusual might be up, but regardless I say if he starting to eat we are going in the right direction anyways
As long as you keep the water clean and cool he should come back to. Like i said there is a long road to recovery but if you can keepit going uphill then there is nothing to worry about axolotls are miracle healers and given the right environment anything can happen.

 

[emmyk]

My axolotl doesnt ever float, its weird. Or at least not when I'm awake haha I've seen lots of axolotls that float all the time though, I don't think its an issue.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

 

[Alkylhalide]

Lmao one of mine sleeps at the surface, it really took a long time not to freak out at his lifeless floating body but ive learned that it is just how he is. And he has a littleminion now. Ive caught Nike doing the same thing on numerous occasions! Lmao. Ive actually watched echo go to the surface, inhale air, and then relax and he stays flat at the surface until i see a bubble come out of his mouth an he slowly sinks back down its funny how they can manipulate the whole always being at the bottom so easily. And it looks like they do it on purpose

 

[auntiejude]

Could axolotls get swim bladder issues?

Axolotls are fish, they don't have swim bladders.

They do howerver, hold their breath, swallow air, get gas in their tummies and seem to actually enjoy floating! I wouldn't worry - if he seems distressed he will find a hid to saty under and keep him down.

 

[Sylerwin]

Axolotls are fish, they don't have swim bladders.

They do howerver, hold their breath, swallow air, get gas in their tummies and seem to actually enjoy floating! I wouldn't worry - if he seems distressed he will find a hid to saty under and keep him down.

Yeah, I wasn't aware of their internal structures. I have him quarantined in a tub right now so there isn't really anywhere to hide

He's been doing this since I put him in the tub--floating, that is. About 3 days of the weird teetor-totter thing. Yesterday he did a full roll over, it was weird. Need I be concerned about that?

 

[Alkylhalide]

Do you age your water? And it may be him swallowing air and not eating to push it out... Though id be a little worried after 3days i am bot quite sure.. Though i have a feeling it has something to do with the lack of food

 

[conradryaan]

I have other tanks, and have spent a lot of time studding water conditions. so my first piece of advice is that you have to do weekly water changes with some sort of siphon. make sure to such through the sand. water evaporation happens, but only to the less dense water( aka the good water) leaving behind all the bad stuff. if that makes sense. so just adding water is not good enough. I change about 15-20% of the water in my 55g axolotl tank to insure good quality. second advice is you cannot use any sort of medicine for fish! they contain copper and that is deadly to axolotls. buy a clip fan and rig it so it is over the water in your filter. that will cool down your tank at least 5 degrees. buy yourself a complete water test kit and pay close attention to your water. with their gills being on the outside they are super sensitive. really hoping this helps you to get him recovered and to keep him healthy!

 

[conradryaan]

about the floating around thing, they are very awkward by nature. they need things to hide in and under to help them stay down. helps them recover to because they feel save(less stress) and they don't have to try as hard to maintain staying at the bottom. give him a little something to hide in.