Is this safe to use?

[stephen]

I just bought some stuff to treat my axie. But when I went to treat it it had died. The stuff I bought is called promethyasul. It is meant to get rid of any bacterial, fungal and parasiticle diseases. Is this safe to use on axolotls?

 

[kapo]

No, it contains malachite green which is toxic to axies. Most fish medicines are toxic to axolotls.

You should really check your water parameters, there is obviously something wrong with your tank for your axie to continually get fungus and die.

Fungal infections, even once an axolotl is separated from the main tank, can take several weeks of treatment (in my case I've used only saltbaths and fridging), but you have to take the time and patience to do the saltbaths, constant waterchanging etc...

My advice, don't buy another axolotl until you've worked out what is happening in your tank and rectifying it (not by adding unnecessary chemicals to it).

 

[stephen]

I got the water tested but I cant exactly remember the readings but i think there was no amonia, im not sure about the nitrite and nitrate and the ph was really low and the hardness of the water was 450. I dont know how the water hardness got so high. I have done water changes and bought kh stuff to make the pH stay on 7. Will that be safe to use the kh stuff because the guy at the shop said he uses in there axies tank and he said it is fine.

 

[Abrahm]

It is not a good idea to mess with the pH with harsh chemicals like you have been doing. Large pH shifts can be really stressful to your axolotls and if every water change the pH drops and then you add a chemical and the pH goes up you are going to have one unhappy axie. Also, because pH is a logarithmic scale if you increase the ph by 1 you are increasing it by 10 fold which is pretty significant.

If your pH is low and your kH is high there is something very odd going on. The kH is a measure of carbonate hardness (the amount of carbonate and bicarbonate) in your water. This is an acid-base pair and buffers the water (making pH changes more difficult) it also tends to create a higher pH solution. If you can contact your local water municipality it may be that you have high levels of some organic acids in your tap or possibly something you added to the tank was acidic. Most municipal water plants can send you out a sheet of all the contaminants and dissolved substances in their water upon request. Have you tested your water straight from the tap and compared it to your tank water?

Don't use the KH booster you have been given as it won't help much if the KH is already high and the pH is low. The axolotls will be fine at the pH from the tap, the constant swings are probably what is causing you all the trouble you have had.

 

[stephen]

So is KH a different thing to pH. I just thought it was the name of the chemical. The man at the aquarium said they use it in there tanks when they do water changes an he said it makes the pH say on 7 and not change.

 

[Abrahm]

KH is a system used to measure the amount of Calcium carbonate and bicarbonate within an aqueous system, like an aquarium. The higher the number the more carbonate and bicarbonate you have in your aquarium.

pH is a measure of the amount of H+ or Hydronium ions in an aqueous system which in short, gives you the acidity or basicity of the water. Higher pH is more basic and lower pH is more acidic.

KH and pH are somewhat related as carbonate and bicarbonate are an acid base pair. Without getting technical about the chemistry going on here they can change the pH and they help "block" other acids and bases from changing the pH. This makes them a buffer.

The perfect pH 7 chemicals and whatnot are a mixture of carbonate and bicarbonate that have an end result of a pH of 7. If you are using tap water with carbonate already in it (most places have some carbonate/bicarbonate in their water) then the pH 7 product will not work as expected. These products work best with reverse osmosis water when your local water is unsuitable for aquariums for some reason.

I would stay well away from any chemical that changes the pH as it is not necessary for axolotls. They are able to deal with a wide range of pH and do quite well after they acclimate to it. When you constantly add chemicals, especially right to their tank, they have a hard time dealing with changes in pH and the hardness of the water.

A simple scenario. Imagine you are in a closed environment and your keeper decides that for some reason the air in your room is not correct so he adds something to change the environment, it smells and gives you a headache. Now he decides the air isn't mixed right as you came from a mountainous region and changes the amount of nitrogen, CO2 and O2 to reflect that and suddenly you find it hard to breathe. Combined with your headache you now feel quite sick. The keeper then occassionaly pumps out the air and pumps in new air which is vastly different and then changes this new air back to the mountain type air. Each time that happens is going to be awfully distressing.

It's a really simplified situation, but it is roughly analogous to what's going on. There is no need to add chemicals to change the pH with axolotls.

 

[stephen]

Ok i won't add anymore chemicals to the tank. Is is still safe for axolotls if the pH under 6 because that is what the water was.

 

[kapo]

Stephen check back over your threads you posted over the last two months, Kaysie did tell you how to raise your pH without using chemicals.