Messed up the cycle. Pls help

[kaletsuki]

Basically I'm an axolotl newbie. Despite doing tons of research before getting an axolotl, I still let my nerves get the best of me. Had my axolotl for almost a month, and went overboard when I got nervous he wasn't doing too great. Started off great, eating perfect, his gills got very fluffy, and very energetic at night. One day I saw him laying on his side at the top.. I went crazy doing a 70% water change, took out all the sand substrate thinking I had missed some rotten food, kept him in a pot w shallow water, and when I put him back in his tank, he seemed perfect again. A few days pass, and he's laying on his side at the top again. Ammonia is at .25, getting a test tomorrow for everything else, but his cycle is definitely messed up. He didn't eat today, and I can tell he's super stressed out. I even think there's a little white fungus on his gills starting to appear. How do I fix this ASAP. I can't stand seeing him this stressed out

 

[JM29]

0,25 ppm ammonia isn't a sufficient reason to stress out.

First, if your 0,25 ppm ammonia is total ammonia and your pH is somewhere around 7,5, then only a small part of it is free ammonia (toxic).
More interesting : check if this amount is raising, if it's stable or if it's falling down.

I'm sure someone else will ask you what are the parameters of your water (other than ammonia) but I'd look for other sources of stress :
- Is there light on your tank ? (I've often have floating axolotls in non lightened tanks, almost never since I have light and plants)
- Are there real aquatic plants in the tank ? (taking out the sand substrate wasn't a solution in my opinion)
- Is there something vibrating or making noise near the tank ? (pump, filter, something else which has nothing to do with the tank)

 

[BasilBear]

Hi, like JM29 said I really think .25 ammonia wouldn't be that harmful to an Axolotl so I would definitely try to get the rest of your levels checked as soon as possible. Chances are if the problem is “level related” there’s something thing else going on. As for the fungus I would try adding an Indian almond leaf to the tub, the tannins in them will help to heal the fungus. Also, if you find that your tank cycle did crash adding some live aquarium plants (If you don’t have them already) might help to speed up the cycling process! I was super hesitant in adding plants to my Axolotl tank (my thumb is anything but green). However, when I finally took the jump my high nitrate levels of 80 went down to 20 and are still lowering! In my opinion live plants are definitely worth the try. Plus if your Axolotl is floating there’s a chance that they’re gulping because there’s not enough oxygen in the water, well adding aquarium plants will actually help to add oxygen to your tank! If your Axolotl persists in laying on their side in the tub I’ve read that fridgeing an Axolotl could help with these serious situations I don’t know much about this since I’ve never had to fridge myself but there are some good forums on caudata that have a tun of info on the process. Good luck too you and your axie, I hope everything goes well!

 

[kaletsuki]

Hi, like JM29 said I really think .25 ammonia wouldn't be that harmful to an Axolotl so I would definitely try to get the rest of your levels checked as soon as possible. Chances are if the problem is “level related” there’s something thing else going on. As for the fungus I would try adding an Indian almond leaf to the tub, the tannins in them will help to heal the fungus. Also, if you find that your tank cycle did crash adding some live aquarium plants (If you don’t have them already) might help to speed up the cycling process! I was super hesitant in adding plants to my Axolotl tank (my thumb is anything but green). However, when I finally took the jump my high nitrate levels of 80 went down to 20 and are still lowering! In my opinion live plants are definitely worth the try. Plus if your Axolotl is floating there’s a chance that they’re gulping because there’s not enough oxygen in the water, well adding aquarium plants will actually help to add oxygen to your tank! If your Axolotl persists in laying on their side in the tub I’ve read that fridgeing an Axolotl could help with these serious situations I don’t know much about this since I’ve never had to fridge myself but there are some good forums on caudata that have a tun of info on the process. Good luck too you and your axie, I hope everything goes well!

All of the advice you've given me is very helpful. I'll get on all of this ASAP