Missing Gills, Strange poster, =(

[Glowolotl]

Fed my lil dude some minnows, they destroyed his water quality so I did a complete water change as I have millions of times before. Only difference was I had him out in tiny tiny container with like 10 or so minnows. Put him back in his freshly cleaned tank, tossed the minnows ( they are such a nuisance ) He was fine for a day or so.. now his gills are deteriorating. I did a 20% water change, added stress coat solution to the tank and added some regular iodized salt to the water like an hour ago. Was the action i took suitable? Is my lil guy in danger of illness or death? ='(

 

[Olivia97]

First, it's pretty serious to do a 100% water change as you get rid of all the bacteria which keeps your tank healthy. Iodized salt is very bad for axies skin so id stop adding that. What's the parameters?

 

[Olivia97]

Also, I would remove this colored marbles as they can be ingested my the axie

 

[NeekaLovesYou]

As already said, Iodized salt really isn't very good for their skin (even for salt baths!) so I'd stop that straight away. What I'd do for now is find a suitable container (large enough for axie to lay straight without curling etc, deep enough so he can be fully submerged) while your try to correct your water quality. While in the container you can be sure his water is always nice and fresh by changing it daily with dechlorinated water. Of course this will make feeding easier as if food fouls it can quickly be removed. Place him somewhere he can stay cool and undisturbed and of course keep an eye on his gills. As for the tank try siphoning and to get rid of any gunk that may be in the tank and do 20% water changes daily until you feel the water quality is back on top form. I know it's a lot of work but it really does help. As for feeding, are you able to find any different food sources? Earthworms are great for axie and foul the water alot less quickly. Good luck! :happy:

 

[Glowolotl]

Thanks for the info! What water test kits are recommended?? Just a ph test or what?

 

[JessKB]

Go buy an API master freshwater testing kit ($30) dont get strips as they are not accurate no matter what they tell you at the store. I would almost be certain that the minnows have nipped off the axolotl's gills. Gills dont just go away over night. As stated above, the salt you are using is dangerous and so are the glass stones. They are small enough that your axolotl will eat them and likely die of impaction, its just a matter of time. For now put it in a small container of fresh water and keep him cool and clean until you get your tank in order. Throw away the stones and minnows. Nightcrawlers or other earth worms are all your axolotl needs for food. Also read up on cycling an aquarium and the nitrogen cycle.

 

[Coastal Groovin]

Where did you read it was OK to add minnows, salt, or do 100% water changes on an Axolotl tank? Any fish can prove dangerous to your Axolotl. Even White Cloud Mountain minnows can pick at their gills. Salt is used as a bath. Never as an tank additive. They are not goldfish and should not be treated as such. Prolonged salt exposure can burn their skin and their gills. Doing 100% water changes is never ok. You can crash you bacteria load in the tank. This can kick start off a mini cycling event. This will crash your pH. and spike your ammonia levels. It's another thing you are doing that can burn off their gills. A weekly 20% change is all you should ever need at the most. If you need to do more your tank is cycling or you are over feeding your animals. Just go get a pH and ammonia test kits. They will cost you under 10 dollars and is all you really need.

 

[Olivia97]

Coastal groovin, I don't think it's nessesary to question like that, this person obviously knows what happened has had an impact on his axie and you just reiterated what was said above.

 

[michael]

Where did you read it was OK to add minnows, salt, or do 100% water changes on an Axolotl tank? Salt is used as a bath. Never as an tank additive. T.

I hate to disagree with Bill but salt is a good tank additive. 1 tablespoon for 10 gallons of rock salt, aquarium salt, or marine fish salt is fine for axolotls. What is not o.k. is table salt or salt with iodine.

I told an untruth. I enjoyed disagreeing with Bill.

 

[Olivia97]

Thank you.

 

[mackinthebox]

Ive done 100% water changes before, its not a bad thing and I havent disrupted my cycle yet...
draining the tank of all water and then refilling with dechlorinated water will not crash the cycle as long as you have fish in the tank
if you did this with an empty cycled tank then you could starve the bacteria but the bacteria are in the filter not in the water...
Bacteria does also hide in the nooks and crannies of everything in the tank so if you were to remove all water and completely clean the tank removing everything and scrubbing it down then this would disrupt the cycle too

I know that with Discus 100% water changes are done for many breeders and their tank and they dont disrupt their cycle as they dont touch the filter

I dont advise doing a 100% water change but at the same time its very unlikely youre going to disrupt the cycle
There is still a small chance that it will but its very small, as i said Ive done full water changes many times on many aquariums and never once had water quality issues after those changes

 

[Glowolotl]

OK, so I had to do a 100% water change obviously because of the salt exposure. I bought PRIME to dechlorinate the the water and also added SLIME COAT. I also trashed all the rocks and purchased black sand. The ph is at about 7.6 right now. Going to transfer soon. Thanks so much for the help everyone! I will update when the little guy heals

 

[Glowolotl]

Oh and I feed it bloodworms usually but wanted to try something live. I am going to try earthworms soon =D

 

[mackinthebox]

OK, so I had to do a 100% water change obviously because of the salt exposure. I bought PRIME to dechlorinate the the water and also added SLIME COAT. I also trashed all the rocks and purchased black sand. The ph is at about 7.6 right now. Going to transfer soon. Thanks so much for the help everyone! I will update when the little guy heals

since you did change substrate as well as all the water I would suggest doing 20% water changes every couple days for at least the next couple weeks to make sure that you dont have any ammonia/nitrite/nitrate spikes just in case you did in some way impact the cycle in your tank

if you have a master test kit then watch your parameters for the next couple weeks and do a water change if you find your level rising

 

[Olivia97]

Changing substrate will most definitely disrupt a cycle, so as said do your water changes otherwise you could end up with ammonia poisoning

 

[John]

There's a lot of erroneous information being bandied about in this thread. The bacteria that run the nitrogen cycle in water are found mainly on the surfaces in the tank (substrate, walls, and especially inside your filter media). There is very little floating around in the water. So a complete water change shouldn't have an end-of-the-world effect on filtration, provided you are removing chlorine/chloramines before adding the new water to the tank.

I'm also with Michael regarding adding salt to the aquarium. In small, safe amounts, it can be a very helpful treatment.

That all being said, to the original poster, I don't know what's wrong with your axolotl but those gills look like they were eaten or nipped by the fish, rather than destroyed by salt. If he's eating alright, then chalk it up to experience and don't put live fish in there again. I hope the fish didn't bring any flukes or diseases with them.

 

[Glowolotl]

Thanks for the info John, the minnows that were in the tank were bought from PetCo so I can only assume they were not diseased. at any rate ET is making a nice recovery and is beginning to smile again =D

 

[Coastal Groovin]

I can't argue with Mike over the use of salt he has been using it for decades with his Axolotls and they are all very healthy. I even got my animals from him. When I see him next time he is probably going to hand me a salt shaker....lol I have only had Axolotls for about 7 years. However, I have never used salt in my tanks and I haven't suffered from the fungus, sores, infections, gill rotting that so many people suffer from on this site. The right kind of salt can be safe and we can discuss for hours if it is really needed. I just haven't personally seen a need for the added expense.


And yes Olivia is was needed to be said that way. Too many people are giving out simply bad advice to people. Adding any fish has risks. From gill nipping to introducing disease to your tank. So why do it? Salt, well you can make up your own mind but it's not a must do and 100% water changes always not a good move. The up and down temp, ammonia and pH roller coaster it causes is stressful and less than ideal for axolotls.

 

[Olivia97]

Yes, but you don't have to be forceful with advice, you obviously have a good rep and people will probably take your advice on without needed to question them like that.

 

[Glowolotl]

It's cool. I don't mind the stern advice as long as its accurate. My lil guy is doing ALOT better. I honestly think we was just stressed out from invasion of space mostly. He never stopped eating or anything like that, the missing gills just freaked me out so I had a simi panic attack lol. I am very new to amphibians in general I have always been a Reptile Gal myself
never the less I appreciate everyones advice on this matter :angel:

I am sure I can research this and find a plausible answer, but does anyone happen to know off hand how long it takes for Gills to start growing back?