My poor Elennor

[2inkaha]

Hi guys, I was wondering if anybody could help me......On the weekend i brought my Axolotl (elennor) and lovely new 90 liter tank, I thought that she would be sooo happy in there, but NO she hates it (I think). Anyway she wont eat, everytime I open the lid she gos crazy and trys to leep out, then she swims around smaking herself into the glass?????? Also she keeps flicking her gills down? Im a bit new to this and was hoping you guys could please help me out.

 

[blueberlin]

If you just brought Elennor home this weekend, she is most likely still "freaked out" by the move. She is just in unfamiliar surroundings. If nothing else is obviously wrong with her, she will just need some time to adjust. It is very common for axolotls in new surroundings to refuse food and to hide or to "go crazy" if you look over or into their tank or reach into the water, etc.

It is also normal for the gills to flip back - this is how they breathe. Gills that indicate stress are curved forward toward the nose - and they still flip back and forth.

-Eva

 

[2inkaha]

No Ive had her for about 3 months, I just broughht her a new tank because she has growen so fast that i felt sorry for her in the other tank. Thanks for that, why I asked bout the gills was because they just usually standing up rite just floating around (hope that makes sense haha). So should i still put food into her tank or just leave it for a few days?

 

[blueberlin]

If you think that Elennor's behavior is odd, you can test the water in the aquarium; perhaps something in the water is irritating her.

You can continue to offer her food but if she refuses it, you will of course want to remove the food again before it goes bad and spoils the water.

-Eva

 

[2inkaha]

Thanks so much for your help, I will test water etc..... I will keep you posted at how she is getting on, Im thinking that when she has settled, i will get her a friend

 

[madeve]

make sure you quarantine her new friend for at least 30 days before putting it with Elennor. If you don't you might get Elennor sick and I'm sure you don't want that.
Good luck.

 

[Lisa]

It sounds like she's just getting used to her tank. Keep the lights low, and obviously make sure she's got some hides and places to retreat too, and if possible avoid too much loud noise. Leave the lights off if you have tank lights.
If she's gone into an uncycled tank, you'll need to monitor the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate daily until the tank is cycled. When the tank is cycled you'll have an ammonia reading of zero, nitrite zero and nitrate between 10 and 80.
If she doesn't eat the food, remove it after an hour or so, so it doesn't foul the water.
Good luck.

 

[sherrisixxx]

Most likely its the water. Did you cycle your new tank before putting her in there? Please get all the water readings and post them here asap. Good luck

 

[ianclick]

Hi Nicole,

It can take a few days for an axolotl to settle in to a new environment. Did you use the water from your old tank? as mentioned it could be a water quality issue but I am more inclined to think its a relocation issue which will pass.

Good Luck

 

[2inkaha]

Thanks guys for your help......All the water seems to be fine, she still wont eat, how long can she go without food for, also ive noticed that she has a white dot in each of her eyes??????Maybe they have always been there and I havent noticed before, any ideas?

 

[Saspotato]

When you say the water is fine, did you cycle it first? What are the ammonia/nitrate/nitrite and pH readings? What is your water temperature? What do you have in your tank - like ornaments, substrate, and so on?

Regarding the white spots, if you could post a picture of your axie, that would be very helpful.

 

[2inkaha]

Hi guys........

Update time......My water pH is 7 and my ammonia is 0.25....I made a trip down to my friendly pet shop man at wonder world aquarium. Elennnor is now on a seven day course of antibiotic for her eyes (it seems that the water has burnt them :errr: :errr I feel soooo bad, I feel like a real horrible mummy. Elennor seems a bit more happy, still not eating though???? I have tried to get a good photo to upload for you guys, but they are coming out fuzzy, will keep trying though.
Thanks again for your help.

 

[Saspotato]

Ok your tank is cycling if your ammonia is above 0. You need to do 20% water changes each day until the ammonia reads zero. This should stop your axie being stressed and once she is no longer stressed she should start eating again. Cycling can take 3 to 6 weeks. What is your water temperature too? If your temperature is too high, this can also cause your axie to stop eating.

I would be *really* wary of taking anything that a pet store recommends. What type of antibiotics has this guy recommended? What are the ingredients? Many types of medicine good for fish are poisonous to amphibians so you can't use fish medicine. Many pet stores do not know this.

I doubt the water has 'burned them', how did he explain this?? Your ammonia is not really high so it doesn't seem likely. If you could post a picture even if a bit fuzzy it would be very helpful, it might actually be nothing to worry about.

 

[2inkaha]

OK I will do that then.......And will get a photo up for you. I went and got some worms out of the garden today and dropped them into the tank, she wasent interested in them, so I took them out, I thought that I would try again so I held them in front of her with some tweezers and she gobbled them up (6 of them). Gee I hope she hasn't gone blind???? The pet shop man asked me if the white dots on her eyes looked like cataracts and yep that's what they do look like, that's why he said that the water had burnt her eyes??????
Thanks again for your help.

 

[madeve]

Gee I hope she hasn't gone blind????

don't worry about that axolotls have poor eyesight in general

 

[2inkaha]

Ohhh ok, thats alright then......Thanks for that bit of info Eve, I learn something new everyday

 

[blueberlin]

Cloudy eyes can be caused by a variety of things, including infection or poor water quality (see also http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/illness.shtml ).

I am thinking that if the water quality is poor, Elennor might not be able to smell very well, and if her eyes are cloudy, she cannot see very well, which might explain why she is not hunting for her food. She would have to rely on feeling the worm's movement. This is just a theory, though.

I have a question about the antibiotic treatment. Are you applying the antibiotics directly in the cycling aquarium or have you removed Elennor to a separate container? The reason I ask is because antibiotics kill bacteria, but you need bacteria to rid your aquarium of ammonia & co. As I understand it, if you are putting antibiotics directly into the aquarium, the aquarium cannot cycle, and your ammonia and nitrite levels will remain high.

-Eva

 

[2inkaha]

Hi......Ive uploaded some photos, but I couldnt get them onto here..So they are in my photo album named Ellie

 

[Saspotato]

Thanks for putting up those pictures. Just a few comments on your set up:

+How big is your tank? It looks quite small but it is hard to tell from the angle of your pictures.

+You should remove the gravel as soon as possible as your axolotl can ingest this gravel and it causes impaction. Sand or a bare tank floor are best.

Anyway, it is hard to tell if there is anything wrong with Ellie's eyes in the picture but I think as your ammonia is above zero, it could very well be a water quality issue. I think you need to deal with your tank cycling and then Elennor will be less stressed and will start to eat. Usually medicines are a last resort for axolotls as it often kills them. What medicine are you using and what are its ingredients?

What is your water temperature too?

 

[2inkaha]

Hi Sarah.....

OK I will remove the gravel asap...Can I just use normal sand??? Yes the tank dose look quite small in that photo, but it is a big tank, its between 90 and 100 liters. My water temp is 19 degrees and the medicine is melafix. She has eaten now, she ate some worms but as I said i had to feed them to her because when I put them into the tank she wasent interested in them ( that's why I thought she had gone blind hahaha), but when I offered them to her on the tweezers she gobbled them up.