need help urgently

[pcs969804]

hi i have a black female axolotl and and albino male
i am worried about the female as she has now started floating at the top of their tank and has stopped eating her gills aren't as big as the males and her eyes look different to the males as well does anyone know whats wrong what i can do to help her
the male is fine and still eating

 

[g_k]

some pictures would help

 

[Abrahm]

Even more important than pictures are the answers to the following questions:

• How big is the aquarium these animals are in?
• What substrate (gravel, sand, etc) are you using in the aquarium?
• What are the water parameters? Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate being the most important.
• What sort of filtration are you using? Is it causing any current in the aquarium?
• What is the water temperature?

Answering these questions should be quite helpful for us to make a diagnosis and suggest a treatment.

 

[pcs969804]

Even more important than pictures are the answers to the following questions:

• How big is the aquarium these animals are in?
• What substrate (gravel, sand, etc) are you using in the aquarium?
• What are the water parameters? Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate being the most important.
• What sort of filtration are you using? Is it causing any current in the aquarium?
• What is the water temperature?

Answering these questions should be quite helpful for us to make a diagnosis and suggest a treatment.

the tank is 24in x 12in x 18in
i 0am using sand in the tank
ammonia is 0.1 nitrite is 4.0 nitrate is 0
i am using an external filter with the water flow against the glass on the back of the tank
temperture is 20c

 

[Abrahm]

I think you need to do a 25% water change now and another in a few hours. Repeat this tomorrow and watch the water parameters. This will remove some of the ammonia and nitrite in your tank and dilute what is left. I'm guessing your female axolotl is suffering from nitrite poisoning. Try to get your nitrite down to the bottom limit of your test kit. Do not change all the water in your tank at once as you will disrupt the bacteria that are already forming in your tank and delay your tank cycling for even longer. I would also recommend siphoning out the substrate.

How long have you had these animals in the tank? What are you cleaning schedules like?

There shouldn't be any detectable amounts of ammonia or nitrite in a cycled tank so I'm guessing that your tank has been set up recently. Read this article if you haven't heard of cycling before and this article on water quality.

If your axolotl doesn't show any signs of improvement within a day (maybe by this evening) I think I would temporarily remove her to a hospital tank with fresh dechlorinated water which I would change daily.

 

[Ed]

One of the emergency treatments for nitrite poisoning in fish is the use of salt dissolved in the water as the chloride interferes with the uptake of the nitrite. (See http://vfu-www.vfu.cz/acta-vet/vol74/74-129.pdf )

It should be about half an ounce (about 14.15 grams) per gallon (3.79 liters). I am using weights here because depending on how finely ground the salt you choose to use is, there can be significant differences in the volume of the salt.


Ed