new axolotl shedding slime coat

[DemMa]

Hello, nice to meet you all! About two months ago I bought my first axolotl (male) . Everything was fine and then about two weeks ago I added a female axolotl as well. When I first put her in the tank they seemed to be doing fine, but then the next day, the female looked as if she was hiding and also floating near the surface plants. Most of the nights she hangs out near the surface, but when I put the tweezer/my hand near her she goes back to the bottom. I have a small plate where I put their food, but she didn’t eat. I tried feeding her with tweezers and she ate. I don’t know if she is eating from the plate now, but some days she eats from the tweezers and some days she doesn’t, so I guess she eats? Today I noticed she has also shed some small patches of her slime coat. The male is completely fine. To be honest I am kind of worried, I’ve checked the water parameters multiple times just in case and everything was normal. The temperature is 17 degrees Celsius. She doesn’t have any other signs of illness, so I am guessing she is still stressed. Do you have any advice on what I can do? Thank you in advance (sorry for the long post)

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

Hello, nice to meet you all! About two months ago I bought my first axolotl (male) . Everything was fine and then about two weeks ago I added a female axolotl as well. When I first put her in the tank they seemed to be doing fine, but then the next day, the female looked as if she was hiding and also floating near the surface plants. Most of the nights she hangs out near the surface, but when I put the tweezer/my hand near her she goes back to the bottom. I have a small plate where I put their food, but she didn’t eat. I tried feeding her with tweezers and she ate. I don’t know if she is eating from the plate now, but some days she eats from the tweezers and some days she doesn’t, so I guess she eats? Today I noticed she has also shed some small patches of her slime coat. The male is completely fine. To be honest I am kind of worried, I’ve checked the water parameters multiple times just in case and everything was normal. The temperature is 17 degrees Celsius. She doesn’t have any other signs of illness, so I am guessing she is still stressed. Do you have any advice on what I can do? Thank you in advance (sorry for the long post)

If you could take a couple photos, that would be very helpful. Floating can be caused by several things but its hard to pinpoint without more information. What exactly are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH)? What are you feeding them and how much? Size tank? How old are your axolotls (approximately)?

 

[DemMa]

My parameters are NO3: 10mg/l, NO2: 0 mg/l, PH: 7.2, ammonia: 0. I am feeding them bloodworms both frozen and in pellets (they are worm shaped pellets called vibra bites). I feed them approx. 4-5 pellets each. The male is around a year old, the female is a little younger. My tank is around 140liters and about 1.2 meters in length.
thank you for your time!

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

My parameters are NO3: 10mg/l, NO2: 0 mg/l, PH: 7.2, ammonia: 0. I am feeding them bloodworms both frozen and in pellets (they are worm shaped pellets called vibra bites). I feed them approx. 4-5 pellets each. The male is around a year old, the female is a little younger. My tank is around 140liters and about 1.2 meters in length.
thank you for your time!

Ok so your water paramters are fine, as is your temperature. Those are usually the most common culprits. Other causes of floating Ive seen have been constipation, bacterial infection and parasites. I don't suspect that those are what is causing it at this point, but it may be good to tub her for now and keep her quarantined to keep a closer eye on her. Make sure to change 100% of the water daily in the tub. Get a couple good meals in her and see if she settles down.

As a side note, at a year old, they really should not be eating bloodworms anymore. Thats basically like feeding them potato chips, there's really no nutritional value to them. You'd be best to feed either european nightcrawlers or red wigglers (depending on availability).

 

[DemMa]

Yeah, I will do that! I didn’t know about the bloodworms, I will try to find one of the foods you suggested!
again, thank you for your time

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

Yeah, I will do that! I didn’t know about the bloodworms, I will try to find one of the foods you suggested!
again, thank you for your time

You're welcome. Feel free to send me a direct message if you have any questions or other issues. Always happy to help