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No fluff on gills

MyLittleComet

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Im not sure whats caused my Axie to lose his gills or how to help him.... Could it have been because the nitrates got too high? They were above 80ppm at one point, but I immediately did a water change (about 40%) and added some real plants, (some anubis nana) and since checking after this weeks water change theyre at about 60ppm. Theres no ammonia either. (Nitrites and Ph are in good range as well) Im *certain* my tank was fully cycled before I put him in, so I'm not sure what went wrong or how to make him better :(
(Sorry its my first time posting here im not sure if the pics went in the right order, but one is when I first got him, and the other is how he is now, with such bare gills :'( he seems less vibrant now too...)
20210409_024339.jpg


20210703_210205.jpg
 

AMurry24537

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The high nitrates could definitely have been a factor, but there may be other issues going on. Nitrates need to be kept below 40 ppm, either by using plants or by doing more frequent water changes. To help maintain your axolotl's oxygen levels, drop the temp as much as you can (within the safe range, of course) and perhaps consider adding an air stone on a regulator valve to reduce its intensity
 

MyLittleComet

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The high nitrates could definitely have been a factor, but there may be other issues going on. Nitrates need to be kept below 40 ppm, either by using plants or by doing more frequent water changes. To help maintain your axolotl's oxygen levels, drop the temp as much as you can (within the safe range, of course) and perhaps consider adding an air stone on a regulator valve to reduce its intensity
Since adding plants and doing weekly changes I've noticed it go down, should I be doing them even more frequently? (I also just learned I was supposed to be doing spot cleaning as well, so I've only just started doing that 😣) I have a sponge filter, so no current, and definitely doing its job cleaning (its for 30-80gal and I have a 29gal and all the other parameters were good 👍) the highest the temp has gotten was 72 cause it got *really* hot here, but I've gotten a tank cooler and the heat wave has since passed.
 

MyLittleComet

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Updated pic~ his fluff is growing back, slowly but surely. I'm not sure how long it'll take, but I hope it means he's feeling better 🧡
 

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AMurry24537

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They will probably take a month or two to grow back completely. Yes, you should be doing more frequent water changes if your nitrates are above 40. Once a week water changes are the norm for an established tank, but that's assuming that all the levels are normal. It's possible that the temperature may have affected these levels as well. I don't know how many live plants you have, but you could also add some more for a more long term solution
 

MyLittleComet

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They will probably take a month or two to grow back completely. Yes, you should be doing more frequent water changes if your nitrates are above 40. Once a week water changes are the norm for an established tank, but that's assuming that all the levels are normal. It's possible that the temperature may have affected these levels as well. I don't know how many live plants you have, but you could also add some more for a more long term solution
Thank you! They've dropped even more, I checked last night and they're down to 30 now 😊 I'll def keep all this in mind for the future 💙 i appreciate the advice
 
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