Not sure is he is ok or not :/

[mckenzierich]

Hi all I am a bit worried about fang as when I got his he other week his gills was really red and now they have faded I have turned the filter off last night until I can work out how to reduce its flow and hr water is under 20 c will put a few pics on if anyone has any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[HeidiP]

Hi
First off, the filter flow needs to be lower than 100l per hour, they don't like a current at all. They will fold their gills in when stressed.
What size tank is he in?
What are you feeding him?
Did you cycle your tank and treat water with water ager, to remove chlorine & heavy metals. when you filled it?
Also water temp need to be under 20deg C 15-18 ideal.
Do you have a water testing kit?
You need to test levels of ammonia, ph, nitrite & nitrates. As there are ideal levels.
It's a process of elimination when dealing with Axy's. Let me know the answers to above questions and we'll go from there.
Cheers H

 

[Skudo09]

Turning your filter off may disrupt the cycle if you have one established. If the outflow is too strong, you can baffle the flow by placing an ornament or a sponge in front of the outlet of the filter to help disperse the flow so it doesn't create such a high current.

As Heidi mentioned, do you have a liquid test kit and have you tested the parameters? Do you notice that the gills become more red when your axolotl has been more active and fade when your axolotl has been resting? It is normal for their colour to be more vibrant when they have been active due to increased blood flow.

 

[mckenzierich]

I believe it is a 60L tank and I am feeding him combination of blood worms and carnivore pellets ye the do seam to go more red when active and thanks for the idea about the sponge I never thought of that will have a play around with one later I don't have the liquid tests just the strips all the levels are ideal to what the kit says ammonia is closer to the high side but I am keeping my eye in it cycled the tank before I put him in and I treated it with tap safe and filter start as the supplier said that was all that is needed

 

[HeidiP]

Hi
Ammonia needs to be 0, if you do partial water changes, take a third out and replace every few days that should help, until levels are 0.
Bloodworms are OK occasionally, stick with the Axy pellets and homegrown common garden earthworms are good.
Hope he's doing better...

 

[Skudo09]

Test strips are notorious for being inaccurate so I would recommend investing in a liquid test kit. The presence of ammonia or nitrite suggests your tank is not cycled. The process of cycling takes weeks to establish and no bottled product will instantly cycle a tank. You will need to monitor levels very closely and do frequent water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite down to a safe level (0.25ppm) whilst the tank establishes the cycle again. As Heidi has suggested, earthworms are far more nutritious and appropriate than bloodworm.

Here is a link on cycling.

Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling

 

[mckenzierich]

Also the tank I have has two sets of light a blue and a white do I need to keep these on or will the normal daylight be ok as I belive they produce a good bit of heat

 

[Skudo09]

You don't really need lighting for axolotls. They don't mind it being a bit dark. If the lights produce heat I would recommend d leaving them off. If you particularly want lighting I would look for ones that don't produce a lot of heat and make sure your axolotls have plenty of areas in the tank they can get away from the lights as bright lights can be a bit stressful for them.

 

[mckenzierich]

Got him a log to hide in and had a play around with the filter I think he is starting to look better

 

[AxolotlChris]

Is that some sort of tape you've used to fasten the straws the the filter?

 

[mckenzierich]

Yes it is its a floristry tape which should not have any toxic glue etc on so should be safe

 

[AxolotlChris]

Ahhhh okay should be fine then!

 

[auntiejude]

Hi
First off, the filter flow needs to be lower than 100l per hour, they don't like a current at all.

Where did you get this from? The flow of the filter is related to the size of the tank.
Axies don't mind a little current, in fact some of them deliberately sit in currents.

 

[AxolotlChris]

Ahhhh okay should be fine then!

Although you might want to double check!

 

[HeidiP]

AuntieJude, got it from axolotl.com, have noticed it stresses ours if filter set too fast..
Axolotls - Housing in Captivity
It in filter etc...
Cheers H

 

[mckenzierich]

To be fair min keeps sitting under the filter and once I have changed the flow he sits a bit more to the side where it is flowing so he must not mind it too much