Please help!!!!!

[tammyaxie]

I came home from work to find a tank full of diarrhea. I took my 2 axiesbot and put them in tap water and fridged them while cleaning out the tank. They have been thrashing around violently and voming up for air. They are back in their tank now and its not getting better. Im am crying my eyes out watching this and don't know what to do. They are dying. Please help.

 

[tammyaxie]

Their gills look fuzzy and white at the tips like no blood is getting to them and I know that means they are suffocating. What should I do???

 

[tammyaxie]

My leucistic is now constantly curling the end of her tail. She just had anothe episode of diarrhea!! Can someone plz help!!

 

[tammyaxie]

Please help me!!!!

 

[tammyaxie]

Will they die??

 

[Skudo09]

What are the parameters - ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, PH and temperature (did you test these before cleaning out the tank?)?What are they being fed? Could something have contaminated their water or food? Are you able to seek veterinary attention? It may be worth taking a stool sample to your vet if you can. I think at this point veterinary attention is probably needed.

 

[tammyaxie]

They are covered with a whitish film

 

[Skudo09]

Re: Will they die??

It will be easier to help if you keep it in one thread rather than multiple. As mentioned in your other thread I think veterinary advice might be the best way to go if you have access to a vet. It looks a bit like their slime coats are shedding? You could add some Indian almond leaves to the tank or give a black tea bath to soother their skin. Have you been dechlorinating the water before adding? I wonder if something has contaminated their water?

 

[tammyaxie]

Thanks skudo09. It looks like stuff is coming off the skin and gills so u may have hit the nail on thr head but does shedding present itself with yhe accompanying symptoms I described? Thrashing, tail curling, gulping and forward turnes gills?

 

[tammyaxie]

They have calmed down quite a bit. I hope it's not just because they're tired.

 

[LSuzuki]

Let me make sure I understand what happened.

They were't thrashing before you took them out of the tank, right? You just took them out because the tank was full of diarrhea?

They started thrashing when they went in the tap water and into the fridge? If the tap water was not dechlorinated, that very well could be the cause of the thrashing and maybe the mucous coat shedding.

So, there may be two problems, one that caused the diarrhea and the second being the damage from the chlorine.

Generally, axolotls heal best in clean, cool water. So, without knowing exactly the cause of either problem, I would say keeping them in clean cool water is what you should do now.

Do you have a test kit for your water parameters? You need to check for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. Also, what temperature is your tank at? How long have you had the tank? Is it cycled?

Good luck!

 

[Skudo09]

Re: Will they die??

It could suggest irritation to the skin so yes thrashing and stress can be part of that. Did you dechlorinate the tap water in the tub you moved them to? Try the black tea bath to help soothe their skin and monitor the parameters in the tank closely to ensure the water quality is good.

 

[charleybambino]

Re: Will they die??

I would remove them to a clear bottomed tub, lots of changes of cool dechlorinated water, remove all sand from their tank....it could be source of irritation and then add an Indian almond leaf for its soothing properties...then see how things go

 

[Bellabelloo]

I have merged the three posts together.

 

[tammyaxie]

Apricot died last niggt and im afraid my wild type will as well. I was so anxious to get them out of the poop water that I just put them in straight tap water without treating it first. The was sand was never a problem. They had diarrhea after 3 feedibg of a earthworm diet. I basically took the out of a slow cooker and into the fire. I feel horrible and exhausted. I can't believe I did that without even thinking. My wild type, Aristotle shed almost all his slime coat but is still stressed. Gulps air 1 per 4/5 mins, tail curls when coming down from surface, gills are up but not turned forward. I haven't fed it because im too scared. The last time it ate was Tuesday. The tank is clean and water parameters normal. I feel sick to my stomach. Cant believe this happened.

 

[Skudo09]

I am very sorry to hear that Apricot did not make it. We understandably want to act quickly when our axolotls become ill or something goes wrong and can sometimes rush into taking action which can sometimes make things worse. You had the very best intentions for your axolotls and you were trying to help them. I hope that you don't be too hard on yourself. The important thing now is to focus on what you can do for Aristotle. Keep him in cool, clean dechlorinated water. If you haven't already, try the indian almond leaves or a black tea bath. It will hopefully help to soothe the skin. It would be good to work out why they have had diarrhoea. Where were the earthworms from? Is there any chance they could have come from a source where a chemical or something may have been used or contaminated?

 

[Skudo09]

May I ask how Aristotle is going? Is he still hanging in there? Any improvement at all?

 

[tammyaxie]

I lost both in a matter of hours.

 

[birdsong]

Let me know if you would like some new babies I have two juveniles I need to rehome it would only cost shipping

 

[reptilesJD]

I lost both in a matter of hours.

I'm sorry to hear that , something similar happened to me last week , I had seven axolotls and only 2 survived . they had some of the symptoms you had described . I blame the water , that's what killed my poor babies