Jack Attack
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LONG POST ALERT!!
Right where to start? I would really appreciate some advice/help.
I have a 4 year old female axolotl. I've had her since she was tiny and she's been feeding and growing really well. Last year i had some trouble with the water and she refused to eat and her gills shrunk and she got the tell tale kink in her tail
But I changed the tank set up and got the water just right (acording to the did in paper things you buy) and shes been eating really well and getting nice and big. Her gills were starting to grow back and she seemed like she was on the mend.
Anyway..Now and again i get a little portion of live shrimp (I think they're called ghost shrimp) for her to chomp on and she seems to enjoy eating them.
Last week i got her a portion as i was going away for a couple of days. She was chomping away happily on them. But when i got back from my trip i noticed she was floating on the top of the tank and generally being irritated by the shrimp that were left (quite a few of them) On closer inspection i was HORRIFIED to notice that they were EATING HER. They've eaten her gills down to little stumps, they've eaten one of her fingers off leaving a bone exposed and were just nipping at her constantly.
I got her straight out of there and into a separate bowl. I cleared every single shrimp out of the tank and done a water change.
I've put her back into the tank now and she seems a bit more settled. Some of her frilly bits on her gills have started to grow back already. She's even eaten a couple of earth worms. But the other side of her gills are still stumps and her tail is still curled over and that bone is still exposed.
So.. my questions are... Why would shrimp attack an Axolotl? This has never happened before! Were they a different breed of killer shrimp sold to me by accident? I've heard there's an aggressive type of shrimp that look like ghost shrimp that might do this?
Also, should i just leave her be now and check that she eats ok and not stress her out OR should i fridge her so she can heal? How long do they take to heal from something like this?
I've read a few posts on here and it seems fridging is the way to go but i'm scared to do it?
Thanks for reading and appreciate any helpful advice.
Right where to start? I would really appreciate some advice/help.
I have a 4 year old female axolotl. I've had her since she was tiny and she's been feeding and growing really well. Last year i had some trouble with the water and she refused to eat and her gills shrunk and she got the tell tale kink in her tail
But I changed the tank set up and got the water just right (acording to the did in paper things you buy) and shes been eating really well and getting nice and big. Her gills were starting to grow back and she seemed like she was on the mend.
Anyway..Now and again i get a little portion of live shrimp (I think they're called ghost shrimp) for her to chomp on and she seems to enjoy eating them.
Last week i got her a portion as i was going away for a couple of days. She was chomping away happily on them. But when i got back from my trip i noticed she was floating on the top of the tank and generally being irritated by the shrimp that were left (quite a few of them) On closer inspection i was HORRIFIED to notice that they were EATING HER. They've eaten her gills down to little stumps, they've eaten one of her fingers off leaving a bone exposed and were just nipping at her constantly.
I got her straight out of there and into a separate bowl. I cleared every single shrimp out of the tank and done a water change.
I've put her back into the tank now and she seems a bit more settled. Some of her frilly bits on her gills have started to grow back already.
She's even eaten a couple of earth worms. But the other side of her gills are still stumps and her tail is still curled over and that bone is still exposed.So.. my questions are... Why would shrimp attack an Axolotl? This has never happened before! Were they a different breed of killer shrimp sold to me by accident? I've heard there's an aggressive type of shrimp that look like ghost shrimp that might do this?
Also, should i just leave her be now and check that she eats ok and not stress her out OR should i fridge her so she can heal? How long do they take to heal from something like this?
I've read a few posts on here and it seems fridging is the way to go but i'm scared to do it?
Thanks for reading and appreciate any helpful advice.
