Poorly axolotl can tell by gills. possible fungus.

[axoltlmad123]

Hi so all seemed well and then the other day I noticed stardust had white tips on his gills . Does he have fungus. Also lotties gills have been a funny colour and they have little black dots on the Base of her gills. see picture. I don't know what is going on I am doing daily 100 percent water changes as they are in Un cycled tubs at the moment. I have started a fish in cycle and my levels are 7.4 ph high range. Ammonia 0.25ppm _I know not too great . Nitrite 0ppm and nitrate 40ppm. Could that be what has caused this. Nothing else has really changed. I put a filter in each tub and some live plants but this was after I noticed the fungus. Oh and since I put the filters in I changed less water. But today was the first day of doing that as the filters went in yesterday. I also tested my tap water for ammonia and it was 0.25ppm so will water changes bring it down or will it just make the situation worse. Do I need to buy something to put into the water . And could this be why harley 's gills haven't improved because I've is still in ammonia . HELP !!

 

[AxolotlChris]

The white tips look very small so perhaps nothing major in terms of fungus.

I'm not sure about the black dots, could just be normal coloration.

The gills do look like they are suffering so something is not right, potentially the Ammonia levels, because since your doing the cycle with your Axolotls in the tank you already have a level of Ammonia existing in the tap water on top of the Ammonia the Axolotls produce.

What test kit are you using?

The fact you have Nitrates showing means your nitrogen cycle should be active and the beneficial bacteria should have colonized your tank.

While they are in tubs/containers I wouldn't use a filter if the tub is quite small, as it could be stressful.

You don't need to worry so much about the ammonia in your tap water since when your tank is cycled since the bacteria within your cycle will eliminate the ammonia.

But for while your Axolotls are in tubs or if they ever are again in the future, it would be worth buying bottled 'drinking' or 'spring' water because your tap water containing ammonia will not benefit your quarantining processes.

 

[AxolotlChris]

P.S

Still dechlorinate the bottled water, as it could still contain chlorine/chloramine. You can check the contents of various brands of water before you purchase.

 

[axoltlmad123]

The tubs are really large and I have adjusted the flow on the filter filters there is hardly any movement. I'm pretty sure lotties Is the smallest and holds 20 litres ish. Buying the bottled water I will do if it turn out to be a last resort but it will be quite expensive won't it ?isn't there such thing as a Dechlorinator that removes ammonia from tap water . Also I am using the api liquid test kit the one which you have to wait 5 minutes for most of them to develop you know which one I mean? I could always take my water to be tested at pets at home if that could help . To see if I'm testing it correctly but I'm pretty sure I am after watching all the tutorials. Is it worth re testing my water and if my ammonia is at 0.25 ppm and all my other things are the same skipping the 25percent water change for today ? Then if I test my water tomorrow morning I can see if there is bacteria and if the bacteria converts the ammonia.

 

[AxolotlChris]

The API kit is the same a lot of users on the forum have including myself, you can just follow the little booklet that comes with it, it tells you exactly how to perform each test.

While your Axolotls are not in your tank there is no source of ammonia for the bacteria to feed on to keep your nitrogen cycle going, in theory if there are traces of ammonia in your tap water then doing a water change will add the ammonia needed to continue the cycle and also remove the high level of Nitrates.

Might be worth testing your tap water for Nitrates also, as I have Nitrates in my tap water.

 

[axoltlmad123]

Okay I'll do that when I get home in a bit. And is there any sort of dechlorinator good at removing ammonia .

 

[AxolotlChris]

You can't remove ammonia, only bind it.

You'd be better getting your cycle done so the ammonia is being removed via your cycle. Obviously for now you can keep doing the water changes which will hopefully be feeding the cycle the ammonia in your tap water

 

[axoltlmad123]

Hi I haven't had time to so a water test on my tap water yet but will try to do later. Lotties gills are looking worse . I will get a picture in a bit . Should I phone the vets? lottie isn't very big so I doubt there is much they can do for her but I could be wrong. I want to ask you what you do personally I can get them down the vets or I could try the de chlorinated bottled water like you said but don't think I'll be able to do either till Monday as that is when i get paid. I also bought eggs a few days before I noticed anything. Do I use de chlorinated bottled water for their water changes and which one would you recommend. sorry for all the questions.

 

[axoltlmad123]

Okay sorry about the delay . Sadly little lottie has passed away. I am gutted but need to focus on getting my water better for the other two. I think I understand the cycle. I red a really helpful post . I have managed to test my tap water and the ph is 7.4-7.6 .. the ammonia is 0-0.25ppm it's closer to 0 though.I can't have tested it right the first time as I have had two readings come out like this now. The nitrite is spot on 0ppm. And their is nitrate in my tap water and it is reading high at 20-40 ppm closer to 40. Do you know what the strange thing is. When I removed them last I was doing 100 percent water changes and the nitrate was 10 -20ppm. What do I do? Also I have removed harley and stardust and placed them in cool clean de chlorinated water . Does the dechlorinator api stress coat with aloe Vera remove nitrate. Harley and stardust have had dinner and will stay in their small tubs till their tanks have cycled . They will have water changes twice daily along with the babies. I have been reading up on cycling and is it true that water changes prolong the process sort of thing.and that all I need to be doing is testing the water every other day. First I'll see ammonia which I am seeing . Then I'll see nitrite and the ammonia will drop. Then I will see nitrate and the nitrite will drop. But what do I do about the ph as my ph is high . My levels in stardust 's tub are ph-8.2. Ammonia- 0.5p so it has raised from 0.25. Nitrite 0. Nitrates 20-40 closer to 40. Harleys tank is reading ph-8.2 . Ammonia 0.50-1.0 . Nitrite 0.25 - Is that good ?nitrates 20 -40 closer to 40 . I have never been do pleased to see nitrites before and at this stage of the cycle I usually would do a huge water change because I didn't have a clue . But now I realise that it needs the nitrite to get to the next stage.

 

[AxolotlChris]

Sorry for not getting back to you any sooner.

Its a shame Lottie didn't make it..

It does seem like your water quality may have been the issue.

Yes using dechlorinated water is best for hatching eggs.

As I said before the Ammonia shouldn't be too much of a problem in your main tank once your cycle is established. Only issue is when raising Axolotl larvae, and when quarantining since you want the water quality to be at its best. Perhaps another user with experience with their own tap water containing Ammonia at around 0.25ppm could give some advice.

I wouldn't use a dechlorinator that contains aloe vera, it creates a slim coat on most objects in your tank and it will eventually break down and add to your ammonia levels.
Use a dechlorinator like Prime, or Tetra.

Yes I believe the water changes during cycling aren't required until the Nitrate level is high around 40ppm.

You just need to make sure that you are providing an ammonia source to tanks that are cycling since once any ammonia is filtered by the bacteria into nitrites you will need to keep feeding your cycle ammonia. Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling

Any ammonia that reaches 1.0ppm is not safe if you have an Axolotl living in it. You don't really want to see anything at 0.25 or higher if you are keeping Axolotls in tubs/containers.

It seems Harleys tank has something causing the PH to rise, considering it is not that high when you test your tap water. I don't think 8.2 is quite too high as I have seen other users whos Axolotls are healthy in a PH of 8.2.

It looks like Harleys tank is in the middle of cycling, ammonia is present, nitrite is present, your now waiting for the nitrite to slowly go down and the nitrate to rise.

My tap water also contains Nitrates close to 40ppm, its not ideal since levels of Nitrates within my tank will rise a lot faster since I'm basically adding Nitrate every time I do water changes to my cycled tank. You just have to perform water changes to stop the Nitrates from going even higher. I'm in the middle of adding live plants to help absorb some of the Nitrate.

I use Prime as a dechlorinator now as I've been reading how it binds Nitrate for upto 48 hours, apparently this makes it easier for plants to absorb the Nitrate.

The cycling process can take from 3-6 weeks. For your tank to be cycled, a beneficial bacteria needs to be present to break down the Ammonia and Nitrites into Nitrates. Ammonia and Nitrites are lethal to Axolotl and are produced from your Axolotls waste and decomposing food. Nitrates are a slightly less toxic by product. During cycling the beneficial bacteria will colonize your tanks surfaces such as substrate, ornaments, filter, and begin to feed on the Ammonia turning it into Nitrites, then bacteria will break down the Nitrites into Nitrates. The bacteria is known as a 'biofilter', as it filters the ammonia and nitrites into less harmful nitrates.

Once this cycle is established by the beneficial bacteria colonizing the tank, the Ammonia, and Nitrites will always be filtered by the bacteria into Nitrates, all you have to do is monitor you cycle by testing your water weekly so that when your Nitrates build up to around 40ppm you can perform a 30% water change to lower the Nitrates.

 

[AxolotlChris]

Also, since your going to raise larvae read this thread:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1-general-topics/f1158-introductions-area/104888-new-here.html#post457456

 

[axoltlmad123]

Thank you so much for your help do you have a link to prime. I think I'll give that a go. Is it safe to use with the babies or should I continue using stress coat api for the babies. And start using primed for harley and stardust. Also my ammonia in my tap water is barely there. Literally it's really yellow but you can see it's not quite dead on 0ppm. I have had success raising hatchlings before and I presume the ammonia was the same then . I had to much success to be honest and ended up with over 100. This time I have 40 eggs and a couple aren't developing . Lastly is it normal for a golden albino babu in the egg to have a really bright green belly?

 

[charleybambino]

I have always used tap safe dechlorinator for eggs, larvae, adults and tropical fish.....just remember this is only one aspect of water quality care.......but it's a good start.

 

[AxolotlChris]

It's called Seachem Prime. Seachem Prime concentrated conditioner - 250ml: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies it's highly concentrated so you only have to use a tiny amount, you can work out how much to use based on your volume of water.

If the ammonia in your tap water is that low and you've had success hatching and raising before then perhaps don't worry about it. Just dechlorinate.

Not sure about the green belly, can you post an image? Perhaps it just looks green through the skin colour.

P.s not sure how I got the little red thumbs down on the title of my post, didn't mean to add it >.<

 

[axoltlmad123]

Here's a picture of the babies. They have started hatching now there are only two left in there egg now.

 

[AxolotlChris]

Yes that colour is normal, it will soon change as the Axolotl develops.