Recuring Skin problem. Out of ideas

[andrew]

My eldest axie "Axie" has been having skin problems for about the last 3 months or so.

My initial thoughts were that it was linked to the water quality, however my other two axies seem fine.

The problem has got worse lately, instead of peeling once every few weeks she is now peeling every 4 days or so. She also seems to be more sensitive to light.

I have recently boosted the KH of my tank water as i suspected fluctuations of PH might have been the culprit. But doing that has made no difference what so ever.

My current water tests are as follows.

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
GH 120ppm
KH 70ppm
PH 7.4 - 7.6
Nitrate 40ppm
Temperature is 20-21C with aid of a chiller.

I have read though many old posts regarding skin peeling and have found virtually nothing similar to my problem. Most peeling axie stories involve burning via ammonia or PH.

I am thinking that it could be parasites but if that were the case wouldn't it be affecting my other axies? After she peels she looks the pinnacle of health. She always eats fine.

Any ideas/thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[theresa]

i try to keep my Nitrates under 20. maybe more frequent water changes ? just curious as to how often you change yours?

 

[suzanne]

Yes, I agree with Theresa.
Nitrate is way too high, bordering on becoming too dangerous. Nitrate should be below 40. Definitely do some water changes.

 

[andrew]

I have been changing 20% each week for the last month or so. Before that it was the recommended 25% every two weeks. It wont come down.

Is it safe to change more water than that, or maybe twice a week? or is there some other way to remove nitrate? The tank water looks fantastic, crystal clear.

Do you think the nitrates could be the source of my problem? I had a plant (some plant with small red leaves) die from the inside out not long before i started having these problems, causing the water to turn a mysty brown virtually overnight, could this have been the source of my problems?

Just seems weird that my axie is shedding more frequently now that i'm changing the water more often.

 

[joan]

You can change more, as long as you don't clean the substrate (take it out and scrub it), and don't clean the filter at the same time as a water change.

To reduce nitrates, try using live plants. They use nitrates as a food source. Red plants need more light than normal green plants. Try using java moss, it's very hardy. The decaying plant very well could have increased your nitrates to high levels.

 

[alex]

yup, the substrate is what hold the benificial bacteria, aswell as the filter media and other ornaments and things in your tank. like joan said, you should get some live plants as they will most likely absorb the nitrate as a food source.

 

[theresa]

if it were me, i would be doing water changes every day until i got those nitrates down to below 20. i would do 30 to 35%.
i was once told that "fish keeping is not about keeping fish, it is about keeping water". it made allot of sense to me and i use it with my axie also. When we think that we are creating the total environment of our pets, i think it makes us more aware. just a thought.

 

[andrew]

Thanks for your suggestions guys.

I do have quite a few real plants, java moss, java ferns and some reedy ones.

I did a 50% water change today and the nitrates have come down to 20. I have a external canaster filter with a bio media tray, so hopefully the beneficial bacteria will still be strong enough.

I will keep everyone posted, i hope this fixes my problems.

I did a search ages ago looking for safe levels of nitrate, and i found one that said that anything below 40ppm is fine. I think i should have searched a bit more.