Restoring gill stalk ferns

[Kc0olm]

Last July, I noticed that most of my 2-year-ol axo's gill stalk ferns (is that the term?) just went away. I've posted in various places, and the answers are a little vague, but most point to a water quality issue (although there are a range of speculations - I thought this would be a well-documented thing...).

I can imagine that around July last year, we took a longer vacation, and our axo went to a "water hotel" - I trusted and knew the owners well. I don't think it was the hotel, but my tank sort of crashed a little, and it took me some time to get it back. Anyway, photos show that something happened that month.

But live in the present!. Tank is doing well, axo is happy and eating worms! But now I am looking into solutions to grown back the ferns:

1) Almond leaves
2) Tea baths

Could the group comment on either of these, or provide other solutions?

Thank you!

 

[wolfen]

check your ph, kh, gh, also ensure adequate oxygenation.
add 2g/l non-iodised salt to the water.
chemistry of the water can also affect the health of an axolotl as well as helping balance the tank water.
a slight amount of salt has been found to affect the growth of an axolotl as well as encourage gill growth (also has other health benefits).
because in a way the gills are like having lungs on the side of the head having good water oxygenation will help towards having healthy gills (also good oxygenation is good for the bacterial filtration).
as a side note although the gills will grow back they may not grow back looking like before the issues occurred, they may grow back looking like antlers, pig tails and even with some overgrown whilst others are bare (like horns), this won't affect your axolotl as it won't care what the gills look like provided it can breath.
for tolerances and ideals see here.. Water Quality Explained: How It Can Affect Your Axolotl's Health - WSAVA 2015 Congress - VIN if using stick tests for kh and gh 17.9 = 1°.
additional edit.. vitamin A has also been found to speed up regrowth, ensure a varied and balanced diet.

 

[Kc0olm]

check your ph, kh, gh, also ensure adequate oxygenation.
add 2g/l non-iodised salt to the water.
chemistry of the water can also affect the health of an axolotl as well as helping balance the tank water.
a slight amount of salt has been found to affect the growth of an axolotl as well as encourage gill growth (also has other health benefits).
because in a way the gills are like having lungs on the side of the head having good water oxygenation will help towards having healthy gills (also good oxygenation is good for the bacterial filtration).
as a side note although the gills will grow back they may not grow back looking like before the issues occurred, they may grow back looking like antlers, pig tails and even with some overgrown whilst others are bare (like horns), this won't affect your axolotl as it won't care what the gills look like provided it can breath.
for tolerances and ideals see here.. Water Quality Explained: How It Can Affect Your Axolotl's Health - WSAVA 2015 Congress - VIN if using stick tests for kh and gh 17.9 = 1°.
additional edit.. vitamin A has also been found to speed up regrowth, ensure a varied and balanced diet.

oxygenation: I have two aerators, one a sponge, and the other a small disk. I also have a HOB filter. Is that not enough? I also have quite a few plants
ph, kh, gh: I test regularly. The pH has always been correct. the ammonia has be slightly high, at various time, which is what caused the gill fronds to burn off, I guess.
salt - if I have a 20 gallon tank, that's 75 liters - so 150 grams of non-iodized salt? I had a water softener installed recently, but always turn it off when I draw tank water, for fear the freshwater will become salt water
vitamin-A - dosage?

 

[wolfen]

what are the ph kh gh levels.
150 grams is correct for 75 litres.
vitamin A can be received by feeding shrimp, krill, mysis, fish etc.. (eyed food tends to contain vitamin A)
having the water heavily oxygenated it encourages them to use their gills and skin to absorb oxygen which in turn encourages gill growth, water oxygenation is also required by the biological filtration, ensure that the air stone is placed away from the hob to allow for good overall oxygen circulation of the tank.

 

[Kc0olm]

what are the ph kh gh levels.
150 grams is correct for 75 litres.
vitamin A can be received by feeding shrimp, krill, mysis, fish etc.. (eyed food tends to contain vitamin A)
having the water heavily oxygenated it encourages them to use their gills and skin to absorb oxygen which in turn encourages gill growth, water oxygenation is also required by the biological filtration, ensure that the air stone is placed away from the hob to allow for good overall oxygen circulation of the tank.

Thanks again. She only eats worms. I've tried other foods but she rejects them. Do you have some brand names of shrimp or krill I could order?

 

[wolfen]

the shrimp that I have in the tank are called river shrimp (similar to ghost shrimp) I tend to put 2-3 hundred in when I go on holiday to last them and normally around 20-30 survive in the tank with them for around 6 months as part of the clean up crew, the frozen food I use is a U.K. brand but I believe there should be the same as available in the U.S. (there seems to be quite a few stockist but you will have to look into them), the types I use are bloodworm, brineshrimp, mysis, krill, chopped mussel, chopped cockle, sometimes use beef heart, turkey heart, discus mix, cichlid mix, turtle mix, I also give them chopped de-shelled freshwater prawns and chopped de-shelled king prawn and tiger shrimp, they don't seem to be keen on white and black mosquito larvae, live food tends to be earthworms, maggots, any shrimp they manage to catch, blackworms (these are part of the clean up crew and hide in the substrate), they aren't fussed about snails (also clean up crew) and tend to spit them out, hyalella azteca (gammarus shrimp) (clean up crew) tend to be to small to be eaten, fish ie.. guppy, molly, platy are only put in in warmer months as the tank water can be too cold for them.

 

[Kc0olm]

the shrimp that I have in the tank are called river shrimp (similar to ghost shrimp) I tend to put 2-3 hundred in when I go on holiday to last them and normally around 20-30 survive in the tank with them for around 6 months as part of the clean up crew, the frozen food I use is a U.K. brand but I believe there should be the same as available in the U.S. (there seems to be quite a few stockist but you will have to look into them), the types I use are bloodworm, brineshrimp, mysis, krill, chopped mussel, chopped cockle, sometimes use beef heart, turkey heart, discus mix, cichlid mix, turtle mix, I also give them chopped de-shelled freshwater prawns and chopped de-shelled king prawn and tiger shrimp, they don't seem to be keen on white and black mosquito larvae, live food tends to be earthworms, maggots, any shrimp they manage to catch, blackworms (these are part of the clean up crew and hide in the substrate), they aren't fussed about snails (also clean up crew) and tend to spit them out, hyalella azteca (gammarus shrimp) (clean up crew) tend to be to small to be eaten, fish ie.. guppy, molly, platy are only put in in warmer months as the tank water can be too cold for them.

I can get live river shrimp easily. I will start with those for now to see if she eats them. You mention "clean up crew". I am interested in making this tank as self-operational as possible. So, I believe you mean to say that the shrimp will server to clean the feces and other debris in the tank, which would be ideal. Also, it looks like you use other creatures to do the clean up, which are not used as food.

As for the salt, I'm a little tenuous on that front. We have a salt-based water softener installed, as I mentioned, but I turn it off when I add water to the tank, because I don't want it to convert to a saline tank. I'm dumb American so I can't visualize 150 grams - assuming it's a relatively small amount, and so there's little chance of converting the tank. How often do you add this (pardon if you've already written this - I will check the posts).

I did move the air puck to a different local so that now I have HOB in the back, sponge on left and puck on right. I guess she's getting sufficient oxygen.

Also note that I have an expensive chiller for her, which runs a lot. I keep her water at 64 degrees Fahrenheit, which I guess is 18 Celsius

 

[wolfen]

the salt level of the tank is kept at 2 grams per litre so if you do a 30 litre water change you add 60 grams of salt to the fresh water to replace what was removed.
150g in course salt is 0.79 cup or 12.66 tablespoons (or 12 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons), 150g in fine salt is 0.53 cups or 8.45 tablespoon (or 8 tablespoons around 1 1/2 teaspoons)
if the water softener is for drinking water it shouldn't be higher than 200ppm (0.2g/l) salt content.
if your water is hard it is better for her as it contains calcium and magnesium, axolotls are a slight brackish moderate/hard water animal (although 2g/l salt is closer to freshwater, wild axolotls live in water which is a lot more saline although this is also due to human interference/damage).

 

[Kc0olm]

the salt level of the tank is kept at 2 grams per litre so if you do a 30 litre water change you add 60 grams of salt to the fresh water to replace what was removed.
150g in course salt is 0.79 cup or 12.66 tablespoons (or 12 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons), 150g in fine salt is 0.53 cups or 8.45 tablespoon (or 8 tablespoons around 1 1/2 teaspoons)
if the water softener is for drinking water it shouldn't be higher than 200ppm (0.2g/l) salt content.
if your water is hard it is better for her as it contains calcium and magnesium, axolotls are a slight brackish moderate/hard water animal (although 2g/l salt is closer to freshwater, wild axolotls live in water which is a lot more saline although this is also due to human interference/damage).

as I wrote when I change the water I turn off the water softener and flush it for 10 minutes. so she gets the hard water.
I do only 20% water change maybe once per month. that’s if I see the ammonia creeping up or the nitrates. but they don’t creep up by much.

i will try the salt. thank you

 

[wolfen]

I always do a weekly water change to keep the water fresh.