Sad moment

[frogman]

Hello all, if you remember my beloved axolotl bluegills than you'll know that he was always smiling and happy to see me. Well we had an ammonia spike which made my axolotl sick. despite my desperate attempts to get the ammonia levels don to zero it got the best of him. last night he passed away and left me in shock. Just yesterday i saw improvement in his health and gill regrowth. but last night his gills were almost gone. When i did an ammonia test last night it was reding between 0-.25. so at least i know i did something. the worst part is that my female is starting to loose gill filaments too. She is still active and eating but gills are dwindling. here is a picture.

 

[Tephra]

I'm so sorry for your loss

Is your tank properly cycled? What are the other readings from your water tests? (nitrates, ph, etc)

My advice to you would probably be to put her in a quarantined tank where you'd do more water changes than usual, and meanwhile find out what is wrong with your normal tank.

 

[frogman]

The two are in a water only 40 gallon. I am doing daily water changes. The test results are

Nitrates-0
Ph-6
Kh-40
Gh-0

 

[Tephra]

I'm not sure, perhaps someone else could help on this... but maybe fridging would help your female heal up a bit.

Ammonia spikes don't happen for no reason. There must be *something* in your tank that is incorrect. How often did you do your water changes before this incident?

And the water changes; did you do these with treated water?

Perhaps you've already read this, but just in case:
Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

 

[Bellabelloo]

What is the actual reading for ammonia (NH3) now ?

 

[frogman]

Just the same.

 

[sugarkandii]

Your GH is very, very low- I had issues with my GH at 120 ppm, and have since brought it up to 300 ppm- I would suggest introducing crushed up sea shells into the filter in order to bring the hardness up. I was told by a few members here as I use R/O water that this can kill them if left alone

I'm very sorry for your loss!

 

[frogman]

I will do that to the cycling tank. So now I have another problem. This is on my females regrowing gills. I am prepared for a salt bath if necessary. Luckily my GFP melanoid male is still unscathed.