Seeking Recommendations

[EasternRomioi3]

Now see, no one mentioned that before when I said I changed the filter. I don't want to go yanking her out of her tank. I don't have a lot of safe places for her with my mom's worthless puppy. How about more than 2 sentences to explain what you mean. I give you people thorough discourse and I get a "NO GET HER OUT NOW" type message and I go "but why though? How about you tell me why and if you actually read my posts, you would probably know that moving her in my house, with 2 cats, 1 German shepherd, 2 turtles, 1 caiman, 2 cockatiels, and 1 Congo gray parrot, while not having my entire family home to watch all those miserable animals, I cannot guarantee that I will make it with her in my hands, to a tub, without being knocked over.

Again, I didn't want another dog. Our last one died pretty traumatically, and I did NOT want another one so I wash my hands of that puppy and her inability to behave.

You mention to tub her everyday, you do not mention a time period. How long do I tub her for every day? And then you mention to clean the tub with hot water? That's great and all, I need to go get a tub, and MOST places are closed due to the pandemic right now. I can't leave, I'm the only one home, the animals will kill each other and I'll be blamed for it anyways.

I'll just put her old filter in since no one seems to be in agreement on anything here. Screw it. I'll throw the new one away.

 

[Binditheaxolotl]

Now see, no one mentioned that before when I said I changed the filter. I don't want to go yanking her out of her tank. I don't have a lot of safe places for her with my mom's worthless puppy. How about more than 2 sentences to explain what you mean. I give you people thorough discourse and I get a "NO GET HER OUT NOW" type message and I go "but why though? How about you tell me why and if you actually read my posts, you would probably know that moving her in my house, with 2 cats, 1 German shepherd, 2 turtles, 1 caiman, 2 cockatiels, and 1 Congo gray parrot, while not having my entire family home to watch all those miserable animals, I cannot guarantee that I will make it with her in my hands, to a tub, without being knocked over.

Again, I didn't want another dog. Our last one died pretty traumatically, and I did NOT want another one so I wash my hands of that puppy and her inability to behave.

You mention to tub her everyday, you do not mention a time period. How long do I tub her for every day? And then you mention to clean the tub with hot water? That's great and all, I need to go get a tub, and MOST places are closed due to the pandemic right now. I can't leave, I'm the only one home, the animals will kill each other and I'll be blamed for it anyways.

I'll just put her old filter in since no one seems to be in agreement on anything here. Screw it. I'll throw the new one away.

The reason why is that swimming in high ammonia for them is like swimming in acid. It can get them very sick, trust me, I know. I didn’t cycle my tank and my little girl got ammonia burn, which took 2 weeks of constant attention to treat. You have to tub her until your tank runs ammonia and nitrite zero, and you can add fish food and it will go back down to 0 ammonia and nitrite in 24 hours. If she’s in her tank in a living room, move her tub into your room and swap out water bottles every hour so it stays below 68. Tubs are a lot easier to keep cold. Keep your room door closed at all times so your families animals can’t get in. With all the pets, put her in her tub or lock all the animals away while you move her. I would recommend putting her in her tub when moving her to your room. You can use a old tub, I used one we used to keep toys in and washed it out with hot water and vinegar. You don’t need to throw the new one away, just wait for your tank to cycle. You can also use the old media, if if it’s shredded for a little while.

 

[EasternRomioi3]

I tested her tank for ammonia, it was 0. Just tested it last night before bed. I can test again. She had the best results she's ever had last night. 0 nitrites, 20 nitrates, 0 ammonia.

I have no means to cool her tubs, I have no fridge to put them in. I'd have to throw out like 50% of my mom's stuff to get anything in there. And moving her into my room would be disastrous, it's the hottest room in the house, it's already over 80 degrees. We have no AC. The sun hits my room from 10am till it goes down. In the winter, not so bad. I have to beg my mom for space in the fridge to put her tubs of treated water in there. She does not appreciate "that ugly little thing" and the "time you lavish over it." To quote my mom.

As for cooling her tank, I forgot I had a strategic reserve of treated water frozen into cubes. Took me a bit to get to it because my mom is always screaming "No, my ice, my ice, I need to chew it!" So I specifically hid it from her. If you're reading this, and understanding the discourse, it is VERY HARD TO DEAL WITH MY DISABLED MOTHER and her miserable pets.

And don't worry, I put her old filter in and smashed her new one. Her old one's sponge was full of cat hair so I had to put a lot of effort into cleaning it, might as well put it to use after spending that much time on it. Furthermore, just wait for my tank to cycle, do you know how long that is because no one seems to give me a consistent answer, sometimes I get a month, sometimes I get a week. She's in a 20 gallon tank, 40% of her water is fresh as of last night, might do another change if I can get some water into the fridge.

On the bright side, I got her ice packs fully frozen and was able to get a few more bottles of water frozen. Been floating those Fiji water ones, they don't roll around and tumble everywhere.

Any other recommendations? I do have a container of Seachem's Alkaline Buffer, Prime, Neutral Regulator, and a pH thing. They were all on sale at my local store so I snagged a bunch of things. They don't say "remove pets before administering" or whatever the term would be. Is ANY of that stuff safe to add to her tank while she's in it? I would assume not but my dad says it should be safe. But his expertise is in fresh water fish and reptiles.

 

[Binditheaxolotl]

I tested her tank for ammonia, it was 0. Just tested it last night before bed. I can test again. She had the best results she's ever had last night. 0 nitrites, 20 nitrates, 0 ammonia.

I have no means to cool her tubs, I have no fridge to put them in. I'd have to throw out like 50% of my mom's stuff to get anything in there. And moving her into my room would be disastrous, it's the hottest room in the house, it's already over 80 degrees. We have no AC. The sun hits my room from 10am till it goes down. In the winter, not so bad. I have to beg my mom for space in the fridge to put her tubs of treated water in there. She does not appreciate "that ugly little thing" and the "time you lavish over it." To quote my mom.

As for cooling her tank, I forgot I had a strategic reserve of treated water frozen into cubes. Took me a bit to get to it because my mom is always screaming "No, my ice, my ice, I need to chew it!" So I specifically hid it from her. If you're reading this, and understanding the discourse, it is VERY HARD TO DEAL WITH MY DISABLED MOTHER and her miserable pets.

And don't worry, I put her old filter in and smashed her new one. Her old one's sponge was full of cat hair so I had to put a lot of effort into cleaning it, might as well put it to use after spending that much time on it. Furthermore, just wait for my tank to cycle, do you know how long that is because no one seems to give me a consistent answer, sometimes I get a month, sometimes I get a week. She's in a 20 gallon tank, 40% of her water is fresh as of last night, might do another change if I can get some water into the fridge.

On the bright side, I got her ice packs fully frozen and was able to get a few more bottles of water frozen. Been floating those Fiji water ones, they don't roll around and tumble everywhere.

Any other recommendations? I do have a container of Seachem's Alkaline Buffer, Prime, Neutral Regulator, and a pH thing. They were all on sale at my local store so I snagged a bunch of things. They don't say "remove pets before administering" or whatever the term would be. Is ANY of that stuff safe to add to her tank while she's in it? I would assume not but my dad says it should be safe. But his expertise is in fresh water fish and reptiles.

Unless you had the filter running in dechlorinated water, all the beneficial bacteria is dead. I know it’s going to be annoying to tub her but you NEED to for her health and safety. Get a desktop fan and have it running across her water with your room door closed. Change her frozen water bottles out every one or 2 hours, to get it to stay below 68. As for cycling, it can take a week to 2 months. Do 100% water changes daily on her tub. Do you have a window with blinds or curtains, if so, close those, of not, hang a thick blanket over your window. Keeping her in your room in a tub will not result in disaster, so long as you keep up with your water bottle replacement. What will certainly result in disaster is keeping her in your uncycled tank.

 

[EasternRomioi3]

It doesn't matter, I put the old one in, the new one was only in there for a few hours. I did nothing to the old one other than clean it like I usually do. I did put the new one in a gallon of her special water so it could soak up and get ready. I am not removing her from her tank, that seems unnecessarily invasion, her ammonia levels were fine, I just tested them again at 1pm tonight and it is now 2pm in my area. I have a thing that detoxifies ammonia, 'it says use 1 teaspoon for every 10-20 gallons once or twice a month' but it doesn't say if the pet needs removed before adding. My dad assumes not but no one seems to have an answer for that.

Also, if this was a disaster, why didn't this happen when I changed her tanks? In February, we removed 100% of the water from her old tank and introduced water from my house that we pre-treated, when she was brought over into my car. She received almost none of her old water. She was in a 10 gallon tank, some old filter. She didn't die then, or anything, kept eating too. In May, I upgraded her to a 20 gallon. I did tub her for that because I split her water, kept like 5 gallon of the original and added 15 new gallons. She was fine then. The only two issues she has had were heat, which I've gotten her tank down ti like 61 today, and when my mom's stupid cat fell in. Wasn't his fault, he was trying to get away from the dog who decided it was ok to bite him.

My axolotl's tank stats are fine, did all tests with the Freshwater Master Test Kit. Her temp is as good as I can get it when it's 94 out in an area that snows from November to May, and she ate her breakfast. I'm gonna give her a worm before I leave for my doctor's appointment too. She's not lethargic, she has no mucus falling off, no fungus, she hasn't been scratching at her gills or herself. She's keeping her tail straight, no "stressed axolotl" bend in the tip, her skin is still 60% white, 40% pink. When I woke her up this morning to put the ice packs in, she puffed up her gills and got defensive till she that it was the morning routine.

Though, I will be stopping and getting some anubias plants on the way home. I called the aquarium store, they have plenty. And when she lived at my friend's house, in her 10 gallon, she never had issues with her, save for one our axolotl cut the side of her face. Something spooked her and she smacked her drift wood and has like a scar there now. She hasn't lost any toes, no chemical burns, is not lethargic, and not overly aggressive.

My dad wants to get some green cabomba, does anyone have any experience with that an axolotls? My dad says it's super cool and whatever, but I say "she gets no sunlight in her tank...says those cabomba need sunlight." Might get it and give it to the map turtles.