Illness/Sickness: Sick axie juvanile

[Mewtwo]

My axolotl is about a year old, and is roughly 4-6 inches in length (haven't really measured in a while). I think she's a female but I'm not sure, her name is Alphys.lately she has been very active, but after spurts of movement, will let herself fall to the sand and stay on her side for a moment before getting back up. While I wouldn't be worried about just that, the visible veins in her tail are very red and dark (which is unusual for her) and she is thinning. She won't eat, or even nip at me like usual, and isn't behaving like she usually does at all. I'm getting very concerned!

 

[AxolotlChris]

The visible veins in the tail are normal. Leucistics veins are much more prominent than other Axolotls due to their color, even more so in particularly cold water or after a lot of movement.

I can not say why your Axolotl is laying on its side.. can you post an image of this? it is normal for Axolotl to sit on the bottom of the tank which is where they spend the majority of their time.

As for not eating, you should check your levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate to make sure your cycle is still functioning properly which could affect appetite.

Can you post more images of your Axolotl from different angles? Including a birds eye view.

 

[Mewtwo]

I checked them yesterday before doing a water change. They where
Nitrate 20
Nitrite 0
Ammonia .5 (thus the waterchange.)
pH 8.0 (we've always had hard water)

They primarily eat pellets and blood worms, as they absolutely refuse to eat nightcrawlers. I haven't been able to get any earthworms, because I got really sick for a while, thus why the Ammoia ended up creeping to .5. I was too weak to get Up and change out the water. Alphys dosnt nessicarily only lay on her side, I meant that she will swim up to the surface (or just swim in general) then let herself go limp, spread her little legs, and if she lands on her side she won't immediately right herself.

Her behavior in general is pretty concerning. She is usually very friendly. If I have to reach into the tank for any reason, (to rescue a plastic plant or to just general clean it, usually) she will swim up and grab my hand and just generally be a little cuddlebug. But now she hides, and darts away if anybody gets close to the tank. She's always so thin, even when she was a baby, and now she's not even eating to keep up the little bit of pudge she used to have. I'm super afraid that she may be sick, or worse!

 

[Mewtwo]

More pics

 

[Mewtwo]

She is sitting on what was to be last night's dinner. She didn't eat any of it =(

 

[Mewtwo]

Another showing how thin she is

 

[Mewtwo]

I'm aware that the veins stick out more in lighter colors, but it'd much more obvious on Alphys than on Astrid..

 

[AxolotlChris]

She is sitting on what was to be last night's dinner. She didn't eat any of it =(

If that is bloodworm it is not fresh. Fresh frozen bloodworm is red and does not go black and brown over night. Your Axolotl likely wouldn't eat that bloodworm as it is not appealing.

 

[AxolotlChris]

Another showing how thin she is

She is not overly thin, though it could do with putting a bit more weight on. I would suggest using a feeding dish then you can place more pellets and avoid mess. The body should as wide as the head for a healthy weight.

I did this with one of mine:

 

[AxolotlChris]

Alphys dosnt nessicarily only lay on her side, I meant that she will swim up to the surface (or just swim in general) then let herself go limp, spread her little legs, and if she lands on her side she won't immediately right herself.

This is normal behavior for Axolotls. They will often gulp air and then allow themselves to float down to the bottom of the tank and either land on the floor or a plant/ornament and then settle there.

 

[AxolotlChris]

I checked them yesterday before doing a water change. They where
Nitrate 20
Nitrite 0
Ammonia .5 (thus the waterchange.)
pH 8.0 (we've always had hard water)

Your cycle should really remain at 0 ammonia if the cycle is working correctly. If you were to not perform water changes it would not be the ammonia that rises but the nitrate. Ammonia will always be converted to nitrate, and since nitrate is the last part of the cycle it is what results in the need for water changes.

Ammonia > Nitrite > Nitrate (up to 40ppm) > water change

 

[Mewtwo]

I remove old food in the mornings. They are frozen bloodworms, and are red when I initially get them out. The other axie in there is pretty pudgy, and eats them like nobody's business (I do watch and make sure they both get some, which is how I noticed this)

 

[Holly12]

Just thinking - wouldn't a year old axolotl be around 10 to 12 inches in length?

Also, if it is a year old, bloodworms aren't going to sustain it. Earthworms are nutritionally whole and axies love them! Cut one into chunks and try it. I bet your axie will go nuts.

 

[Mewtwo]

I don't only feed them bloodworms. I also feed pellets, which are made for Axolotls.they refused nightcrawlers, and like I said, I've been very sick,andhabentbeenaboe to go get earthworms.last time I was there, I was told they didn't sell them anyway. I was told it could take up to two years for an Axolotl to reach full length? For sure mine are still growing.

 

[Mewtwo]

I tried feeding them again today. Alphys still won't eat, Astrid ate a lot. Her behavior is increasingly worrying. She is becoming lethargic and slow. She's so thin.. I'm scared. I don't want to lose Alphys =( attached is a picture of her 'on the side' behavior she stated during a Skype call I was having.

 

[Mewtwo]

Still not eating...signs of fungus in the fluffy bits(Ik theyre gills, don't know the proper name)? Astrid is still healthy.. =(