Sick female axy

cindaloo70

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Hi everyone,

We have a sick female axy. Here's the background info:

Our family has had two albino axolotyl for 5 months in a now fully cycled tank of 110Ls. One is a male golden albino and the other is a female albino. (Their age is unknown but they're about 15cmin length).

TANK:
Water levels for impurities had stabilized a few months ago.
The pH is around 7.2.
The water temp is around 21-22 degrees celcius due to the rising weather temps with their activity increasing accordingly.
The tank is cleaned every two weeks (30-50% water change.)
Filter is cleaned in tank water once a month.

We have a problem with a brown/green algae turning the water a greenish tinge and the potted plants continue to rot and die off. They're potted in a small gravel medium of which a few pebbles escape to the bottom of the tank. (Possible abdominal obstruction?)
The tank is unlit and isn't exposed to direct sulight.
The rocks are large river pebbles and aren''t of an ingestable size.

The female albino was quite happy previously and had laid two lots of eggs in the tank at the pet shop before we brought her home. We noticed that out of the two axies, she was the more switched on feeder but the previous 6-8 weeks or so she has begun to lose weight and is needing to be hand fed as she's disinterested in food. There is the occasional regurgitation after ingestion. She seems emaciated and has some diuniformity of white and red on her skin, especially her legs. We're feeding her a mix of pellets, raw meat and no feeder fish. The male axy is growing and thriving and his abiltiy to find food has now improved.

We've explained the symptoms to a vet friend and in his experience of coming across a few axies with liver disease, he feels she is in need of antibiotics. What are your thoughts?

Cindy
 
HI Cindy,
firstly, you will probably have more luck controlling your water parameters if you remove the potted plants, the algae blooms are most likely a result of not enough water changes, in a cycled tank you probably want to be doing a 20-30% change weekly. What is she usually fed on? would it be possible to get some pictures of 1) your setup 2) the axolotl from above, side and if possible below. It would also be useful to let us know what filter you're using.

Olivia
 
View attachment 25473

View attachment 25474

View attachment 25475 tank.jpg

Hi Olivia

Thanks for your help.

We'll take out the last live plant and replace it with some more silk plants.
I've just noticed this lump on Heidi's (the sick axy) chin area also. This probably would have been helpful to know earlier!

The pump is an internal submerged pump with two foam chambers. Water aeration occurs by breaking up the surface tension. It's probably a little too strong as the current blows their gills around a little.

We also have two mystery snails in the tank. The interactions between the axies and snails is quite funny at times. :D

Cindy
 
I would remove your axolotl into a separate container with clean dechlorinated water. This is so you can monitor what your axolotl is eating and so on. As she is so skinny, I would offer, ideally two small meals a day. What have you been feeding her, have you tried earthworms? The water will need to be changed daily depending on the size of the container. Would you be able to post some more photo's perhaps of the marks on her skin ?
 
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