Sick new axies

[Dedee]

Well I am a new axie owner and did not realize what I was getting into when I bought these little things for my sons. I knew my boys would love them (of course they do), but I have sort of grown to like them too. However, the man who sold them to us did not give me proper information. I have a male and female. The male had not eaten in three weeks, has lost all of his gills, his tail is curled, and he always is wildly trying to get out of the tank. I finally seperated him and started feeding him different food (blood worms) in a seperate little tank. He will eat that way and seems to be doing some better. I am doing my 20-30% water changes and checking all my levels to keep everything in order. Although the first week or so the ammonia levels were often high until I figured out what I was supposed to do.

The female never stopped eating and has gotten very bloated. That is why I take out the male and feed him seperate, so that she doesn't get any. She has started floating more and doesn't seem to act right. I think she has a small fungus patch on her mouth. It is just one little white cottony place. I bought some stuff to put in the water for fungus, but it has not helped.

I believe I am on the right track with the tank but unfortunately I have had to work on it with the axies in the water because when I bought them I was under the wrong impression regarding their care. I do think that they are still a bit stressed though, I can tell by the way they act and when their tails curl. Should I just go ahead and do the refrigerator thing with them? If so, I need more information and direction. I think my husband might just die. :wink:

I appreciate any suggestions - Dedee

 

[kapo]

Hi Dedee

Moving your male in and out of the tank can be stressful too.

Regarding your waterchanges how often are you doing them, if weekly that isn't enough. You probably need to test daily and waterchange as required, when ammonia or nitrite levels are above 0.

Your tank would have been cycling which is why you had problems with ammonia.

What is your tank temperature?

Do you use a dechlorinator to remove chlorine and chloramines from the tapwater?

For fridge method:

Fridge temp has to be no lower than 5C.

You need to fill a container with dechlorinated water, put your axie in (if it floats, lower water level to just above its back so its feet rest on bottom and not floating).

Cover with lid, wrap with a dishcloth and place in the fridge. (Lid is so it doesn't jump out, dishcloth to stop light flashes and temp fluctuations from normal fridge useage).

Place a bottle of dechlorinated water in fridge as well. This is needed as you will be doing 100% waterchanges daily on fridge container at same temperature.

They can remain in fridge for a couple of weeks, but may not eat (depending on fridge temperature). The fridge slows down their metabolism in order for them to give their bodies a chance to heal and destresses them.

 

[kapo]

Avoid using any fish medicines, most are toxic to axies.

You can use saltbaths for fungal infections.

Saltbath method:

Mix dechlorinated water with 2-3 teaspoons of aquarium salt/sea salt or uniodised table salt.
Place your axie in, cover with lid
Leave for 10-15minutes max.
Salt bath twice a day until about 5 days after the fungus has dropped off.

If you're saltbath any axies that are in the fridge, you'll have to make sure you use the chilled dechlorinated water for saltbath, so may involve having more than one bottle of dechlorinated water stored in the fridge.

 

[Dedee]

Thanks for help, more questions.

Ok, answers to your questions. I am changing the water about every day to every other day, as soon as I see the ammonia start to rise. The temp is about 70 degrees F. I do have some trouble keeping it down, but am working on getting an aquarium fan for that. Also, my male is shedding some clear skin. He did this before, and now again, like a snake sheds his skin. My female did it once also. What is up with this? I am doing the salt water baths with them for the fungus. She doesn't mind it, but my poor little male just hates it. He is so pitiful.

I am starting to think I should take some of the rocks out of the bottom. Can they do ok with a bare bottom tank or just minimal large rocks. I really need to make it easier to clean out the debris. Thanks for the help.

Dedee

 

[Kaysie]

Where did you get them? Are you sure they're axolotls and not tiger salamander larvae?

 

[Dedee]

Think so...

Well, I actually got them at a flea market and I had no idea what I had. He told me that was what they were. I did actually question it for a while, but I have done extensive research (as has my son), and we are again convinced that we do indeed have axolotols. Although I would gladly choke the man who sold them to me, as he completely mis-lead me regarding their care. Then after me and the family have grown attached, you realize how time consuming it is to keep the little buggers comfy. None-the-less, they look like all the other pictures here, except my little man has lost his gills since I got him. So I want them to be happy and healthy like everyone else in the house. Suggestions?

Dedee

 

[Kaysie]

If he's lost his gills, and is trying madly to get out of the tank, that sounds a lot like morphing. Has there been a change in the shape of the eyes and the tail? I would give it something to climb out on, just in case. They can easily drown if they're not given land during morphing. Axolotls and larval tiger salamanders are virtually indistinguishable, sometimes even confusing experts.

 

[ianclick]

Hi Dedee,

I have 2 axies in a glass tank with a bare floor and absolutely no hassles. I have heard that other keepers have noticed that their axies had problems moving on a glass floor, not so in my case. The cleaning is the major selling point.

Rest assured once everything is up and running, tank cycled etc they are easy to maintain and the most time consuming factor is watching their antics.

Water changes are a partial water change, Kapo recommends 20% every 2 days. If you change all the water it makes the cycling process take way longer.

Axolotls have amazing regenerative abilities. While gill loss is a concern, if you follow the advice from the experienced breeders and keepers on this site, they should grow back in time providing you have remedied the problem that caused the loss initially.

Unless of course you have larval tiger salamanders morphing as Kaysie suggests.

My sons love our axies too they are weird enough to be interesting to teenagers (the boys as well).

Good Luck

Can you upload a photo of the one losing its gills?

Click

 

[Dedee]

Thanks everyone

My male seems to be calming down, and is not trying to get out of the tank as before. I have a fake log in there for him to climb on in case he wants to be out of water, but mostly he just crawls through it. Clearly he does not like the salt water bath and does try to get out of that, but does better back in the original tank. His tail does not curl anymore, only very infrequently. My female still has visible fungus on her mouth and seems more aggressive. She is quite a bit bigger than the male and pushes at him during feeding to get the food first. Little hog. Her tail is not often curled either, so I do believe they are adjusting and getting better. I am thinking of getting a larger tank and starting cycling on it now as they seem a bit cramped and I am pretty sure they are going to live now.roud: So how long will it take for this fungus to go away on Sally? I really hope it's soon. Thanks for everyone's help.

Dedee