Stressed Axoltol help!

[Duchessez]

so for the past couple of days my axolotl has had his gills curved forward and he’s clearly stressed so i checked the water and everything looked normal except for the nitrates which was a little high at 5.0 when it’s usually closer to 0 so i’ve been taking out 5 gallons out of my 29 gallon tank and changing it every other day to try and get the nitrates down but it’s not working and he still looks stressed. it also appears that he doesn’t want to eat either

 

[faebugz]

so for the past couple of days my axolotl has had his gills curved forward and he’s clearly stressed so i checked the water and everything looked normal except for the nitrates which was a little high at 5.0 when it’s usually closer to 0 so i’ve been taking out 5 gallons out of my 29 gallon tank and changing it every other day to try and get the nitrates down but it’s not working and he still looks stressed. it also appears that he doesn’t want to eat either

How long have you had him for? How much light is his tank getting? What filter are you running?

 

[Duchessez]

How long have you had him for? How much light is his tank getting? What filter are you running?

i’ve had him for almost 2 years and the only light that the tank gets is whenever the room light is on bc otherwise it goes above 70°F and i have a marineland penguin 200. i forgot to mention that i also have another axolotl in there and she’s perfectly fine

 

[faebugz]

i’ve had him for almost 2 years and the only light that the tank gets is whenever the room light is on bc otherwise it goes above 70°F and i have a marineland penguin 200. i forgot to mention that i also have another axolotl in there and she’s perfectly fine

The weather is getting warmer, maybe there's an underlying issue that the higher temperature (I'm assuming) could be exacerbating? In any case, I think it might warrant a vet visit

 

[Duchessez]

oh okay tysm for your help

 

[faebugz]

oh okay tysm for your help

No problem! I hope you're able to get in to see a vet with all the pandemic restrictions and whatnot