Tank crashed

[Jayzarts]

Hello, I'm very new to the world of axolotls. I recently rescued a juvenile a couple of weeks ago. Tank was cycled at the time and he was doing good. His problems from the old home were fixing themselves. (he was missing a leg and part of his tail, very small for his age if a year and barely 2")

Well long story short he was doing great. I had to leave for the weekend though and got my sister who has fish of her own to watch him. Well she did a water change and changed out the filter causing the tank to crash and go back to square one...

Since he hasn't been so well. I removed him from the tank the moment I noticed something was up. His gills have a bit of an annomia burn. He isn't moving much (like I can touch him with something and he doesn't respond) or really frantically. Right now as I speak he's just floating still at the top of his backup... Gills are back and tip is straight. He will move occasionally.

The water in his main tank is cycling again and I don't want to put him back until it's done. My question is if any of you have suggestions for keeping him out of a tank and in a large Tupperware container until things are cycled and he's well again. I'll answer any questions regarding. Thank you!

 

[Skudo09]

Keep in clean, cool, dechlorinated water. Whilst keeping in a tub you will need to do 100% daily water changes. Have a second tub pre-prepared each day at the same temperature to transfer him to each day as this will make it easier. You can add the old water to his tank to help feed the good bacteria.

It doesn't sound like he is in a good state. You could try adding some Indian almond leaves to his water or givin him a teabbath to help soothe his skin.

 

[Jayzarts]

回复: Tank crashed

He seems to be doing better today. I gave him a tea bath and it took some of the sore red look from his gills, he's flicking them less and staying closer to the bottom now too. He's taking food still as well. I can keep up with daily 100 percent water changes.

Quick question though. When I got him he was in rough shape as said before. I treated the physical stuff by fridging him and he got better within the week. Would it be safe to try that for this?

 

[Skudo09]

Re: 回复: Tank crashed

Glad to hear there has been improvement. I don't think fridging is necessary for this case.

 

[Jayzarts]

回复: Tank crashed

Sorry to ask more questions.

1. Do you recommend a smaller (sandwich Tupperware) or larger container (plastic shoe box) . He seems more stressed in the large one.

2. Though he's moving more naturally now his front legs aren't being used, he just holds them up by his head. Is this normal? He used to use them much more.

3. How cool do you recommend I keep the water? At room temperature it's around 64'f.

4. Though he's eating food when offered and having regular bowl movements I feel he still looks skinny. I don't know if this is just from him being stunted with the breeder I got him from.

Sorry for the questions. I'm really stressed about all this and don't want to lose him.

 

[Skudo09]

Re: 回复: Tank crashed

No need to apologise, I can understand your concern and will answer as many questions as I can.

1. I would opt for the larger container but if he is stressing out in it then it may be better to try something else. But I would not expect a sandwich container to be big enough? Maybe I am not thinking of the same thing. As long as he is completely covered with water and has a bit of room to move it should be ok.

2. That doesn't sound normal to me but I am not sure exactly why he may be doing that. Maybe it is a discomfort thing?

3. 64F should be fine. I would just try to keep him in the optimum range for axolotls (according to axolotls.org 60-64F is recommended.

4. Can you offer food more often and see what happens? You want to aim for their belly to be as wide as their head. What are you feeding him?

 

[Jayzarts]

回复: Tank crashed

I'm feeding him frozen bloodworms right now. I have some red wigglers but if he will eat one or not is hit and miss. Sometimes he takes the worm, sometimes he plays with it and then ignores it, others he eats it and spits it back up. Loves his bloodworms though and when he was in the tank he'd eat a full small cube.

As I said before he's very small. Just a little over 3 inches. When I rescued him he was maybe one and a half and coming on his first year in may.

 

[Skudo09]

Re: 回复: Tank crashed

You could try some other types of earthworms such as European Nightcrawlers. They may be more palatable than the red wigglers. You could also try blanching the worms first (run the worm under hot water for a second to kill the worm and then immediately with cold water to stop it from cooking and cool it down). For an axolotl who is a year old he does seem very small and stunted. I am not sure that he would be likely to grow to a normal size.

 

[Jayzarts]

回复: Tank crashed

Yeah I know he'll probably stay small sadly. He's grown about an inch since I took him in though so that's good at least. Found out later that the breeders basically kept them all in the fridge until they got legs then underfed. I was unaware of this prior and I wish I knew...

As for the worms I've tried nightcrawlers, common earthworms and redwigglers. All of which he strikes when alive and will only sometimes eat. Cut up or blanched he won't even bite. Still eating almost a full bloodworm cube a day though. Do you have other suggestions, hopefully something I could get at petsmart since it's local. I have a hard time getting things shipped here.

Also thank you.

 

[Skudo09]

Re: 回复: Tank crashed

Wow, they certainly made life difficult for the little guy. I don't have petsmart where I live so not sure exactly what they sell. But the next best thing is good quality axolotl or newt pellets. Even if he eats an earthworm sometimes, he will get more nutrition than bloodworm alone. Bloodworm is great for young juveniles but they need more nutrition than bloodworm can give as they grow. If you can get him onto pellets or earthworms that would be ideal as he will get more nutrition.

 

[Jayzarts]

AW: Tank crashed

I'll keep trying with the worms. It really seems to depend on his mood if he'll eat them or not. I'll go to get some Newt food for when he refuses though. Thanks.

 

[Jayzarts]

AW: Tank crashed

Also one more question as it came up he seems to really like his tea baths, and perks right up after them. What's the longest I can give him one? Or is he fine until the next water change? I've just been doing half an hour sessions.

 

[Skudo09]

Re: AW: Tank crashed

I am glad the tea baths are helping .

This is the info I got from the Caudata website:

• Tea bath for axolotls
  Contributed by Daniel Weiner, August 2007.
  I mainly use teabaths for minor skin problems. It may also be used for fungal problems, but in those cases I prefer salt baths. Tea has a slight antifungal and antibacterial effects (resulting from tannins) and additionally it closes the pores in the skin a little bit (mainly resulting from tannin and caffeine). The skin tightens and gets some kind of protective layer, making it harder for fungi and bacteria to intrude on the body. On the other hand, it makes it harder for salt or medicine to reach pathogens that are already inside the body - that is the reason I do not use it on fungal infections, although some people do recommend a tea bath as a cure for fungal infections.
  The procedure is preferably done in a quarantine tank, not the animal's regular setup. I take one bag of unflavored black tea for every 10 litres (2.5 gallons) of water. It is important to use black tea because this kind of tea is fermented, so it has tannins. This tea gets covered with boiling water in a small bowl - I leave it there for at least 10 to 15 minutes, so the tannins are dissolved into the water. After the tea cools down, it is added to the quarantine water. After a week I do a large water change (60% at least), and the rest of the tea is removed over time by normal water changes. If you have to make water changes sooner (i.e., you are using a very small bowl or tank) the tea concentration can be replenished during water changes. As far as I know, there are no negative effects, even for long term treatment.
  A similar effect (although not as strong) can be produced by the addition of dried oak or beech leaves directly to the aquarium water.
  ​