Tensing gills?

[Robyn]

Hi i bought my first axolotl today! (yet to be named) and she is the most beautiful thing ever!

I'm worried about several things though...
Firstly, her belly is full of gravel because of the shop i bought her from, but she hasn't passed any of the stones even though i bought her at one o'clock today and it's now seven... She's eaten about 5 food pellets but they're only about the size of her eye should i feed her some more? I think I'm going to feed her with a jar starting tomorrow but it's not fully clean yet today although i did pour a kettle of boiling water over it i think I'll rinse it in de chlorinated water tomorrow just to be safe.
Secondly, she's missing some toes and one of her gill things is much shorter than the others (although all her gills are pretty short, she has more of a pixie cut than an afro lol) but i hope they will grow back eventually?
Most worryingly, she keeps tensing her gills. You know how when they move around they kind of tense in their gills to their heads? (i suppose to protect them from damage as they swim around) well now she's just sitting at the bottom of the tank, staring into the glass, and just tensing her gills for a few second and then relaxing them and waiting a bit then doing it again! Her gills as i said are short and don't have much coloration at all really i swear they were pinker when i saw her in the shop... Also the very tips of them are curled inwards?
I think she's quite young and perhaps underfed as her belly is no way near as wide as her head. I had the water parameters tested again in the shop before i bought her and they were fine although i didn't get the exact numbers but last time i did about a week ago,
Ph 6.8 nitrite 0 nitrate 5 and ammonia 0.5, so now i guess the ammonia must have gone otherwise he wouldn't have said they were fine...
I can't remember the exact number of gallons in the tank but i did check and it's more than enough for one axolotl, the temperature is constantly around 20 degrees.
I have two filters from when i had goldfish (they're the kind that hang on the wall of the tank sorry can't remember what they're called) the one I'm using now is called something like fluval 2 plus and the other is fluval one. I have my current one with the output aimed at the back wall of the tank to try and limit the water movement but it still seems like loads of surface movement and theres definitely a current and putting a larger plant infront of it didn't help because after a day the plant was pushed to the other side of the tank... Do you think the current is too strong for my axolotl? I think the other filter i have is more gentle as its smaller so i could perhaps switch to that?
Sorry this is so long but I'm really worried about my axie any advice whatsoever would be very gratefully appreciated!!

 

[LSuzuki]

It may take months for all of the gravel to pass through your digestive system. As long as she doesn't show signs of constipation (floating, etc.) don't worry about it.

How old is she? If she is not an adult, feed her as much as she will eat. Just make sure not to leave uneaten food in the tank.

The gill flicking - that is normal. They are stirring up the water near the gills to get more oxygen. Also, they will sometimes go to the surface for a lungful of air. As long as it isn't too frequent, it is nothing to worry about.

Short gills - the short stalk was probably bitten off and will probably grow back, as will the toes. Gill length is party genetics and partly environmental. (I've read lower oxygen levels lead to longer gills, but I'm not sure if this has been confirmed experimentally or is just a reasonable hypothesis.)

Gill color - that will change depending on the mood of the axolotl, how active it is at the moment, etc. Basically, the more oxygen it needs, the brighter the gill color. I've once in a while seen mine with almost pure white for a while, and then normal several hours later.

Water motion - if it is moving the plant, it is probably too strong. There are many things you could do, but remember, an axolotl needs a lot of filtration, so better to diffuse the flow from a higher capacity filter than to switch to a lower capacity one (withing reason, of course.)

==> The most important thing for you to worry about right now is water quality. Axolotls are pretty tough, and usually stay healthy unless they are kept in poor conditions. It sounds like you don't have your own water test kit. Get a good liquid-based one (not the strips) and test daily until your tank is fully cycled. Are you familiar with aquarium cycling? I don't want to spend a lot of time typing if you are. :happy:

Enjoy your new axolotl friend!

 

[Robyn]

Okay so i just did an ammonia test and it was 0. She definitely looks stressed and is still tensing her gills and they seem even more curled now...
Should i feed her some more? Should i turn off the filter? Should i just leave her for the night? What should i do?

 

[Robyn]

Thank you so much sorry i didn't see your reply before! that is such a relief lol i thought she was really ill haha
I cycled my tank for about three weeks so I'm pretty sure it's okay is it really worth getting the whole test kit? I just got the ammonia one because i thought that was the most dangerous...
Would a spray bar work to make the filter less strong? Should i move the filter so the output is above the water level?
Thank you so much i feel so much better sorry for being such a pain lol

 

[LSuzuki]

Do you have a nitrite and nitrate test too? Nitrites should also read 0 in a cycled tank. Nitrates should be kept under 40 ppm for axolotls (they are more sensitive to nitrates than fish).

In general, you should not turn off the filter, since then it can't do it's job of removing ammonia and nitrite. Plus, the good bacteria in the filter need the ammonia as food, and will starve and die if deprived.

Does your axolotl have a hiding place (cave) that she can stay in to stay out of the flow? Do you have other aquarium decorations that you could use to disrupt the flow?

Other things that could be stressing her are bright lights, fast movement outside or inside of the tank, and just being in a new environment.

Feed her if she will eat, since she seems underweight. Will she eat from your hand? How long is she?

Try not to worry yourself too much. Axolotls are pretty tough. :happy:

 

[LSuzuki]

Spray bars work great - that is what I use.

Don't worry about asking questions. The time to ask questions is now, so that you are less likely to have to ask "why is my axolotl sick?" questions later. :happy:

 

[Robyn]

Okay thank you again!
The nitrite was zero and I'm pretty sure the nitrate was fine, but i don't have my own test kits for them and test kits are really expensive so i was just going to not bother? Is that okay?
I don't haven an ornament tall enough to block the output and i also don't have a hide yet i just assumed since theres an area with quite dense plants that she could hide there... I have some quite big rocks that she likes to go in between but I'll look for a flower pot or something tomorrow to make into a hide.
I haven't tried to hand feed her yet as I'm worried about putting chemicals from my hands inside her tank, but it seems to be fairly common practice so i guess I'll give it go.
Is your spray bar above the water level or is it submerged?

 

[charleybambino]

If you can't find a suitable flowerpot....my newbie likes a mug on its side!......cheap and simple....it rests on its handle.

 

[Robyn]

Charleybambino that sounds so cool!! I'll definitely look into the mug idea

 

[LSuzuki]

My spray bar is at about water level, aimed at the side of the tank.

I like the mug idea. I use flower pots for mine. You can get a discount if you find one that is already cracked. :happy: Use coarse sand paper to take off all of the rough edges. (I also plug the drainage hold with aquarium cement if it isn't broken across, but that is because of not-very-bright fish in my fish tanks.)

The party line is, you really should have a nitrate test kit too. However, if your pet store doesn't mind doing the tests for you, then that would work also. Make sure you find out the level, not just an "it is fine", since a fish store may not be as aware of an axolotl's sensitivity to nitrate.

Are the plants live? If so, that will help keep nitrates low.

Just wash your hands (and arms) before and after putting them in the tank, and things should be fine.

What kind of substrate do you have?

:happy:

 

[Robyn]

Okay I'll look into getting a nitrate test kit. i have four live plants in the tank.
The substrate is this black sand which looks really cool since my axolotl is white it's not really that fine though and she spits a lot out after eating a pellet...
Speaking of pellets i just put a little bowl of them in for her to eat but she hasn't even moved from her corner to look at them it's been about fifteen minuets should i take them out so they don't produce ammonia? She only eats them if i manage to drop them directly in front of her face which is both difficult and time consuming she won't eat out of my hand either
Okay so i just took out the bowl but i tipped a few in front of her face first although she hasn't eaten any... Maybe she's not hungry?
Oh well thank you so much for all the advice :happy:

 

[LSuzuki]

They usually aren't eager like fish in that they don't come out and hunt down the food as soon as you drop it in (but every axolotl is different.) You don't want to leave food in there so long that you can't get the left-over out because it has all fallen apart. (A turkey baster is a good way to get slightly-crumbled pellets out,)

It is tedious to feed by hand, but doing it once in a while trains then that your hands are a source of food, and not something to be scared of. They will sometimes nip your hands to try to find food once they make that association, but it doesn't hurt. (It is startling, though.)

Check and make sure your sand is smooth. Some sands has sharp edges and will cause problems when your axolotl accidentally eats it. (A few axolotls reportedly eat large quantities of sand, which can cause problems regardless of the type of sand.)

:happy:

 

[Robyn]

The sand does feel quite smooth i think she will be okay with it. I fed her an earthworm today that she snapped up (quite literally lol) and that seems much easier than pellets so I think I'll go with that in the future. Also my friend is giving me his nitrate test kit as he doesn't need it anymore so that's great
I really appreciate all the advice thank you :happy:

 

[kjnorman]

When I got my male axoltol he was pretty much the same condition - damaged toes, probably had ingested gravel, severe gill damage. He eventually bounced back just with proper care and feeding.

As others have said, don't worry about the gravel unless she shows signs of constipation or impaction - you will notice she seems ill, will stop eating/vomit a lot, etc. There is lots of information on here about what to do then.

My male axolotl still has shorter gills than normal, but the 'fronds' on the gills eventually grew back to normal, and the female that was with him grew her gills back almost 100% normally too.

It is normal for the colour of the gills to change depending on how active the axolotl has been - mine go from bright red to almost no colour at all depending on time of day and what the axies are doing.

Enjoy your new pet

 

[Robyn]

Thank you so much everyone!
My axolotl is doing much better (I decided to name her Celeste) already her toes have grown back and she's much plumper, I think it will take a little longer for her gill stalk to grow back but it's on it's way! When I did a water change yesterday I found bits of gravel mixed in with the sand so I guess she has passed them after all :happy: I've put a shelter in her tank (a flower pot from the garden as I couldn't find a suitable mug lol) so she has a place to hide. The parameters are under control and I set up a worm farm so she can have a steady food source
I couldn't have done it without all the help from this site and the people on it. Sorry for sounding like I'm making some corny speech or something haha I am really grateful though.

A little tip I found out though if anyone is interested, if you want to put an ornament in your tank that has sticky stuff from a label on it (the plant pot I used did) then you can get it off by rubbing some wet bicarbonate of soda on it. I'm pretty sure bicarb is non toxic (unlike cleaning products designed to remove sticky stuff) but it is very alkaline so you'll need to rinse it a lot and soak it overnight. Although effective I'm not entirely sure this method is safe, I've used it and seen no ill affects but I'm not sure... Maybe ask someone more experienced before you try it yourself. I would really hate to be giving bum advice that could potentially harm people's pets so take it with a pinch of salt.

Thanks again!