Illness/Sickness: URGENT- my axolotls are dying

[juubei]

I need help desperately, my axolotls are doing really badly.

i cleaned their tank yesterday and replaced the water. now my wild type axys are floating around a lot, their stomachs are usually almost white and translucent but they're very dark. i think one of them threw up and they're not eating. their gills are folded forward and their gill filaments are falling out. they're thoroughly miserable and i'm really sad.

i've had them for a couple of weeks but i got them from my university. they're quite little still, maybe about 8 cm long. i changed their water yesterday (filtered water), cleaned their tank (no detergent, boiling water and then allowing it to cool). they're not swimming or playing at all, they're hardly moving and i keep thinking they're dead.

There are no stones, a plant that they've been fine with, and an aerator/filter with a strong current that i keep on low.

they've been eating roaches (they love them) and the one loves earthworms. i've turned the filter off completely and lowered the temperature of the tank. placed some cleaned mugs inside so that they have a dark place to hide.

Please tell me what else i can do?

 

[snuggly time]

Hi,
Can you check the parameters of the tank?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Temperature.

Removing the filter will kill your tank cycle. The beneficial bacteria living in the filter and also on objects within the tank, and the tank walls themselves may have been killed during the clean. If you don't have a test kit to check the water, can you buy an API master liquid test kit for freshwater?

For now do regular water changes. I would change around 20% of the tank water each day with cool, clean and fresh water. Make sure it's dechlorinated. You can buy dechlorinator to add to the water or let it sit for 24 - 48 hours.

I would turn the filter back on, but keep the water flow as low as possible. If it still has a strong current you could block the flow with plants and face the filter nozzle towards the tank wall. Can you post a picture of your axolotls and tank?
Earthworms are the best diet for axolotls, I wouldn't feed too many roaches. Keep us updated.

 

[Minniechild]

Filtered water may be part of your culprit- you're much better off using a dechlorinator which gets rid of chlorine, but leaves in the minerals axies need.
More importantly;
How big is your tank?
What is the temperature?
Where are you getting the roaches? (Is it somewhere they could be exposed to bait/pesticides/herbicides?)
Have you had a Boil Water notice in your area/is your overall water quality very poor? (There have been a number of cases where a Boil Water notice has been correlated to a mass dying off of axies )
Could you (for the time being) use a sponge filter? As you're probably going to be re-cycling, you could add in a sponge filter to take over the bioload and eventually retire the super heavy current filter until you can find one with a more suitable flow rate.
Also, if you've scrubbed your tank down, it will be cycling to some extent again, which means you need to be doing daily water changes to keep the ammonia, nitrite and nitrates low whilst you reestablish the bacteria.
Will have my fingers crossed for you!

 

[Kerry M]

It may be the filtered water. I recall this problem happening for someone using a Brita Filter. Can you use tap water instead?

 

[juubei]

i don't have stuff to check parameters. i know the water's a good temperature, probably around 17 C. pH is around 7. ammonia and nitrates i need to home test fro because i haven't had them long and they've been happy. i do have a plant, and the water i cleaned the tank with was filtered and stood.

i definitely think i've uncycled it, i cleaned EVERYTHING, even rinsed the dead leaves off the plant. what can i do to get some good bacteria into the system again?

will try to post photos. thanks.

 

[jeromeetabuzo]

i don't have stuff to check parameters. i know the water's a good temperature, probably around 17 C. pH is around 7. ammonia and nitrates i need to home test fro because i haven't had them long and they've been happy. i do have a plant, and the water i cleaned the tank with was filtered and stood.

i definitely think i've uncycled it, i cleaned EVERYTHING, even rinsed the dead leaves off the plant. what can i do to get some good bacteria into the system again?

will try to post photos. thanks.

Leave a bucket outside for 1-2 days and make it cycle , do you have a separate tank with fishes if yes then you can get a couple of water there dont do 100% water change!!

 

[Minniechild]

Do you know what they use in your tap water? Is it chlorine or chloramine? If just chlorine, leave it standing for a few days, and use. Don't filter it. If chloramine, get your hands on a dechlorinator, use it, leave it at least a few hours if you can, then put it in. Don't filter it!! Try that as a starting point, and from there we'll eliminate any other factors.

 

[Kerry M]

How did you filter the water?

 

[jeromeetabuzo]

Sorry men for giving you the wrong advice , leave it outside only to dechlorinate the water , Sorry very Sorry please dont follow the reply i posted VERY SORRY T_T

 

[juubei]

south africa's water has a lot of chlorine- for now i've dechlorinated with vitamin c and a few hours standing and done a small partial water change.

the filter we use is just a filtration system attached to a tap so that the water is cleaner and tastes better.

i just really hope they last long enough for me to get their tank sorted. they're really unhappy and they're not eating or anything. also, my filter is a dolphin kf 150, which is a sponge filter and aerator.

 

[FX1C]

south africa's water has a lot of chlorine- for now i've dechlorinated with vitamin c and a few hours standing and done a small partial water change.

the filter we use is just a filtration system attached to a tap so that the water is cleaner and tastes better.

i just really hope they last long enough for me to get their tank sorted. they're really unhappy and they're not eating or anything.

Please just use a proper dechlorinator - you may be adding vitamins that they cannot tolerate in high doses & the filtering is removing all beneficial minerals & nutrients essential for them to grow.

Vitamin C is ascorbic acid & needs to be measured accurately to not be harmful in an aquarium application.

Improving water quality will hopefully encourage their appetite to eat & help for a quicker recovery.



<3 >o_o< <3

 

[Kerry M]

Have you ever bought drops to put in your water, like these ones:


This is what you need for remove chlorine and break the chloramine bond. I have never heard of vitamin C being used.

Are you near a pet shop? If you are you can get some of these drops, there are many on the market.

I don't know much about the water in SA. In Australia we drink the water straight out of the tap. I use the water in my bathroom for the Axolotls. If you haven't used the drops above that may be the biggest problem.

If you go to the pet shop you should be able to ask them to test your tap water if you have a source that is not filtered.

I have read that when you filter the water this removes some of the minerals needed by the axolotl.

Sorry if this message is jumbled, it's 1pm so I really must sleep. Hope all goes OK.

 

[juubei]

thanks everyone- they're doing much better. they're a lot more active- playing and swimming again, with no floating- and they're eating again ^_^

will let you know when their gill filaments start growing back.

thanks again <3

 

[FX1C]

thanks everyone- they're doing much better. they're a lot more active- playing and swimming again, with no floating- and they're eating again ^_^

will let you know when their gill filaments start growing back.

thanks again <3

Great news

What actions did you take that made the difference?

Definitely keep us updated & post pics so we can all say "nawwwww" at your lotls



<3 >o_o< <3

 

[juubei]

i did a partial water change. used vitamin c to dechlorinate. i do chemistry so it was alright. put the filter back on on low. added ice to lower the water temperature, and then placed a small amount of earth worm dirt in a jar and placed the jar by the filter for a few hours. it seems to have helped with replacing the bacteria. i think the plant helped as well.

they're very resilient little creatures, their immune systems are phenomenal. they're swimming up to me and eating and playing again. it's awesome. going to do partial water changes for the next couple of days just in case

definitely going to try to get hold of some treatments and such. our water is completely drinkable here- just need to let it stand before using it, and i won't strip the tank down again. the problem is finding a pet shop in my area, the nearest one is a twenty minute drive and i don't have a car. i struggle to find mice for my snake as well, everything nearby has closed down,

i got really scared. i haven't had them long but they're just the coolest. hoping that this won't happen again.

i'll get some pictures soon.

 

[InsanityAxolotl]

I highly recommend you use a proper dechlor, get yourself a full test kit, (api master test kit is like $20 for all major areas you need to test)

Doesn't matter if youve had them for even a few days, ammonia will spike high, youll need to research this alot more and pick some products like seachem prime to make your water safer since your doing an in-fish cycle, otherwise they will die, no question,
if you love them, get a test kit and some prime, its $30.

 

[xxianxx]

vit c is fine as a dechlorinator, though it doesnt remove any heavy metals which may be present in the water .
http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/html/05231301/05231301.html

 

[Kaysie]

Like Ian said, Vitamin C is fine as a dechlorinator. Prime will actually prevent your tank from cycling, so recommending it is counterproductive.

Juubei seems to have a grasp on water quality and the chemistry of cycling, so there's no need to gang up on him/her regarding test kits and dechlorinators.