Axolotl Advice

[thejoker]

(sorry this is so long)
I’m having problems with my three axolotls at the moment. I have had one of them for almost four years now, another for almost a year (it’s apparently around 15 years old) and the third for around four months. They live in a large Aqua One type tank with the light and filter built in. They have a couple of live plants and very fine gravel. They also have goldfish as roomies. Around a week ago I noticed there feathery gills were missing on all of them, spoke to a fish shop they suggested it had to do with the goldfish eating them but I don’t think so as I have never had this problem before and have not once seen them go for them. They also suggested the pH levels, we had them tested and they were pretty darn high so I’ve fixed that up. Now my problem is they all seem very lifeless, just floating around the top of the tank and not eating.

So I have taken a look around the net to find some answers. The only other forum I found was dead but gave some ideas of how to fix this problem. It pretty much mentioned the water may be too deep, temp might be too high or they could be morphing. They suggested salt bathing them, lowering the temp, putting them in the fridge, and lowering the water.

So my question/s are how do I salt bath them? How do I keep the water cool? What do I do once they are in the fridge? I don’t want to screw this up, I’ve grown very attached to them all. Sorry for the stupid questions, if anyone has any other suggestions about anything please say them, it’s very much appreciated. I’m lost with this, I’ve never had problems with them and no one I know has a clue what to do about them.

 

[Kitah]

I dont know that much about axolotls so might be wrong.. but I learnt a little bit about them at university (in general animal biology subject) we were told that if the water conditins were not correct, e.g. ammonia, nitrites, nitrates are too high or pH is way off, or if they dont have enough water, theyll begin to morph so they can survive on land.. which means they lose their gills and respire via lungs. so, my guess, from your description, is that they have started to morph because theres something wrong with the water quality. if youve had one for 4 years at the same water depth you have now, i doubt thats the problem if that axolotl has never done this before. if it were me id get ammonia, nitrite and nitrate tests as well, find out what the water is like...

sticking them in the fridge and salt bathing dont sound like a great idea to me... axolotls are freshwater i believe, if you stick them in salt water wouldnt they just become dehydrated as the ion concentration of the external environment is higher than that of the axolotl, so the water will leave the axolotl...

as i said, i may be totally wrong, just going from what i learnt at uni

 

[Kitah]

another one.. what about oxygen in the tank? if they're near the surface, they may be trying to get more oxygen?

 

[Frozenmouse]

take the goldfish out. keep them in water about 6" deep max and try some bacterial and fungal treatment. hope they come good for you.

 

[thejoker]

Thanks for the quick response =) My guess is the water as well, nothing else has changed in the tank at all besides that. The uh… fridge idea seemed a little weird to me. But the site I got it from had “put it in the fridge” all throughout the threads and it was a site dedicated to axolotls so who knows. I think the salt baths had something to do with diseases. I’ll get my water tested asap. Thanks again

 

[ScalyMung]

take fish out, give it a water change,& lower the water level. without it feathery gills it can not absorb oxygen from the water. lower water level makes it easier for them to reach the surface, where they will gulp air ,which can make them float, but after a while they will equalize there boyency out, and rusume feeding again. there gills grow back like every other part of them which you proberly know anyway. also you can try changing the temperture from 28-30 degrees for a week then turn it down to 10 -12 degrees for a week then back up to there normal temperture. hope that helps you

 

[thejoker]

take the goldfish out. keep them in water about 6" deep max and try some bacterial and fungal treatment. hope they come good for you.

When i went to the fish shop to get the water tested they recommended i buy this Wardley Fungus-Ade, i've been using that for the past couple of days..Would you recommend keeping the goldfish out for good and keeping the water shallow or putting them back in and adding more water once the axolotls have improved? I’ve been debating for a while now taking the fish out for no reason at all besides they make it difficult to feed the axolotls.

 

[ScalyMung]

i would keep them by themselves only, as they are bound to be attacked sooner or later which also causes stress,the chance of them morphing is very very very low as it has all but been bred out of them, cause they only breed when they are in the larvel stage. you can keep them in deep or shallow water,it's up to personal choice, also bright lights are'nt reconmended, as they are light sensitive too

 

[jungle_mike]

axolotyls are great. ive had at least one in the house for the last 15 years. from expierience ive found that hungry fish, stress and also age seem to make their gills shrink a bit.

in terms of temperature and oxygen.. they do like cold water (around 20 but they can survive in 28-30) but i think that putting them in the fridge would be too rapid a decrease and probably stress them right out. and they do like good oxygen levels if you see them gulping at the surface excessively (they always do it a little bit) then they may be needing the oxygen.

few ideas are adding a little fridge water to the tank on hot days to slightly bring down the temps. make sure the light isnt too warming and also if you have a water pump filter in a smallish tank the motor can actually take the water temp up a degree or two (not much but on a hot day could be enough to tip them over).

also the warmer water is the less oxygen it can carry.

if the oxygen is down adding more live plants will help. something with a fast growth rate like elodea. (even though i hate elodea it has its purposes!)
hope all goes well..

 

[JasonL]

can you get some clear pics of their gills?? sounds fungal to me, possibly bought on from warm water due to the time of year causing stress.

 

[thejoker]

Today I took the axolotls out of the fish tank they were in and put them in shallow, salt water in the bathroom to keep them cool. The axolotl that was floating all the time is now at the bottom. I have noticed though the two white axolotls tips of their toes are going black and their heads seem to be shaped differently. I’m not sure if this is just because I’m not used to them without gills or if it’s actually changed. I can’t get a clear picture of them but there are darkish spot-like markings on their stumpy gill things and faces. The tank that they were in was always fairly warm, I take it that it was caused by the strong lights. Tomorrow I’m going to buy them a new fish tank.

 

[Frozenmouse]

the best products i have used is bactonex and fungonex. bactonex does fungal and bacterial where fungonex only treats fungal problems as for water temp i will probably not recomend this to you but i kept my two axolotls in a full tropical set up 24-25.c (due to space) for ages with no probs. so i cant see your problem being water temp only. also having too many fish in one tank can boost amonia levels which can cause problems.
i had a nasty paradise fish trim their gills and dorsal back to near nothing befor i realised. it took about two months but their bits grew back..

 

[thejoker]

thanks

Hey guys, just wanted to thank you all for your advice. Today I spent a small fortune on my axolotls. They are loving the new tank and ate for the first time today. They are on the road to recovery now So thanks again, you were all a huge help

 

[jungle_mike]

good to hear!

 

[ScalyMung]

good to hear they are eating again,and looking better best of luck in the future. deano