1 dead, 2 sick axolotls

[Munchausen]

I had three full-grown axolotls in a 30 gallon aquarium. I usually leave the filter off because there is no friggen way of slowing the water down enough so that their gills aren't tucked and their tales straighten. They've lived well this way for over a year but lately the water's been cloudy and their gills have shrunk. I've been doing a 1/3 water change every 3 days and today I discovered one of them was dead! I've never seen a dead fully grown axolotl and its freaked me out.

I instantly began work filling two 10 gallon tubs with clean, aged, chlorine-free water. Each living axolotl was put into a big gallon plastic bag and let to sit in a tub to acclimate to the water temperature. The tubs were set outside in 50 degree Fahrenheit temperature, to slow their metabolism down.

The axolotls are the white type and are generally not pink. The living ones are pink with black lines in them. I've attached some pictures so you all can tell me what is wrong. I don't see any signs of fungus, my only theory is that the water quality is really bad and they perished in ammonia. When I get time I'm going to test the tank water and get all of the readings of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, etc.


One way I reassure myself if my axolotls are okay is I offer them a worm. Axolotl 2 ate a worm, axolotl 1 as not. As of this posting, both of their tales are starting to straighten out.

Please help me save my sick axies!

 

[danchristopher]

In the first picture the axolotls gills look a bit sad which leads me to believe it most probably is a water quality issue.
What are the dimensions of your 30g tank? It might be a little bit too cramped for three axies, but I would think that 30 gallons would probably be enough to keep the water quality in check even with three axies - as long as a regular maintenance schedule was stuck to.
How often do you do your water changes?

The other (and probably more important) issue would be that your filter isn't running. Do you have anything else oxygenating the water? What kind of filter do you have?
Is it a submersible one that sits completely in the water? I bought one of these for a small tank and the flow was crazy strong so I never used it. It might be wise to invest in a hang-on-back sort of filter as there are methods to slow the flow of these filters quite effectively.

Probably a good idea to test your water for ammonia, just to see what they were up against. Axolotls are pretty hardy but even short periods of time spent in water with a high ammonia reading could definitely be fatal.

 

[Munchausen]

I change 1/3 of the water like every 2-3 days. I'm going to buy a smaller filter because the 30 gallon one is too powerful and the adjustments aren't enough to make them not stress out. I thought about putting an air stone in but I didn't see them come up for air much so I thought that the water changes were enough for both the oxygen and the ammonia issues. I feel so guilty when a pet dies! I had the oldest one for 5 years and the younger two for 2.75 years. It was one of the younger two who died.

About the crowding issue, I noticed for the past couple of weeks all three of them huddled in the back left corner for some reason. I thought the sunlight was bothering them so I kept a towel around the aquarium and little light got through. Since axolotls live in a lake in Mexico I assumed they like darker places.

 

[Bellabelloo]

I suspect a water quality problem. Three adult axolotl in a filter-less tank will produce a lot of waste/ ammonia. With out using a filter I would personally be doing daily 20% water changes. Hopefully now the other two are out and in clean water, they will start to recover.

 

[Chirple]

I'm just going to throw in that I think sponge filters are a good choice if you're in the market. It's not disruptive and the water remains very still. They're kind of big and ugly, but mine is pretty well-hidden by plants.

With my first worms (that I did not know how to keep alive) I learned that cloudy water was really bad and death was soon (after that, I learned how to rinse them). Cloudy water that is not from a known disruption (some stirring up of the sand with water changes) is a big warning sign.

And yes, they don't like bright light. Mine tolerates a fluorescent bulb but isn't a big fan and hides in her cave most of the time it's on.

I'm not sure the best way of setting up the tank and getting it reasonably cycled would be. It's a long process from scratch.

One idea is that my local pet store offers live sponge + other filters. I don't know how common this is, but if you find a good store, this would probably be the fastest route.

 

[Munchausen]

I never heard of a live sponge filter I'll definitely look into it. As of now, their pink spots are gone and those sickly looking black lines are gone. They are really slow moving, but I'm hoping its because they're in 60 degree water. One ate a worm last night so I'm taking that to be a good sign.

When an axolotl is sick, one of the "cure all" methods I often see suggested is to put them in a freezer. Its wintertime and the garage is pretty cool. I'm going to let them recover in their little tubs until they seem like normal again.

To get their 30 gallon tank back in order I'll fill it up with water, how should I sterilize the tank? I don't want the dead one to leave a disease or something behind. To get rid of fungus, I used the product Fungus Clear with the active ingredient of nitrofurazone, furazolidone, potassium dichromate. Will that help keep them safe from any lingering contaminate from the dead one? I read online somewhere that the product is safe and I've used it before.


The dead one was too big to flush down a toliet, so I lain it to rest in a reservoir. I think it'd rather be buried at lake instead of in the ground...

 

[My Lottie]

OH MY GOD .......... DON"T PUT THEM IN THE FREEZER !!!!!
You will kill them! The process is called "fridging".... look under The Axolotyl Sanctuary link on Caudata,org.sites (at top of this page) Temperature is very important !!

Best of luck...:happy:

 

[Bellabelloo]

The dead one was too big to flush down a toliet, so I lain it to rest in a reservoir. I think it'd rather be buried at lake instead of in the ground...

While it sounds like a lovely idea to do this, I would advise strongly against anyone else doing it. If your axolotl died from an infection, you could potentially contaminate other wild caudates.

 

[Munchausen]

Update

My two surviving axolotls are doing well now. Their coloration is back to normal and their gill filaments are regenerating. I want to get the 30 gallon aquarium back to normal and get the water perfectly cycled and everything, but I'm concerned there will some sort of contagion left over from the dead one. What are some safe products to do this? I really don't want to throw away that aquarium and all that expensive sand, is there a way to salvage it? I'm unemployed and I have a lot of time to fix all this stuff...

To get rid of fungus, I used the product Fungus Clear with the active ingredient of nitrofurazone, furazolidone, potassium dichromate. I read online somewhere that the product is safe and I've used it before. Can I assume if it'd fill fungus it'd kill bacteria, viruses, deadly dead axolotl residue/ichor or whatever?

@ My Lottie, Oh I didn't put them in the refrigerator or freezer, they're in a 60 degree Fahrenheit temperature workshop/garage room.

@ bellabelloo Opps I didn't think of that possibility at all. When I did that I assumed it would just sink to the bottom and get eaten by catfish or crayfish if anything. Since its wintertime here, it could mean that all the cold blooded critters are buried in mud or in the deepest part of the lake staying insulated and dormant? If anything it'll get covered in fungus and dissolve. If it was summer or spring it could be more dangerous to put them out because the wild caudates will be out more likely. I knew putting live axolotls out is a bad idea because they'll either die a slow death or mix with native tiger salamanders or something.

I hope I can get the aquarium back up an optimal again so they can go back in it.