ADVICE WANTED: My axolotl never eats

[Hayleycarrot]

Hello,

So I have had my axolotl for around 2 years now and his state has been almost constant. I got him when he was really young and it wasn't until I started joining facebook pages that I realised how unhealthy he was. Since he was young his growth has always been slow, he had been skinny, barely any frills and had little to no appetite. Two years in, I am finding the daily struggle of feeding him almost unbearable as it ruins my mood everyday. I have tried him on worms (dendrobeans), bloodworm, prawns/ or shrimp I can't remember which, and Lotl pellets. He has never had an appetite for any of them, only on occasion (maybe every other day) can I get him to take anything, and even then its tiny amounts. Since getting a second lotl in with him have I been able to see how a healthy axolotl acts, he eats as much as you will give him everyday, and would happily keep eating until you stop. Because of this he has very quickly out grown my original axolotl.

With worms he seems to chew them up and spit them out, no matter how big or small, it is a rare occasion when he will actually eat any. The only other mild success I have had is with pellets. I know the xl pellets for an adult lotl they should have around 8-10, I am extremely lucky if I can even get him to take 4, most days he will refuse any or maybe take 1/2.

The two of them are in a 180L aquarium, water is tested regularly, temperatures maintained, external filter, tap safe used.

Please help me, all advice is welcome, I am at a dead end on how to help him and I fear he is just slowly dying from lack of nutrients but I have no idea how to help him.

 

[Calgarycoppers]

Okay first things first

what dechlorinator?
temp?
pH?
high range pH?
ammonia?
Nitrite?
Nitrate?

Which pellets do you use?

can you post a picture of the lotl in question? tank? other lotl?

How long is the lotl?

Do you add anything else to the tank? salt, johns, holtfreters?

 

[Binditheaxolotl]

Hello,

So I have had my axolotl for around 2 years now and his state has been almost constant. I got him when he was really young and it wasn't until I started joining facebook pages that I realised how unhealthy he was. Since he was young his growth has always been slow, he had been skinny, barely any frills and had little to no appetite. Two years in, I am finding the daily struggle of feeding him almost unbearable as it ruins my mood everyday. I have tried him on worms (dendrobeans), bloodworm, prawns/ or shrimp I can't remember which, and Lotl pellets. He has never had an appetite for any of them, only on occasion (maybe every other day) can I get him to take anything, and even then its tiny amounts. Since getting a second lotl in with him have I been able to see how a healthy axolotl acts, he eats as much as you will give him everyday, and would happily keep eating until you stop. Because of this he has very quickly out grown my original axolotl.

With worms he seems to chew them up and spit them out, no matter how big or small, it is a rare occasion when he will actually eat any. The only other mild success I have had is with pellets. I know the xl pellets for an adult lotl they should have around 8-10, I am extremely lucky if I can even get him to take 4, most days he will refuse any or maybe take 1/2.

The two of them are in a 180L aquarium, water is tested regularly, temperatures maintained, external filter, tap safe used.

Please help me, all advice is welcome, I am at a dead end on how to help him and I fear he is just slowly dying from lack of nutrients but I have no idea how to help him.

There’s a great article on here how to force feed, and it’s a very gentle way. You really should do this, just to help him get back in the mode for food. What’s your water parameters? Dechlorinator? Black water or no?

 

[Hayleycarrot]

I can't get a photo right now which will show him the way I need to as most on my phone are close ups, but I will get one when I finish work.

what dechlorinator? API
temp? 17
pH? 6.5
high range pH? UNSURE
ammonia? 0
Nitrite? 0
Nitrate? 0-20

Which pellets do you use? Novo lotl m and XL

can you post a picture of the lotl in question? tank? other lotl? It's a 4 foot wide by 1.5 deep

How long is the lotl? Around 5-6 inches

Do you add anything else to the tank? salt, johns, holtfreters? I have added salt in the past but I didn't see a difference after around a month, so I stopped.

 

[Hayleycarrot]

Hey, I will definitely look into that. I hate the idea of force feeding but if that is what it takes then I'll give it a go.

Thanks

 

[Calgarycoppers]

Okay you need to get that pH fixed ASAP that is too low and could cause issues on its own. It means you may have soft water which is also a problem. I would look into Johns solution which is all readily available ingredients or Holtfreters which is better but takes order compounds.

a 2yr old lotl thats under 6 inches is a mini and most minis tend to have issues for a while.

I would get some live blackworms to get him eating again and repashy grub pie for feeding as its known to help lotls gain weight.

 

[Hayleycarrot]

That's good to know, ive never seen anything about PH before and I've lived in 3 houses with him and always had the issue so I don't think this would be the only cause.

As for the size, I guessed and now you've said that looking at a ruler he is probably closer to 6.5/7 it's just because he's so much smaller than his tank mate I assumed a smaller size.

I will double check pH when I am home though to at least see as I have moved house since I've checked pH as I didn't think it was that important as a parameter.

 

[Calgarycoppers]

pH is very important as is GH - Axolotls prefer 7.2-7.6 as ideal but 7-7.8 is all safe 6.5-8 is the outside parameters where things get iffy and problems start.
They also do better in Harder water - GH 7-14 degrees or 124.6-249.2mg/L (1degree=17.8mg/L) and KH 3-8 degrees

6.5-7" is still very small for an adult axolotl and is either mini-esque or stunted or a genetic issue.

That's good to know, ive never seen anything about PH before and I've lived in 3 houses with him and always had the issue so I don't think this would be the only cause.

As for the size, I guessed and now you've said that looking at a ruler he is probably closer to 6.5/7 it's just because he's so much smaller than his tank mate I assumed a smaller size.

I will double check pH when I am home though to at least see as I have moved house since I've checked pH as I didn't think it was that important as a parameter.

 

[Hayleycarrot]

Yeah I am very confident that be is stunted but I just really want to get him to a point where he will feed well so he lives a better life than he is currently. Attached is him as a baby to see why he is so broken.

I'll definitely look into the pH though.

 

[Hayleycarrot]

I would also like to add he came off the sand in that photo within hours when I saw him try to eat it!

 

[Calgarycoppers]

OMG

That baby looks like a 5 month old that needs a ton of TLC

I would tub
do twice daily cold dechlorinated water changes
Feed repashy grub pie or thawed raw salmon or black worms ONLY no earthworms or pellets - I have a feeling the sand may be causing GI issues and he needs to get the system flowing - use 1 or all
You can add a small amount of vaseline or mineral oil to the repashy grub pie to get things started - thats my vets friends recommendation to possible blockage issues.

 

[Hayleycarrot]

If you are referring to the most recent photo of him when he was a baby,that was 2 years ago. I was just showing you to show how far he has come as to why I think he was stunted.