Ammonia Burns ? Help

[JulMl]

Hello,
My friend have 2 axies, both staying in a tank with some fishes (they grow up togheter). The female looks fine, no behavioral changes, but the male looks reddish. He also eats well, no other changes then the gills and skin looking reddish. All parameters all good, Water temperature is 20C. Can someone know what is this ?

 

[wolfen]

Hello,
My friend have 2 axies, both staying in a tank with some fishes (they grow up togheter). The female looks fine, no behavioral changes, but the male looks reddish. He also eats well, no other changes then the gills and skin looking reddish. All parameters all good, Water temperature is 20C. Can someone know what is this ?

what are the water levels?
is there any air-stones in the tank?
first you need to reduce the temperature.
you also need to introduce more oxygen to the water.

 

[Covey]

Hello,
My friend have 2 axies, both staying in a tank with some fishes (they grow up togheter). The female looks fine, no behavioral changes, but the male looks reddish. He also eats well, no other changes then the gills and skin looking reddish. All parameters all good, Water temperature is 20C. Can someone know what is this ?

Ok, so to me the gills seem a little too small, temperature is a little to high, get your friend to reduce the temps to 16-18 celsius. Check water parameters using the API Freshwater Master Test Kit (if your friend doesn't have one tell him to get one). Parameters should be Ammonia=0ppm, Nitrite=0ppm, Nitrate=5 to 20 ppm, and Ph=7.6. Look for wound or possible nips from fish on the axolotl's gill.

 

[Autistic Catholic]

Temp is at the tolerable range. If they've been at that temperature too long though, they'll definitely start to deteriorate. Use frozen water bottles or fans blowing across the surface and you'll get the temperature to the appropriate levels. If it's ammonia poisoning, then water parameters will not be all good. Ammonia will be above zero and you will need to tub them in dechlorinated water.

 

[JM29]

The photo is not very clear but the fishes look like amazonian fishes.

First, it's never a good idea to keep fishes with axolotls :
- because fishes will bite the gills frills (which could explain the gill deterioration)
- because the fishes may carry some diseases or parasites which can be transmitted to axolotls,
- because axolotls will end up eating the fishes.

As for the temperature of 20°C, it's a bad tradeoff between the needs of the axolotls and that of the fishes.
In my opinion, they should be separated.

 

[JulMl]

She Said that there is an air-stone, and also the temperature of water is was 19-20C all the time. She is having them since november (from when they were Little babies). She Said that nothing changed in their routine, but she found the male like this today. She changed the water in the weekend, but the parameters are good. Also, the axies have been lived with those fishes from the beggining. They are tetras, they dont go near the axies, and axies are not interested in eating them. Anyway, I told her to transfer them in another tank, with new and fresh water. Also, the axies can live in a water even in a water with 22C Temp, anyway, its not the case here. Thank you all for your suggestions!

 

[Autistic Catholic]

She Said that there is an air-stone, and also the temperature of water is was 19-20C all the time. She is having them since november (from when they were Little babies). She Said that nothing changed in their routine, but she found the male like this today. She changed the water in the weekend, but the parameters are good. Also, the axies have been lived with those fishes from the beggining. They are tetras, they dont go near the axies, and axies are not interested in eating them. Anyway, I told her to transfer them in another tank, with new and fresh water. Also, the axies can live in a water even in a water with 22C Temp, anyway, its not the case here. Thank you all for your suggestions!

22C is a tolerable temperature, but when they are kept in it for prolonged times, they begin to suffer hyperthermia just as excessive temperatures can yield that. Your target should be 16-19C. Tolerable does not mean that the temperature is okay or ideal but that they have resilience to the temperature. They are cold water amphibians and need colder water than that.

I'm guessing these are not ammonia burns then but that the fish are now more interested in them. Just because there haven't been problems before, doesn't mean problems won't come up again.

Your friend needs to separate them from the fish and get the temperatures to a more consistent ideal level, not a tolerable level. 16-19C should be your target, some might say 15-18C.

 

[Autistic Catholic]

I would also advise your friend to read this care guide on tetras too.

Tetras Care Guide

Tetras are schooling fish from the family Characidae.

www.aqueon.com

As JM29 has stated, 20C is a bad tradeoff of temperature needs for both animals. Tetras need warmer waters (25C at least!) and your axolotls are going to become very uncomfortable at a prolonged exposure to 20+C.

 

[JulMl]

Thank you all !! I sent all the info to her, and she Said that now they are in a separate tank from the fish, with a 16C water temp and the male is getting slowly back to its normal skin colour. Thank you very much, again !!P.S. Sorry for my Bad english ))