Illness/Sickness: Axie not doing anything at all

[CinnabarMoss]

Hi guys, I was wondering if any of you might be able to help me with my predicament. A few days ago one of my axies went from eating small amounts of food each day and moving like any normal axolotl to not moving at all, for hours on end. The only discernible movement I have seen that marks him as alive is using his back legs to straighten himself, and very, very occasional tail flicks. He lies on his stomach unsupported by his front legs and does nothing else. He also does not eat.

On one side (his left when looking down with his head pointing away from me) he appears slightly bloated and round, but his right side is mostly flat. A few days before he stopped moving, I found him floating around at the top of the tank and only moved when I lightly touched him. Water temp at the time was about 22-23 degrees Celsius. Been doing everything I can to get it down, and have gotten it to about 20 degrees now.

One of the other axies (I have 3) appeared to have been attacking him, so I moved him to an already set up tank of similar temperature that I have no gotten down to about 17 degrees. The other axie in each tank is doing fine, he is the only irregularity so far.

I have moved him to the fridge after reading through things on this forum, but I don't know what else there is to do.

Old tank: Around 22 degrees, managed to get that down to 19 after he moved. Ammonia was 0, pH was 7, nitrates were low but nitrites were quite high (don't know numbers)

New tank: Around 20 degrees, now 17 after fridging him. Ammonia, nitrates and nitrites were all low/0, and pH was also around 7.

The first tank was 127 litres, and the second was only 60.

Anybody got any ideas what is wrong and what I can do to fix it?

 

[auntiejude]

How old and what size is your sick axie? It's not uncommon for small axies to get gas bubbles, they pass on their own but you need to segregate him to prevent attacks by others. This is supported by your description of one-sided swelling and laying on his tummy with legs off the ground. This can also happen with adults, but it's usually just a floaty bum end.

Move the axie into a tub on his own with some floating plants (I use pondweed) for cover and to hide under, and it should pass. Change the water daily, and make sure your floating axie gets enough food.

 

[keiko]

Old tank: Around 22 degrees, managed to get that down to 19 after he moved. Ammonia was 0, pH was 7, nitrates were low but nitrites were quite high (don't know numbers)

I hope you just got nitrites and nitrates mixed up... But nitrites should be 0 like ammonia and nitrates should have a reading (<40).

 

[CinnabarMoss]

He is 19ish centimetres and almost 2 years old. I haven't been able to get him to eat anything in the past week or so. I generally feed him bloodworm, but have yet to try earth worms.
His bum has floated in the past, but that has always passed without trouble. He is acting completely differently to when that happened

And to Keiko: Sorry, I might well have done. It was a water test done at a shop a few days ago, and all I know is that the new tank is fine for axies, but the old one was quite high in either nitrates or nitrites (due to insufficient water changes)

 

[auntiejude]

Bloodworms are not a suitable staple for an adult axie - they do not contain enough of the essential minerals an axie needs. Earthworms are best.

Your axie could be suffering the after effects of water quality issues or the effects of moving. You would do really well to invest in a test kit of your own, you should be monitoring your water quality regularly. Is your new tank fully cycled?

 

[CinnabarMoss]

I also feed prawns on occasion, and sometimes things such as lancefish. Mussels have also been fed (trying to keep it varied, but those are the main things available in my area). Where might I get earthworms? I don't know of any bait shops nearby and live in England.

I'll look into it, then. Any suggestions of particular test kits that would be better than others? No, it isn't yet, I don't think. But due to the other axie attacking him (small parts of fin missing and such) I thought it better to get him away and a partition wasn't an option. I was likely wrong.

 

[spud62]

I also feed prawns on occasion, and sometimes things such as lancefish. Mussels have also been fed (trying to keep it varied, but those are the main things available in my area). Where might I get earthworms? I don't know of any bait shops nearby and live in England.

I'll look into it, then. Any suggestions of particular test kits that would be better than others? No, it isn't yet, I don't think. But due to the other axie attacking him (small parts of fin missing and such) I thought it better to get him away and a partition wasn't an option. I was likely wrong.

I buy my earthworm online from "worms direct " and my 2 love em !

 

[spud62]

Sorry i meant to say they come in a bucket but dont keep the worms in it for too long, i put damp shredded paper at the bottom of a big tin " roses chocs lol " and add some mashed potato " dont salt " on top of paper dont compact it they need to get to the bottom, add worms with the soil they came in, put in cool place out of the sun and they will live a long time

 

[auntiejude]

Worm farming thread

 

[spud62]

Worm farming thread

Sorry

 

[CinnabarMoss]

Thanks very much guys. I'll get to work on the earthworms and test kits right away. So I should just segregate him and wait for it to pass? Just to be clear, when I say he doesn't move, I mean that he straightens himself with a small movement of one of his back legs and that is all I have seen.
And one last thing, he is leucid and blood vessels have all become quite prominent along his body, turning him almost pink at times. Is this just due to the heat? Thanks again

 

[CinnabarMoss]

He is also currently in a container (filled with dechlorinated water and wrapped in a tea towel) in a fridge of about 6-7 degrees. Should I get him out of there?

Edit: Sorry to be annoying and ask so much, but I'd rather be annoying and ask too many questions than ask too few and have him die

 

[CinnabarMoss]

Update: For anyone reading that could help, the bulge on his left side has gone down and he looks even on both sides. However, he does even less now and I can't coax any kind of response from him. Is there a way to figure out if he is still alive?