Shady_Tree
New member
Hello all!
I have two Axolotl's -- one is a male wild type and the other is a female luci. They are both going on 5ish years old now.
The wildtype is very healthy, energetic, and his appetite is seemingly bottomless. He's very interactive and loves to swim to the front of the tank to say hi when we come close.
My little luci on the other hand has been a cause for concern a lot the past year. Almost a year ago now, I started noticing the fillaments on her gills starting to disappear and noticed a lack of interaction from her. At the time, however, she was still eating just fine. We tried a PH buffer in the form of crushed coral in a small mesh bag, but no improvements were noticed. That said, it didnt seem to really bother her all this time otherwise, and shes been otherwise fine.
That brings me to the past month or so.
She has seemingly completely stopped eating, and her stomach took on a strange lopsided appearance. If I drop any pellets in, she will catch and spit them out. If I dangle a worm infront of her, she will turn face. If I try frozen bloodworms or frozen brine shrimp, she'll inch close but never eat them. Additionally, she's had her tail side floating up frequently -- almost going vertical. I noticed some green pieces on the floor, which after some research Ive learned may be feces mixed with some bile due to the long period of not eating. Ive been trying every 2-3 days to feed something to her.
From what my Fiancée described, she was caught eating some food that was left on the ground of the tank one night from an earlier feeding. Unfortunately I didnt see it, and since there was still some leftover food when I came to clean it out, I can't be certain she ate enough. I have not observed anymore green feces in the week following this -- but food continues to be refused.
I'll attach some photos of her body incase anyone has seen anything like this before. She seems to be able to lower herself down sometimes... but I'm definitely worried, as this feels like a long time to go without food and I would hate for her to be sick.
Any help, guidance, or reassurance here would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Water parameters for both tanks are still stable: 0 ppm Ammonia, 0 ppm Nitrite, 5-10 ppm Nitrate. The pH of the water hovers around 7.0. 50% changes are done weekly, and the tank is kept clean on feeding days with a turkey baster.
Their diets both consist of a mixture of Invert Aquarium Axolotl Sinking Pellets and Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets, we've managed to work in some earthworms as well from a local pet store, with the occasional treat of Bloodworms still.
Ever since our Luci has begun refusing food, we've started trying to feed half pellets and half cubes of the frozen bloodworms to try and get small amounts of food in her system.
I have two Axolotl's -- one is a male wild type and the other is a female luci. They are both going on 5ish years old now.
The wildtype is very healthy, energetic, and his appetite is seemingly bottomless. He's very interactive and loves to swim to the front of the tank to say hi when we come close.
My little luci on the other hand has been a cause for concern a lot the past year. Almost a year ago now, I started noticing the fillaments on her gills starting to disappear and noticed a lack of interaction from her. At the time, however, she was still eating just fine. We tried a PH buffer in the form of crushed coral in a small mesh bag, but no improvements were noticed. That said, it didnt seem to really bother her all this time otherwise, and shes been otherwise fine.
That brings me to the past month or so.
She has seemingly completely stopped eating, and her stomach took on a strange lopsided appearance. If I drop any pellets in, she will catch and spit them out. If I dangle a worm infront of her, she will turn face. If I try frozen bloodworms or frozen brine shrimp, she'll inch close but never eat them. Additionally, she's had her tail side floating up frequently -- almost going vertical. I noticed some green pieces on the floor, which after some research Ive learned may be feces mixed with some bile due to the long period of not eating. Ive been trying every 2-3 days to feed something to her.
From what my Fiancée described, she was caught eating some food that was left on the ground of the tank one night from an earlier feeding. Unfortunately I didnt see it, and since there was still some leftover food when I came to clean it out, I can't be certain she ate enough. I have not observed anymore green feces in the week following this -- but food continues to be refused.
I'll attach some photos of her body incase anyone has seen anything like this before. She seems to be able to lower herself down sometimes... but I'm definitely worried, as this feels like a long time to go without food and I would hate for her to be sick.
Any help, guidance, or reassurance here would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Water parameters for both tanks are still stable: 0 ppm Ammonia, 0 ppm Nitrite, 5-10 ppm Nitrate. The pH of the water hovers around 7.0. 50% changes are done weekly, and the tank is kept clean on feeding days with a turkey baster.
Their diets both consist of a mixture of Invert Aquarium Axolotl Sinking Pellets and Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets, we've managed to work in some earthworms as well from a local pet store, with the occasional treat of Bloodworms still.
Ever since our Luci has begun refusing food, we've started trying to feed half pellets and half cubes of the frozen bloodworms to try and get small amounts of food in her system.
