Axyies hide all the time

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tokemoke

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So I've had these little guys since December. One was pretty active for a couple months but now they will both sit in there hides all day. Water is cool enough and and they dont get any direct sunlight. I've even shaded one side of thier tank and added a caffeinne free black tea bag after every eater change to give em some "sunglasses". Any thoughts or experiences? I'd love them to be more active just not sure what i can do. No curled tail or gills either...
 
Is there a strong current in the tank? And when its feeding time do they come to the front of the tank?
Also, I have noticed that females are generally more active and inquisitive.

Lastly, I have also noticed that surface plants(even fake ones) make axies feel more secure, and more likely to come out in the open.
 
Two sponge filters keep the currents down.
I hand feed mostly or else tey seem to hunt down pellets i leave at night.
The one i now know to be female WAS the active one. The other isnt quite mature yet.
I'll give the floating plants try. That makes sense. Thanks!
 
Is the tank in a busy area? if there is a lot of movement outside the tank it could maybe spook them ?
 
Why are you adding tea? Just to make the water brown? You're better off actually providing shade - either with plants or by blocking any light source e.g. from windows.

Chances are they are not happy about something - lighting, noise, activity, temperature, water quality etc. so consider their environment in a holistic way - not only what they have in their tank but their whole room if not house. My axies hate the vacuum cleaner - noise and vibration obviously upsets them, but they love the TV and sit mesmerised by the changing colours and light.
 
Have you changed anything in the tank? Is there a light over the tank? Have you been testing the water?
My leucistic got upset after I aimed the spraybar differently so that it made even less current than before. He spent a few days hiding in his cave and only came out to get a worm and then went right back in to eat it. He went back to normal after I put the spraybar back the way it used to be. I guess no one told him that axies aren't supposed to like current.
Also axies often become less active as they grow. So it might just be that they've become boring adults. :D
 
In the ljving room.
I add tanins for the mild antibiotic properties and shading.
One small light, a fan for cooling and an air pump. Could be a lot of vibration...
Havent been testing the water lately. Guess i should do that first... but there's not tail or gill curling.
 
tokemoke said:
So I've had these little guys since December. One was pretty active for a couple months but now they will both sit in there hides all day. Water is cool enough and and they dont get any direct sunlight. I've even shaded one side of thier tank and added a caffeinne free black tea bag after every eater change to give em some "sunglasses". Any thoughts or experiences? I'd love them to be more active just not sure what i can do. No curled tail or gills either...
Click to expand...


My Female has taken to the hide all day, she recently laid eggs " two weeks ago " but had done in the past without taking to the hide. We are in a bit of a heatwave " for England anyway " but i never let the water temp go above 18c during the day, i use frozen water bottles but during the night it goes close to 20c,i also have a large fan sweeping over the water, which just leaves a small ripple and she as had this for a good while. My waters fine, shes still eating well but i need to coax her out of the hide to eat, i know i'm probably worrying over nothing but cant help it, if anyone could shed some light on this for me i would be very grateful, thank you for reading this very large post :D
 
spud62 said:
My Female has taken to the hide all day, she recently laid eggs " two weeks ago " but had done in the past without taking to the hide. We are in a bit of a heatwave " for England anyway " but i never let the water temp go above 18c during the day, i use frozen water bottles but during the night it goes close to 20c,i also have a large fan sweeping over the water, which just leaves a small ripple and she as had this for a good while. My waters fine, shes still eating well but i need to coax her out of the hide to eat, i know i'm probably worrying over nothing but cant help it, if anyone could shed some light on this for me i would be very grateful, thank you for reading this very large post :D
Click to expand...

Just be sure that you have actually tested your water and verified that the water is within safe parameters. They are so sensitive to water quality. And nothing like a water change to perk them up! What are you feeding?
I have noticed a positive change in appearance and personality since supplementing my axolotl's diet with red worms. They are more active and beg for worms at the tank front. It's so cute!
 
Bette said:
Just be sure that you have actually tested your water and verified that the water is within safe parameters. They are so sensitive to water quality. And nothing like a water change to perk them up! What are you feeding?
I have noticed a positive change in appearance and personality since supplementing my axolotl's diet with red worms. They are more active and beg for worms at the tank front. It's so cute!
Click to expand...

Water was tested this morning and its fine, I feed them earthworms, she ate 4 yesterday after I coaxed her out of the hide, i'm thinking its the ups and downs of the water temp that's getting to her, there's nothing more I can do on the front, its 17.6 at the moment
but will go up to19.6 overnight even 20c, the male is fine he's just doing what he always does. When i do get her out shes her normal self, thank you for taking the time to reply
 
spud62 said:
Water was tested this morning and its fine, I feed them earthworms, she ate 4 yesterday after I coaxed her out of the hide, i'm thinking its the ups and downs of the water temp that's getting to her, there's nothing more I can do on the front, its 17.6 at the moment
but will go up to19.6 overnight even 20c, the male is fine he's just doing what he always does. When i do get her out shes her normal self, thank you for taking the time to reply
Click to expand...

That's a good appetite she has! The water temp isn't bad... maybe its the temp fluctuations like you said.
 
spud62 said:
i'm thinking its the ups and downs of the water temp that's getting to her, there's nothing more I can do on the front, its 17.6 at the moment
but will go up to19.6 overnight even 20c,
Click to expand...

20 C is fine. You could try to keep it at around 19-20 C all day and night if you think it might be the temperature changes that get to her.
 
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