Can't get my tank parameters under control help!

[Xxsadi]

So I have a twenty gallon with two juvenile axolotls that I got around two weeks ago. They're about three inches each, and eat every time I offer food, but I have noticed ones gills are slightly curved, not sure if that is normal or if he is stressed because of my water. Right before we received them the water was testing fine and I thought we had gotten it cycled but now every single time I test it is showing .25 ammonia, .25 nitrites and what looks like 5.0 nitrates. I started changing the water a small amount after every feeding to try and bring it down but it never seems to change. I am using a nitrifying bacteria after each water change which also doesn't seem like it's doing anything. I'm not sure if this is the cause, but just before they arrived I switched the substrate from sand to slate tile (which seemed to lower the pH to about 7.2), when I did that I removed most of the water but conserved what I could in buckets, is it possible I messed up my cycle that way? Any recommendations on what I am doing wrong or what I should be doing are welcome. I have only owned one axolotl before and he had a lot of issues and passed away in the first week, so I am very paranoid and want to make sure these babies are okay.

 

[Xxsadi]

Here is a photo of my axie with the slightly curved gills just for reference. My other axolotls gills seem fine

 

[CatSpit]

Hi, it definitely sounds like your tank is having to re-cycle. It's good you're keeping up testing and doing partial water changes, what percentage of the water are you replacing each time? You may have lost some of your beneficial bacteria when you changed out the substrate. Whatever the cause, keep monitoring your water parameters and doing frequent partial water changes to avoid exposing your axolotls to ammonia and nitrite.

I don't know much about adding nitrifying bacteria - I did not use anything like that to cycle my tank. I have read that some bacteria additives die off quickly and/or can compete with the beneficial bacteria you are naturally growing in your tank. Others with experience in this area may be able to help you out with whether it's a good idea to continue or not.

 

[Skudo09]

From the photo, your axolotl doesn't seem stressed. That is a normal curve in their gills. If stressed, usually their gills will be curled much further forward over their face.

As Catspit mentioned, removing the sand may have disrupted the cycle by removing some of the beneficial bacteria and now your tank is in the process of cycling again. But it could have been something else.

Are you using a liquid test kit to test your water?
Have you been dechlorinating the new water before adding it?
A PH of 7.2 is ok. I haven't heard of slate lowering PH before.
is there any gunk under the slate?
Has anything in the filter changed recently? Such as media?

There are different views on the bottled nitrifying bacteria. I personally don't like to use them as I feel they give a false sense of security. I prefer to cycle tanks naturally. I have heard (this actually may have happened to one of my partners tanks but we can't prove that this definitely was the case) that the bottled bacteria can give a 'false cycle' so the tank appears all cycled and then crashes.

Keep doing daily water changes and don't let nitrite or ammonia go above 0.25ppm. It will cycle again and may not take as long as hopefully it does still have a colony in the filter and other surfaces.

 

[Xxsadi]

Hi, thanks for your response!

I've been aiming for about 25% total change, so typically after each meal I've been changing little over half of our five gallon bucket, tho today I am going to wait until after they've eaten their dinner and siphon five gallons out all at once and see if that makes any difference. I'm not sure how much exactly I should be doing but it currently seems to not be making a change.

I also have no idea if the bacteria has really made a difference in general with cycling the first time. I just read it is what I was supposed to do and I am a bit of a noob to this I guess. I'm not sure if it makes any difference but currently in the tank there are also two ghost shrimp and two mystery snails, and they've been in the tank since I got it several months ago (the snails are only going to be in it for another week tho, a friend with a more appropriate tank is going to take them in). Not sure if they would cause more ammonia or less since they eat pretty much all of the unwanted food.

Edit: also yes I am doing the liquid test kit! I'm glad I got it too because of how often I am using it now. There shouldn't be anything under the slate as it fits pretty snug. We didn't stick it down or anything, we wanted it to be movable so that after a while we could take them out and clean the bottom of the tank if we need be. The filter should be okay, I've had it since I started trying to cycle my tank and I only clean it using tank water. And yes I do dechlorinate the water. Would you recommend I stop using the bottled bacteria?

 

[CatSpit]

When i was cycling my tank i did at least 20% water changes daily. You may want to try stopping the bacteria supplement to see what changes, if any, it makes.

Sounds like you are on the right track to getting your tank re-cycled safely.

 

[Xxsadi]

It's been testing negative for nitrites and nitrates the past few days! Still showing .25 ammonia so I'm still changing it every other day but hopefully itll work it out soon. Thanks for the responses. I am a very nervous new owner, haha.