Eating question

M

michelle

Guest
hello,
my largest axie has not eaten for 2 weeks now but i cant really see anything wrong with her,she still looks very healthy.my question is how long can she go without eating before i should worry ? all other tank mates doing well.
cheers
michelle
 
hi Michelle - What do you normally feed? What size is the gravel in your tank? What is the temperature of the water?

Axolotls can go without food for quite sometime, but 2 weeks would start bother me too. How much does it normally eat?
 
Mine are at 8 days without food now. I fed the worms some pineapple just to see if they liked it, and the axies haven't touched them since (axolotls, apparently, do not like pineappley worms!) I'm holding out on giving them other things... I think they'll get hungry before I give in to their demands
biggrin.gif


Is it possible she's been eating when your back was turned? Anything you could think of that would be causing her stress?

(Message edited by trip on March 18, 2005)
 
i feed earthworms and trout pellets , i have sand in my tank and large rocks so i dont think she has swallowed anything , the temp has been stable at 19 , she was moved into a larger tank about one month ago but she ate for the first 2 weeks with no problem, she is my largest girl she normally eats quite alot .also the new tank had been cycled for one month before they went in.
thanks for the help
xx
 
Not eating with a twist. Our axie has gone without eating for about a week, but also seems to be throwing up her food too !!!

Our axie is about 1 year old(our best guess) and is 18.5cm long. We test regularly test pH, NO2 (several times a week)and there is no problem. Water temp approx 14 degrees, is also ok.

About one month ago she regurgitated a big rock (2cm x 0.7cmx0.7cm) as well as a few undigested food pellets(4mmx4mmx2mm). After that we decreased the number of feedings from every day to every other day.

4 days ago our axie regurgitated about a weeks worth of pellets (9 pellets). So she has not eaten in about a week. Today again, she had no interest in eating. Is there any cause for alarm ? Has anyone else experienced this ? Any thoughts or suggestions ? Any input would be most appreciated.
 
my axalotl (Aki) hasn't eaten in the two weeks I have owned her (one pellet actually). Her friend Xander has a normal appetite. They were sick briefly when i got Aki but both appear well now. I have gone over everything I can think of, water temp is ok, water being changed frequently, buffered, ph'd etc. I have tried bloodworms and pellets. I have dropped pellets repeatedly, held them with fingers, forceps or left them in my palm (or tank bottom). No response. One disinterested "snap" is the best I have gotten. I saw her try to eat some gravel, I have found though that larger substrate really messes my water up (worms fall into the gaps in the rocks and don't syphon out properly). I am almost at the point of letting nature take its course and losing my little yellow friend as i have tried lots of different things and she just seems to be getting skinnier, smaller and weaker. Any help would be REALLY appreciated.
I even tried a weak, 1 hour salt bath (to stimulate appetite) but basically I get No snapping reflex whatsoever.
Anybody know how to force-feed an axolotl? It may have to come to that I think.

Setup:
tank 25 litres
undergravel filter
air stone
soft water (buffered artificially)
small substrate (Xander can poo the rocks out)
not too much water flow
Axolotl approved temp range.
PH good.
Used Melafix as treatment.
 
i use bacon to get my naughty ones to eat. they cant resist. might be worth a try. im not sure of the cause though sorry!!
 
Beau - Axolotls should have hard water not soft.
I would not artifically buffer the tank. What is your PH reading from the tap?

What is the temp in your tank? Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings?

If you saw her trying to eat gravel, chances are she has been successful. Gravel can stay in their gut for a very long time. If this is what is wrong I hope she passes it soon.

If she continues not eating, I would put her in the fridge in a small container of water.
Change her water every 2 or 3 days (put a container of fresh water in the fridge a day ahead so you have the same temp water to replace her water with). Slowing her body down may buy her enough time to pass the gravel.
 
Sometimes their appetites change. My two 7" axies decided that they didn't like salmon pellets anymore. I was afraid they weren't eating enough, but luckily it rained last week so I was able to collect some earthworms. They gobbled them down, so I know they are hungry. My axies used to hunt down the pellets in the tank with their nose, but they stopped doing that. There might not be anything wrong with them, they just feel like eating something different! My suggestion would be to feed them some live food. They might have been fed something different where you got them from, so a live food would be a good option to try before you do anything that could cause stress.
 
Randy - It sounds like your axolotl might have a blockage/rock in its gut as well. Do you offer other food besides pellets? You might try feeding small earth worms.

A week is not a terribly long time for her to go without food. However if she continues not feeding to the point she starts to become weak and thin I would try putting her in the fridge as recommended in the post above to Beau.
 
Guys, thankyou from the bottom of my three chambered little heart for your advice. I will try Aki in the fridge... what is the minimum temp for fridging an Axie? Should I use a lid? I might leaver the container lid ajar...

My water is pure rainwater but has a PH of about 5.5 or less (because) water has a hardness of less than 1 (of 1-4 scale). I will definately get some water from my parents place (rainwater from a cement tank) where they have the opposite problem of waaay tooo hard water PH 7-8 and see if I can make a good blend.
Ammonia/nitrites:- almost certainly some, I have been using melafix and my filters biological activity is temporarily gone (sick axies ---> complete water change ---> Melafix) I have to syphon the excess worms/pellets out almost daily.

Also, when I try to offer food to Aki (pellets, bloodworms and 1 attempt to feed earthworms) she seems almost offended, turns away and swims to her cave. Xander who has a truly monstrous appetite also did not want to know about the earthworms (hand, forceped or just dropped above him and left). In all I killed three earthworms...
cheers, Beau
 
Beau, 25 litres of water to two axolotls? is that what you said? that is not enough for two axies. Maybe I read it wrong?
 
Beau - this news letter contains a section on putting your axolotl in the fridge:

http://www.indiana.edu/~axolotl/pdf/28large.pdf
scroll to page 17 Practical Axolotl.

25 liters is only 6 US gallons. That is not a large enough tank for 2 axolotls.

Salt baths should be 2 teaspoons of salt in 1 liter of water for 10 min. I would stop using the melafix and use salt baths.

What is the temp of your tank?
Do you have a test kit so you can test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? If you do what are the readings if you don't you need one.
 
Aquarium salt, kosher salt, "Doc's Wellness" salt. Table salt has iodine and anti-caking agents and should not be used.
 
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