Help! Dangerously high Amonia Levels

[srwatton]

I've had My axies about 2 months, and they've been perfectly happy and healthy, but last night I noticed that their gills were looking shabby, and one had white fluffy stuff on it which I discovered was a fungal infection. I went out this morning and bought a test kit, I also bathed both the axies in a salt bath twice. I tested the pH, Nitrate and Nitrite levels - all were fine.
However, When I did an ammonia test it came out as an 8.0...I know that even 0.5 is dangerous...what do I do? Thanks

Oh (EDIT) I also did almost a full water change and the Ammonia dropped slightly but it's still way up there.

 

[srwatton]

Please help? Im so worried, they could be dying right now

 

[big a little a]

Have a look at this thread, there may be some tips you can use:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60757

X

 

[Tappers]

Blimey that's high! Did you clean out/change your filter?

Large-scale waterchanges and stop feeding for now, if you need some time then fridge the axies.

Do another big waterchange and get some tetra safestart, JBL filterstart or Soll bactinettes - these all work if they've been stored properly before sale - preferably in a fridge. Alternatively rinse a filter from a healthy, mature fish tank into your axie's tank and ignore the mess, it'll soon clear.

Search the forum for ammonia and you should get some useful advice...

 

[srwatton]

Yeah I did a filter change, and I also bought some live plants, I emptied almost all of the tank water and put fresh, treated water in. I'm going to do another water change tomorrow probably (or should I wait a day?) but I'm terrified that they wont last that long under those conditions.
Should I take them out of the tank and keep them seperate until it calms down? If so, do I just use treated tap water for that and is it perfectly safe to put them in fridge? For how long?

Gah! I'm so panicky lol

Thankyou everyone for helping! x

 

[nomoremind]

I had an issue once where I had to seperate and put them in the fridge. I used fresh treated tap. Each to their own. But you have to change water daily. I just used small glade containers (with a lid so no food could possible get in) and an extra each with treated water so I would just swap to the other container so theirs no water acclimation and would clean out the used one and put it back in the fridge for the next day. I would probably move them at lease until it's safer for them to return home. While their in the fridge they wont be as hungry.

 

[b00f]

I had a very similar issue last week

Ammonia through the roof, my match card didnt even go that high (test was very very green).
I have ceased feeding, and filled the tank as high as i could get it safely.
I continued with water changes daily (twice, and if i could get a third change in, i would do it)
ammonia is now @0.25 (still cycling).
PS. for the record JBL filterstart does not need to be refrigerated..
JBL Denitrol I believe needs to be

Aaron

 

[srwatton]

Thank you very much guys =]

I have done a water change this morning and it's down to 1.0/1.5, so later tonight I'll do another one and hopefully it will start to settle. I'm not going to put my axies in the fridge unless the salt baths don't work quickly enough (they're starting to look a bit better already).

Thanks again x

 

[ianclick]

Hi,

Have you checked your tank thouroughly for any hidden food or waste material. Often a small piece of food or waste left in a tank will cause alarmingly high ammonia levels.

 

[srwatton]

I don't know what to do, the ammonia has surged again, and I can't seem to keep it down. I'm assuming that it's because of the New Tank Syndrome? But if it is then I should leave it to cycle right? But I can't do that with Axies in because it's hurting them. What do I do? I really don't want to fridge them...I don't like the idea of it.
I even bought some Tetra safe start and that doesnt seem to have helped either.

 

[Kerry1968]

It is way more important for your axies to be in a stress free environment, than in an ammonia laden tank where they will be stressed. Ammonia can cause serious problems for an axie so I would strongly recommend you fridge your axies ASAP. Don't worry about the fridging process, your axies will relax and chill out (excuse the pun) in the fridge while you can continue to monitor the water.

Check out the fridging link in case you haven't read it...

http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/Fridging.shtml

While they are lounging in the fridge check the water chemistry daily and perform regular small water changes to reduce the ammonia levels.

Once your tank is showing signs of nitrates you know you are well on the road to a fully cycled tank (yippee!) and you can put your axies back in. Be warned though, the ammonia levels may well rise once the axies are back in, but with regular water changes you should be able to get this under control fairly quickly.

Thinking about the drastic rise in ammonia you have had, have you checked there's no axie poo or hidden leftover food you have missed?

 

[Bellabelloo]

What size tank so you have and what do you have on the bottom ? I was wondering if maybe waste is being trapped somewhere. Also how many axolotl are in the tank and what are you feeding them ?
Daily water changes with dechlorinated water, whilst tedious is neccessary....but when the reading drops its great!!. As said by others, with such a high reading putting the axolotl in fresh dechlorinated water is really the best option. If you have somewhere cooler than the current tank, you may not need to put them in the fridge.

Out of curiosity have you tested the water just after it has been dechlorinated ?

 

[SludgeMunkey]

At that level, ammonia should be fatal very quickly.

Have you tried an ammonia test of another brand perchance merely to compare results?

Forgive me, I am unfamiliar with the brand of dechloronator you are using, does it treat for chloramines also?
One thing to keep in mind is that chloramines can cause some ammonia tests to show positive.


Also, many, many dechloronators convert harmful ionized NH3 into not very harmful NH4, however most tests available to the hobbyist do not differentiate between the two.

The most important question though is, what is the pH of the tank water at? Low pH (below 7) can have a drastic effect on the formation of NH3. Submerged wood causes pH drops, as does waste trapped in the substrate as previously stated by other posters. water hardness is also a big factor.

For comparison, test your water before treatment and after treatment. This can help you track down the cause.

 

[Tappers]

I'm surprised your ammonia has gone back up again. How are you cleaning the filter? If you're washing the media under the tap or using chlorinated water you will be killing your beneficial bacteria. Mature biomedia should only ever be rinsed in water from the tank.

 

[srwatton]

What size tank so you have and what do you have on the bottom ? I was wondering if maybe waste is being trapped somewhere. Also how many axolotl are in the tank and what are you feeding them ?
Daily water changes with dechlorinated water, whilst tedious is neccessary....but when the reading drops its great!!. As said by others, with such a high reading putting the axolotl in fresh dechlorinated water is really the best option. If you have somewhere cooler than the current tank, you may not need to put them in the fridge.

Out of curiosity have you tested the water just after it has been dechlorinated ?

Hey, well I have a pretty big tank, about 2 foot by 1 foot, And the axies are still pretty tiny. I have large gravel on the bottom, two axies and i feed them bloodworms, mussells, cockles, lance fish and prawns. Im not using bloodworms right now because theres alot of waste and im feeding them in a seperate container to the tank.

Thanks to everyone for replying, im not sure how to quote you all lol. But Yeah my dechlorinator gets rid of Chloramine too (Nurafin one) I also bought some tetra safe start and that doesnt seem to have done anything at all.

My only option seems to be keeping them out while the tank settles. Can i keep them in a large container rather then fridge them? If not i guess i'll have to fridge them.

Thanks again all x

 

[srwatton]

I'm surprised your ammonia has gone back up again. How are you cleaning the filter? If you're washing the media under the tap or using chlorinated water you will be killing your beneficial bacteria. Mature biomedia should only ever be rinsed in water from the tank.

Oh that's a good tip, i dont clean the media of the filter often, and havnt at all for about 2 weeks, so the bacteria should be fine, but they dont seem to be doing their job anyway...
Thanks for the rinsing in water from the tank tip, i didn't know that

 

[srwatton]

At that level, ammonia should be fatal very quickly.

Have you tried an ammonia test of another brand perchance merely to compare results?

Forgive me, I am unfamiliar with the brand of dechloronator you are using, does it treat for chloramines also?
One thing to keep in mind is that chloramines can cause some ammonia tests to show positive.


Also, many, many dechloronators convert harmful ionized NH3 into not very harmful NH4, however most tests available to the hobbyist do not differentiate between the two.

The most important question though is, what is the pH of the tank water at? Low pH (below 7) can have a drastic effect on the formation of NH3. Submerged wood causes pH drops, as does waste trapped in the substrate as previously stated by other posters. water hardness is also a big factor.

For comparison, test your water before treatment and after treatment. This can help you track down the cause.

Thank you, i think i'm going to take a water sample to the place i got them from, as they do them for free. The pH was above 7 last i ckecked (about 3 days ago) and the nitrates and nitrites are all pretty much 0 so my biggest problem seems to be the ammonia.

 

[srwatton]

It is way more important for your axies to be in a stress free environment, than in an ammonia laden tank where they will be stressed. Ammonia can cause serious problems for an axie so I would strongly recommend you fridge your axies ASAP. Don't worry about the fridging process, your axies will relax and chill out (excuse the pun) in the fridge while you can continue to monitor the water.

Check out the fridging link in case you haven't read it...

http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/Fridging.shtml

While they are lounging in the fridge check the water chemistry daily and perform regular small water changes to reduce the ammonia levels.

Once your tank is showing signs of nitrates you know you are well on the road to a fully cycled tank (yippee!) and you can put your axies back in. Be warned though, the ammonia levels may well rise once the axies are back in, but with regular water changes you should be able to get this under control fairly quickly.

Thinking about the drastic rise in ammonia you have had, have you checked there's no axie poo or hidden leftover food you have missed?

Wow thanks, that link was great I'll be fridging them it seems. I don't have many other options.

 

[Tappers]

Don't be too worried about them in the fridge. Mine were colder in the animal room over the winter than the tortoises were in the fridge. They really seemed quite comfortable, even when we had all the snow and they got down to 5c. The tortoises slept through the whole thing at a balmy 7c!

It's only scary the first time you do it, then you'll wonder what the big deal was :happy:

By the way, do you run your filter 24/7?

 

[srwatton]

Don't be too worried about them in the fridge. Mine were colder in the animal room over the winter than the tortoises were in the fridge. They really seemed quite comfortable, even when we had all the snow and they got down to 5c. The tortoises slept through the whole thing at a balmy 7c!

It's only scary the first time you do it, then you'll wonder what the big deal was :happy:

By the way, do you run your filter 24/7?

Yeah im just being silly i guess. Yep my filter runs 24/7...is that bad?