Help

[Stripe]

Ok i have 2 axolotls, i feed them freeze dried blood worms and shrimp(i alternate days) it seems like a never ending battle to keep the tank clean.. i siphen 10% every other day, and only feed them twice a week. the water is dechloranated every water change and i suck up all uneaten food and waste. it just seems like a never ending battle to keep them clean and happy... i'm giving them salt baths daily to try and clean up a small infection on their gills but it just doesn't seem to go away. i'm running out of ideas and energy to constantly clean and bath these guys.. all the videos and research i viewed all made it seem so simple and now that they're here it's become an insane amount of work

 

[EmbryH]

Ok ok ok, stop what you're doing.

You need to start giving you axies earthworms, not shrimp. Shrimp are not a staple food, and their exoskeletons can be harmful if they're eaten too often. Bloodworms are fine for food, but some can go uneaten and dirty the tank, which seems to be what's happening with you. Earthworms are the most nutritious and delicious thing you can give your axies, plus they're cheap and they aren't even messy.

Also you need to feed them more than twice a week. Give each axolotl one large worm about every two days or so. Hand feed them, so just dangle the worm above their head until they snap it up. This way, you don't have to deal with uneaten food in the tank, and they aren't going to eat any substrate you have. If you do this, you won't have to siphon their water every day, instead more like weekly or bi-weekly (aside from cleaning droppings, which can easily be done with a turkey baster).

I'm feeling kind of nervous about their condition. How long have you had them? How big are they? Can you post pictures?

 

[Stripe]

i tried feeding them earthworms before and they wouldn't even look at them, they just go the other way. i have one of the air stones in the tank right now because i'm waiting for payday to go get a better filter since mine seems to be causing more harm than good(it's insanely hard to clean and keeps putting more algea and such in the water than i can keep up with). the black one seems to be more suseptable to the gill infections and the guy i got them from in october said that he had a lot of problems with that one as well. i love them dearly and really want to find a way to work everything out rather than finding them a new home. i already got rid of all the plecos i had in the tank and the feeder fish that were in the tank when i got the axolotls. there is a snail in there and i do realize he could cause problems too but i really am running out of room to put all the old tank mates so he has to stay put for the time being. the albino had an infection a few days ago but it's since cleared up and everything is good with her. but as you can see in the last photo the black one still has the white on his one gill and it's been 3 days now of salt baths.

 

[EmbryH]

Have you put either of them in the fridge at all? I would suggest it for the wildtype one. The cold temperature will keep the fungus from progressing and sometimes even helps kill it off. To do this, fill a container with treated water, put the axolotl in (make sure the water covers the axie entirely!) and put a lid with air holes on the tub. You might want to wrap a towel around the tub to protect them from the light of the fridge. Axies can manage in the fridge for a while, but you'd need to change the water each day, plus fridging can diminish their appetite, so that's a risk to keep in mind.

Aside from the fungus, your axolotls don't look bad at all. It's clear that you're trying very hard to make sure they're ok, so don't panic. They look good. We'll help you sort this out.

As for feeding and water quality, if you don't want to try earthworms again, you can try putting the axolotls in a separate tub when you feed them, letting them eat for about 15 minutes, and then put them back in their tank. That's how I fed mine when they were smaller anyway, and it gives you a good chance to look them over and make sure everything is going well. A separate feeding tub will also help prevent them from eating substrate

Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

 

[sde]

Do you do water tests? This could be a problem. If your ammonia is too high it can cause problems, as well as nitrite and nitrate. How long has it been since you took the fish out? Also, it would be really great to put some live plants in. These will help keep the water clean and give them nice plants to hide and clime on. I agree with EmbryH, earthworms are the best. Maybe they wont eat them because they are too big? If that is the case, you could try chopping them into smaller pieces before feeding.

I hope this helps. :happy: -Seth

Edit: EmbryH is right again. Putting them in a separate tub is a great idea! ^listen to her, not me XD

 

[auntiejude]

Axies are very dirty animals! De-pooping a tank is a never-ending task.

Dried food is not best for your axies neither are shrimp (of any kind). Worms are by far the best food for them, I suggest you persevere - they will eat them if they are hungry enough, and you can cut them up if needed. And you really need to get a filter established and cycled - it may well be contributing to the problmes if your tank doesn't have any mechanical filtration and nitrogen cycle.

I think it was rather optimistic of the seller to tell you they were very easy to keep - I usually tell people they are almost as much work as a dog!

 

[usafaux2004]

Are you feeding whole worms? The ones I get are 4-5" long, and I've been feeding them 2-3 worms between the two DAILY since I got them in September at 6" both. Now the boy is close to 10" and the girl is 9", and I STILL cut their worms into 1" chunks. Once in a while I'll skip a day if they aren't interested in the worms in the bowl (avoids the sand for the most part).

 

[Stripe]

I feed them frozen shrimp and blood worms.. I don't mind stopping the shrimp because they're insanely messy. I don't have plants in the tank right now, I had flame moss but it died and I had moramo moss balls but they kept blocking the entrance to the hides. I am ok with trying worms again, although it is winter and even the live bait shops are slim pickings. As I said the filter I had was causing more mess than it was cleaning and I'm looking into getting a corner filter and sponge filter. I changed all the substrate, got bigger hides because the one the guy had was way too small. Now it's just a matter of keeping the tank clean and getting my wild types infections under control.. Is there any sort of multi vitamin for them to keep him healthy?

 

[layna]

If you have no filter and three axies in a tank it will get bad water quality quite quickly, whilst you have no filter i would suggest 20-30% daily water changes.
Once you have a filter, even a sponge filter will do, you need to cycle the tank again and this will stop the water quality issues.

I would persevere with the earthworms, your axies will eat worms when they are hungry, dont feed them anything else and keep offering them the worms daily, you can blanch then in hot water if they dont like them wriggling
Another option is axie pellets, but you cant just drop these in and leave them too it, you will need to feed them one by one and make sure they eat the pellet as they can foul the water quite quickly.