My mums axilotls

S

stephanie

Guest
my mum brought 3 axilotls about a month ago. they found nitrate in the tant after we got it tested when they were not eating. first one died early this morning then another died later on in the day and the next one died during the night. in future how can i prevent this and is the nitrate the cause of death? we put in a bacteria bag thing in the tank but it did not help.my mum is really upset about the fish so im just trying to find a cause for the death.
 
Sorry for your loss

To begin with you should try and cycle all your tanks. High nitrates can cause their death. If your tank was cycled keep up with 10-15% weekly water changes and every 2 weeks siphon the tank cause they poop a lot. If you're not sure about what cycling is, feel free to ask.

good luck
 
I am very sorry for your mum’s loss and your loss. well nitrate is not likely to cause it, it's usually the ammonia and nitrite that come before the nitrate that cause the problems wile your tank is cycling. how long had you had your tank sitting before you put your axies in. did you use any chemicals on the ammonia, nitrite and nitrite before your axies died. Also what was the reading of the nitrate levels?



(Message edited by archino on July 02, 2005)
 
Hmm high nitrates lead to ammonia and nitrite build up subsequently even in a cycled tank.
 
Stephanie, I don't think it was nitrate that was the problem. Nitrate will always be present in a cycled tank. If you post the nitrate reading this will help. DId you test for ammonia and nitrite? These are extremely important to know. I would suggest that the death was due to poor water quality, but am more inclined to think it was because of ammonia or nitrite. What is the temperaturek and pH of the water? How often were you attempting to feed and with what sort of food?
Also, how did you go about doing your water changes? I know this is a lot of questions but they need to be answered.

Also, Dev - how high do the nitrates have to be before the conversion to ammonia happens? I've never hearrd of this before, so if you can help that's great.
 
I went out of twon for 5 week sor so my friend was supposed to feed them and change the water, but he didnt change the water being lazy. He called me and let me know four tetras died so i asked him if he was changing the water he said no so i made him change half the water. I didnt get to make any readings when i got back the tank was back to normal. It was a yr old tank so i dont know, just my two bits.
 
hey all thanks for u help and responses. the tank was unheated but then we got a heater and was set at 20 degrees. i do not know the ph of the water but nitrate was very high and ammonia was present- we know this as it was tested at the local pet store. we cycled the water every 2 weeks and we fed them little strip of lamb heart. we had only had the tank for a month and a half and the problem only arose a week before they died. we put the fish in the tank a week after we had conditioned it. we have a under gravel filter and a filter that hangs on the tank. any suggestions on type of preffered filter. also any suggestions in how to fix the problem to prevent it next time. also 2 of the 3 axilotls went psycho just before they suddenly died previously to this they were not eating. can you all please tell me how you take care and feed ur axilotls including water cycling and cleaning because we cleaned it apparently appropriate to what numerous pet stores suggested
thanks, stephanie
 
Stephanie, tank cycling is the establishing of good bacteria which converts ammonia to nitrite then to nitrate. It is done once only. What you have been doing is stripping the tank every two weeks - Stop it. All you need do every two weeks is to change a proportion of the water and replace with dechlorinated tap water.

You don't need a heater - axolotls live in cold water only.

Visit www.axolotl.org and check out all the pages - its all you need to know.
 
Stephanie - axolotls are not fish. they are amphibians that live underwater their whole lives. Like Anne Marie said...you do not cycle the tank every week. water must be cycled for at least a month before even thinking of putting any type of animal into it.
happy.gif
. if you are considering getting more axolotls i would suggest only getting 1 to start off with just to make sure you are not spending money on lots of them and they just die. visit the axolotl site and read up and research axies for a bit longer so you know exactly what you are doing when you get them. Good Luck and welcome to the forum.

ps sorry if this post sounded nasty but it really wasnt.
happy.gif
.
 
Hi Stephanie - Welcome to the forum.

As others have suggested I too would suggest you read caudatas sister site: http://www.axolotl.org
for care information on axolotls.

Another good article to read on tank cycling is
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

Once you have read those I think you will have a much better understanding of basic care for axolotls. Please feel free to ask questions you may have after reading.

It sounds like your mother put 3 axolotls into an uncycled tank. It is likely that poor water quality contributed to or caused the death of your axolotls. High ammonia and nitrites are deadly.

I would suggest buying a test kit that will let you test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph. This will let you monitor your water quality and that is very important while you cycle the aquarium. I would not put anymore axolotls in the tank until you have cycled it and have read more on axolotl care.
 
thank you, my mum wants to know whether to use larger pebbls instead of the gravel and still keep the under gravel system and also the other filter she put on. she liked to thank everyone for their help and now has a more idea to care for the amphibians.
we will keep in touch and let everyone know how the axolotls go when we get some new ones.
thanks
 
They can swallow tiny gravel or pebbles while it does pass through their system, I personally just use sand cause i dont want to risk it. Sand is pretty much cheaper than buying large pebbles and also easier to maintain/clean. As for under gravel filters i was never a fan of them, a regular power filter depending on tank size will suffice. Truly your most important task is cycling that tank, i hope you read and understood the process. Feel free to ask more questions if you're still confused.

good luck!

(Message edited by solaris on July 03, 2005)
 
Stephanie - If you decide to use sand you do not want to use the undergravel filter.

Axolotls can swallow anything that fits in their mouth so even the largest size aquarium gravel can be ingested.

What kind of filter is the "other filter" she put on that you mentioned?
 
the filter was one that hanged on the tank. mechanical, chemical and biological filter.
Just letting everyone know we have fixed our tank and the water has been tested and the water is fine. we havent brought any new axolotls but we brought some little fish to put in there. apparently they help with bacteria. thanks
 
I think maybe you mean an internal filter?? I always get confused myself when it comes to filtration types
uhoh.gif
so is it like a box, completely submerged below the water with a cord coming out of it to the power point? Or is it a box outside the tank?

I don't like undergravel filters either. I would go with sand (it's my new thing
smile6.gif
) and keep the internal filter.

(Message edited by waltona on July 05, 2005)
 
She says its hanging on the tank, perhaps a regular power filter, like the whisper ones. I hope you know what filter and size you have, how do you replace filter catrdiges without a size? Axies poop a lot and mess up the water you will have to change it once a month. Also if your cycling with fish depending on how hardy they are do the water changes accordingly.
 
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