stomach bulge, not pooping

[axolotle42]

Hi my axolotl has a small bulge at bottom of their stomach and hasnt pooped in 5 days, is he ill? if so what should I do?
he is also shedding
my water parameters are
nitrate 30
nitrite 0ppm
amonia 0ppm
ph8
and the temperature was high but I have managed to bring it down to 20-21°c
thank you

 

[Lilith]

Hi my axolotl has a small bulge at bottom of their stomach and hasnt pooped in 5 days, is he ill? if so what should I do?
he is also shedding
my water parameters are
nitrate 30
nitrite 0ppm
amonia 0ppm
ph8
and the temperature was high but I have managed to bring it down to 20-21°c
thank you

I'm no expert, but a pH of 8 sounds a bit high, ideally you want it to be between 7.4-7.6 I believe. Do you use dechlorinater/prime/conditioner everytime you do a water change?
Is he floating at all? What do you feed him? Is he eating normally?
He doesn't look quite right to me personally, but thats mainly because of the skin. Most axolotls get a bulge if they eat alot so that could be normal, but shedding isn't.

 

[axolotle42]

I'm no expert, but a pH of 8 sounds a bit high, ideally you want it to be between 7.4-7.6 I believe. Do you use dechlorinater/prime/conditioner everytime you do a water change?
Is he floating at all? What do you feed him? Is he eating normally?
He doesn't look quite right to me personally, but thats mainly because of the skin. Most axolotls get a bulge if they eat alot so that could be normal, but shedding isn't

I have been struggling to get the ph down recently. I use prime every water change and changed about 40% of the water yesterday. He isnt floating at all and I was looking out for that but he isnt. I feed him pellets 6 days a week and bloodworms once a week. I fed him bloodworms yesterday and he had quite a lot which is when I noticed the bulge and I fed him pellets today which he ate. any suggestions about the shedding? I'm not sure why its happening but I will try bringing the ph down.
thank you

 

[Lilith]

I have been struggling to get the ph down recently. I use prime every water change and changed about 40% of the water yesterday. He isnt floating at all and I was looking out for that but he isnt. I feed him pellets 6 days a week and bloodworms once a week. I fed him bloodworms yesterday and he had quite a lot which is when I noticed the bulge and I fed him pellets today which he ate. any suggestions about the shedding? I'm not sure why its happening but I will try bringing the ph down.
thank you

The fact that he is eating is a good sign, I'm really not sure, most people say shedding is caused by high temperatures, bad water quality or an allergic reaction to chemicals, I saw one post on here suggesting trying a different brand of dechlorinater. Keep an eye on him, it might go away yet, may just take time to heal from previous issues in the tank. If he stops eating or his gills start shrinking then you probably want to start making some changes. What do you use to test parameters? Just because strips are not as accurate, so if you use them I recommend switching to the API freshwater master test kit.

 

[axolotle42]

I use a mixture of test kits (all liquid) so I'll just attach a photo.
I think it was probably the heat as it got very hot (up to 25°) for a bit so they might just need to heal from that. his gills seem fine although I was a little worried yesterday as they had curled ever so slightly more than usually but they are back to normal now and I think they just may have been a little stressed cause I was cleaning the tank.

 

[Lilith]

I use a mixture of test kits (all liquid) so I'll just attach a photo.
I think it was probably the heat as it got very hot (up to 25°) for a bit so they might just need to heal from that. his gills seem fine although I was a little worried yesterday as they had curled ever so slightly more than usually but they are back to normal now and I think they just may have been a little stressed cause I was cleaning the tank.

Yeah, that is most likely the case, just keep an eye on him, see how things go, be sure to update if things get worse. You may get a response from someone who has more expertise than me, if you do, best listen to them, I've only had axolotls for like 4 months, I just reiterate what I have heard others say whilst researching. (Also your test kits look fine to me)

 

[axolotle42]

Yeah, that is most likely the case, just keep an eye on him, see how things go, be sure to update if things get worse. You may get a response from someone who has more expertise than me, if you do, best listen to them, I've only had axolotls for like 4 months, I just reiterate what I have heard others say whilst researching. (Also your test kits look fine to me)

ok thank you for your help