Question: Stress After More Thorough Tank Cleaning?

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Gimpdiggity

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Hi everyone.

I've got a juvenile axolotl. I'm going to just call it a him for ease of posting.

He's in a 10 gallon tank with tile on the bottom. I run a sponge filter and an air pump for a 10 gallon tank.
Temp is 64.
Ammonia is at .25 (tank is currently in the process of cycling)
Nitrates 0
Nitrites 0

He has a couple of hides, but generally is just out and about.

Since I got him, his gills haven't been curled forward much at all. They've looked upright and good.

Tonight, however, I did a more thorough cleaning on the tank. I've been doing 25% water changes every few days pretty much since I got him, but tonight I was having some trouble sucking up some of the gunk with my siphon, so I ended up pulling out one of the things in the tank. I noticed it was covered in a bit of slippery sludge, I'm guessing some type of algae. So I took the two main "things" in his tank out and rinsed them off a bit...just enough to get the really gross stuff off of them. I then used a net to kind of scoop out some of the other debris that was floating around in the water from removing the two big pieces.

I then put the items back in the tank, and then put the new water back in. It was the same temperature, got it to the same level as before, and it should be all around cleaner.

However, tonight, the axolotl seems really stressed. His gills are REALLY curled forward, and he's not moving around like he normally does at night.

I'm worried that I've somehow done something wrong. I've been trying really hard to take as good of care of him as possible, but I'm now worried that my more thorough cleaning of his tank has somehow caused him way too much stress.

Is it normal for them to get a bit stressed out for a few hours after a pretty thorough tank cleaning?

I use SeaChem Prime to make sure my water is dechlorinated and treated before I add it to the aquarium, and it's also well water so there shouldn't be any chlorine or chloramine in it to begin with.

Should I be worried, or is this normal behavior for after a pretty thorough cleaning?

Thanks.
Jeff
 
What kind of sludge was it? When a tank is cycled there will be a slimy coating to the majority of the surfaces within the tank, this is where the beneficial bacteria is colonizing. Was the sludge a dark colour?
What debris was floating?

If its only one juvenile Axolotl there shouldn't be a lot of waste.. how often to you clean his waste? And do you leave food in the tank and not take left overs out daily?

How much water did you change on this thorough clean?

It seems your cycle is at the very first stage, as only Ammonia is present.
The cycling process can take from 3-6 weeks. For your tank to be cycled, a beneficial bacteria needs to be present to break down the Ammonia and Nitrites into Nitrates. Ammonia and Nitrites are lethal to Axolotl and are produced from your Axolotls waste and decomposing food. Nitrates are a slightly less toxic by product. During cycling the beneficial bacteria will colonize your tanks surfaces such as substrate, ornaments, filter, and begin to feed on the Ammonia turning it into Nitrites, then bacteria will break down the Nitrites into Nitrates. The bacteria is known as a 'biofilter', as it filters the ammonia and nitrites into less harmful nitrates.

Could you test for your PH level ?
 
The sludge is a clearish-white color. The debris floating seemed like the same sludge that was on the caves and fake wood, just stirred up from moving things.

Waste is cleaned every time it's present. I check in the morning before work and then several times in the evening. Food is left for about 90 minutes then anything left is siphoned out.

Water changed was the same as usual, roughly 2 gallons. The only difference was I rinsed off the things in the aquarium.

PH is a bit high at 7.8 or so, but it hasn't seemed to bother him.



I'm still unsure of my original question as to whether the more thorough cleaning is stressful. His gills are much more upright today, so I'm thinking that taking things out of the tank and using the net like a skimmer maybe just really freaked him out?
 
Can you take some pictures of the sludge?

What substrate are you using?

I don't think moving tank objects will freak an Axolotl out, usually they go to explore when things change in their environment.

25% water changes are fine.

You only moved two objects and changed 25% water so its not a thorough clean.

It could be where the Ammonia levels spike causing discomfort, make sure you test every day so not to let the Ammonia get above 0.25. When it hits 0.25 - 0.5 then perform your water change.

Also, your Seachem Prime removes metal toxins from the water as well, not just chlorine and chloramine. Beware that well water can contain contaminants and other levels of minerals or toxins depending on your geographical location. Read this thread: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-beginner-newt-salamander-axolotl-help-topics/f48-axolotls-ambystoma-mexicanum/f58-sick-axolotl/98631-well-water-making-axolotls-abnormal.html
 
I can try to get some pictures, but I doubt they'll come out very well.

Substrate is non-existent. It's got slate tiles permanently installed in the bottom of the aquarium.

Ammonia levels have never been higher than a color between .25 and .5 with the API test kit, so I don't THINK that the ammonia should be causing any problems.

I change the water whenever it shows a color that seems more than .25. I test roughly every 36 hours as to not end up with the Prime messing with the reading.
 
Might be nothing to worry about then, you have the API kit which is what a lot of users on this forum recommend. Perhaps we can just atleast establish what the White sludge is for peace of mind
 
Gills are back to normal, water is extra clear, showing less than .25 ammonia, and eating like normal.

I guess me fiddling with his tank last night must have really bugged him.
 
Really don't think taking an item out and putting it back in will cause stress, never heard of it.

Would be good to know what the sludge was though, post some images of it if you can!
 
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