Why is my axolotl lethargic?

Fridging is a good thing but a little pointless if it serves no benefit.

before you fridge him ask a couple of questions:

is he/she eating?
is he/she pooping?
does he/she have any sort of fluffy white growths?

if yes to the first 2 and no to the last 1 then i wouldn't fridge him why stress the little guy out for no reason

from your previous posts i'd say you need to feed him more - bloodworms every couple of days is not a sufficient or stable diet - earthworms all the way! with bloodworms as the treat not the staple.

unless it's the water? you are dechlorinating right?

axies are lazy and gills will go pale if it's not doing anything or sleeping as Samyueruchan said.

I had the day off work the other day whilst waiting for a package. Both my axies did not move until around 7pm when it's there normal feeding time.
 
bellabelloo said:
What do you have in your tank i.e substrate, your first post mentions it being acidic. What water do you use for the water changes..is it regular dechlorinated tap water? Also what temperature is your tank at the moment?
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I have large pebbles for substrate. Too big for him to eat.
I use dechlorinated tap water. I put the dechlorinated tap water straight in though and I don't let it set for 24 hours. I don't a big enough bucket to leave 20% of the water in there.
Tank temperature is around 20 celcius. It's sometimes a little above or a little below.
 
axiegaz said:
Fridging is a good thing but a little pointless if it serves no benefit.

before you fridge him ask a couple of questions:

is he/she eating?
is he/she pooping?
does he/she have any sort of fluffy white growths?

if yes to the first 2 and no to the last 1 then i wouldn't fridge him why stress the little guy out for no reason

from your previous posts i'd say you need to feed him more - bloodworms every couple of days is not a sufficient or stable diet - earthworms all the way! with bloodworms as the treat not the staple.

unless it's the water? you are dechlorinating right?

axies are lazy and gills will go pale if it's not doing anything or sleeping as Samyueruchan said.

I had the day off work the other day whilst waiting for a package. Both my axies did not move until around 7pm when it's there normal feeding time.
Click to expand...

He is not eating a lot at the moment, he sure does poop. No fluffy white growths as far as I'm aware.

I am dechlorinating of course.

So it's normal for them not to move for hours on end? I'd never seen him do it before. I found it odd that he did not respond to me when I touched him or put my finger right near his face.
 
Shizeric said:
If it is your tap water (even after sitting) that is causing your pH and potassium levels to be off...you could try using bottled spring water for your water changes.
Click to expand...

Would I have to add water conditioner to bottled spring water?
Also, I'm worried about the cost of this. It would cost a lot.
 
No conditioner for spring water. Here I can buy a 2.5 gallon jug of spring water for about $2. Not sure the size of your tank, but it wouldn't be too terrible.
 
Sorry, another question! Do you know what type of sand you are using? I asked about the type of water as I used to occasionally use rain water, this was more acidic than tap water...ours is pretty hard here.
 
Help!!! His gills have shrunk!!!
This surely means he is ill!?
What do I do???
 
Shizeric said:
No conditioner for spring water. Here I can buy a 2.5 gallon jug of spring water for about $2. Not sure the size of your tank, but it wouldn't be too terrible.
Click to expand...

Where do you buy it from?
 
bellabelloo said:
Sorry, another question! Do you know what type of sand you are using? I asked about the type of water as I used to occasionally use rain water, this was more acidic than tap water...ours is pretty hard here.
Click to expand...


I use pebbles. They were very thoroughly washed before being placed in the tank.
 
I reckon...its the chemicals sprayed near the tank.
I would suggest fridging him for a little bit, this will de stress him, while you do a 40/50% water change.
He could have been sleeping when you put your hand in. I have one who i can prod and he doesn't shift. I have daily 'OH MY GOSH HES DEAD' moments but hes alive and well (he once got eaten past his back legs too, but thats another story)
Anyway, gills shouldn't be shrinking all of a sudden and axie off behaviour always makes me suspicious (mine have specific personalities i know when they're not right)
Does the temp fluctuate a lot throughout the day?

Mel
 
melfly said:
I reckon...its the chemicals sprayed near the tank.
I would suggest fridging him for a little bit, this will de stress him, while you do a 40/50% water change.
He could have been sleeping when you put your hand in. I have one who i can prod and he doesn't shift. I have daily 'OH MY GOSH HES DEAD' moments but hes alive and well (he once got eaten past his back legs too, but thats another story)
Anyway, gills shouldn't be shrinking all of a sudden and axie off behaviour always makes me suspicious (mine have specific personalities i know when they're not right)
Does the temp fluctuate a lot throughout the day?

Mel
Click to expand...

Ok, is there a page for fridging or something? I wouldn't know what container to use...how to move him (would I pick him up with my hands?), How to do the water change, what temperature the fridge shouldbe at, etc. And yes, his gills have definitely shrunk, it scared me to death.
The temperature stays around the same, 20 celcius, but is usually a bit colder after I've done a change. It drops to about 18 or 19.
 
Ok, I can now see that Mika has some fungus (fluffy whiteness) around his mouth, and on his tail. A bit on his body.

Is fridging the way forward?
 
Salt baths and fridging. You can find articles about them both on here. I would post links but i'm on my phone and cant do it from here, sorry. Good luck! Mel
 
I'm still unsure of whether he is dead or not...!
He hasn't moved again in nearly 24 hours :(
:( :( :(
I'm really scared to move him in case he is dead...I don't want to touch a dead thing.
Might it be kinder to leave him to die? Or shall I give the salt baths a go?
 
Be brave and get him out of the tank. You'll be able to see if he's dead or not then. Mel
 
melfly said:
Be brave and get him out of the tank. You'll be able to see if he's dead or not then. Mel
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure he's dead. I haven't got him out of the tank yet but whenever I try to move him, he doesn't move. No gill or limb movement whatsoever.
But then that did happen yesterday and he moved when I wasn't looking.

I can't get him out of the tank, I can't do it... :(
I have a salt bath ready but I think he's dead...
 
Do you have anyone else who can do it for you? You need to know if he is worth saving.
 
melfly said:
Do you have anyone else who can do it for you? You need to know if he is worth saving.
Click to expand...

Yep, he's dead. We put him in a salt bath anyway and it's clear he is dead.
My mum wants to "make sure" though, so we've fridged him even though there's no point.
R.I.P Mika :(
 
I'm sorry to hear that. Rip Mika. I dont think it was fungus i think what you saw was mika decomposing they do decompose quickly. You did all you could. Mel x
 
Sorry to hear it. You definitely gave it your all and were a dedicated owner.
 
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