Young Axolotl in New Tank, Sickly, Help!

[Honnahlee]

Hi! My name is Hanna, I have a 3-4 month old Axolotl named Armstrong. Armstrong recently out-grew his starter tank so I got him a larger one. It is 36 gal, I cleaned it well with pet friendly all natural cleansers, as well as the substrate and decorations. There is a filter in the tank but it is low flow, meant for shallow reptile and amphibian tanks. It seems very mild but I can see his gills moving like they are blowing in a breeze when he's on the same side of the tank as the filter. No lights, nothing small enough for him to swallow. I used water conditioner to treat the tap water we filled it with. Its for fish and does not say if it is safe for amphibians or not. Its called Aqueon, it contains sodium thiosulfate, disodium EDTA, sodium carbonate, and polyvinyl payroll if ones...... Within an hour of placing him in the tank he turned pale. He's albino and usually pink body and dark pink gills. He's now almost white with light pink gills. He is also not eating in the tank. He seems to react when I put the feeding jar in, like he can smell it, but isn't finding it. I had to put him in a smaller bowl to get him to eat. He is also being very lethargic. Any thoughts?

 

[ChristineB]

I would change out the water and treat the new water with a conditioner you know is safe. I would suspect some of your cleanser wasn't fully rinsed or something. I haven't used it but have seen "Seachem Prime" suggested as an axolotl-safe conditioner. I would rule out water quality first, then if he's still doing poorly the experts will be more likely to weigh in.

 

[tammyaxie]

The cleaners for sure. I only use water and a brand new scrubber when cleaning. I heard someone say they use lemon juice but I've never tried it.

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