Axolotl ill

[Reece_1990]

So i've come back home after being away for 6 months and found my axolotl doesn't look to be in the best of health, I've been told the axolotl has looked that way for a while its floating , not eating, and just over all doesn't look good, i've noticed also that its gills are gone and that it has a lump between its legs at first i thought it was just poop but its been there for a week now so not so sure now, any ideas on what i should do?

any help much appreciated!

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Have you check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
If yes, what are the results in numbers?

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Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a couple of weeks.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Wash filter media in a bucket of tank water and re-use it.

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What is it being fed?

Can you get a better picture of the lump?

 

[Reece_1990]

snip

Hi, thank you.

Not sure what my levels are as i don't have a test kit, i'll have to take a sample to the pet shop.

i use prime+ to remove any chlorine ect..

I cleaned the filter yesterday along with my tropical tanks one.

It gets fed maggots, crickets and bloodworms as suggested by the shop i got it from about 8-9 years ago.

I'll try to get a better photo but is brown and kinda looks like a brain? you know kinda like the brain coral texture.

I will try what you said thank you!

 

[Colin_T]

You can add earthworms, prawn/ shrimp and bits of fish to its diet.

Get some frozen prawn (raw or cooked) from a supermarket or fishing store (bait section) and keep them in the freezer. Take out one prawn and defrost it, then remove the head, shell and gut (thin black tube in the body) and throw these bits away. Use a pair of scissors to cut the remaining prawn tail into bite size pieces and offer one bit at a time. Remove uneaten food after feeding.

Make sure the crickets are dead and have moulted. Live adult crickets can kick and do damage to the axolotl's insides. Hard crickets (ones that haven't moulted in the last 24 hours) can cause digestive problems.