# My Axolotl's keep dying?



## lovecraftfan (Dec 29, 2011)

I've had a white Leustic and a natural o/green two different sources had them about a year bought a lovely gold leustic from another source and over the last 3 months all have died after the first two died I bought 2 very youg O/Green's from a breeder (under 3inchs long) and I dont want them to die as well.
I have a 3ftx 1ftx 14inch tank with a weak pump so as not to create to much current. The tank was second had but well flushed out.
I had a pea gravel base (6mm at least) but after the first died I put black marble pot toppers from a garden centre on top so not gravel to swallow but these were boiled over several days to remove any coating they may have had.
The diet I understand may have been too rich I was feeding them earth worms but after first one died stopped just in case of parastic, diet was very variable- cooked prawn/whitebait/cockle/mussel/frozen blood worm &mysis shrimp/ meat and fish trimmings/dried tubeiflex/live crickets/beef heart.
I understand now too fatty so started only giving Frozen blood worm and mysis shrimp and cut down on meals for over a month and now the 3rd has died.
I regularly water change and filter scrub (in tank water) and all water is treated to remove cholrine.
First to die was 7" second 8" last one 7". 
So: Me? Tank? Diet? Strain of breed? HELP


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

was the new addition quarantined? if not it sound likes it moght have brought something in with it that has spread to the others and caused the deaths. 

jay


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## Zerox Z21 (Oct 10, 2012)

Sorry to hear this =[ Does sound like a possible brought in infection. If the tank is now empty, I may suggest shutting it down, a thorough clean and allowing to dry to ensure riddance of possible diseases before trying again.
It may also be helpful to clarify it meets the housing conditions listed here Axolotls - Housing in Captivity


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## ianxxx (Apr 25, 2011)

Earthworms would have been an ok diet on their own, the second diet appears to have been a bit heavy on the sea food.. You may just have been unlucky with all those deaths but it would be a good idea to do some further research on axolotl care requirements. The biggest problems with keeping them are maintaining good water quality and temp.


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## ChazzieJo (Jun 14, 2012)

Are you testing your water quality? Axolotls are very sensitive animals, if there's a slight trace of ammonia that could've proved fatal.


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## lovecraftfan (Dec 29, 2011)

No wasnt Quarantined I'd thought they were more robust I'd mentioned the parasite possibility to an experienced Rep and amph chap and he said they would get them in the wild so unavoidable. They didnt really show signs of illness they just keeled over in a day, The spacing between new arrival and deaths made me think it wasnt an introduced pathogen


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## lovecraftfan (Dec 29, 2011)

I do water changes regularly with treated water and clean the filter too but could have left it a bit too long I started testing but the tests always seemed to say water change and or put more chemical water safe in, so stopped testing just did the changes. The two little ones are in the tank already so if a pathogen its probably too late but will flush and change. I put cherry shrimp in as an interactive attraction they have breed well and gone from 4 to probably over 100 they help clean the tank and give the guys something to chase. Thank You


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## lovecraftfan (Dec 29, 2011)

I searched on the net and bought a book just on Ax's and a few rep/amph books before I bought them and matured the water, flushed the tank etc With the advice in books and net just seems quite a few contradictions between them- Gravel over 6mm- no gravel, Sand- no sand, bare tank- soil, The book and net reccomended all the food types I used and I rotated them At each feed cleaning food with hot water to take off excess oils and seal in goodness, some of the Ax's wouldnt favour one or two foodtypes which others liked.
The experienced chap I spoke to said just use worms or crustacia- pond skimmings etc that the diet was over all too fatty (thought I'd flushed enough salt from flesh with the hot water) so I reverted to blood worm for weeks but that didnt save the last Gold Ax so getting disheartened.
Water temp tends a little high because of room temp but they seem to cope (until they died anyway) Thanks


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

Axolotls are very sensitive to temperature- one reason I don't keep them any more- my flat is way too warm. At warmer temps, they are much more sensitive to infection. Within reason, I'm in favour of feeding as wide a variety as is possible to all animals- problems start when the diet has too high a preponderance of any one. As for the substrate, opinions vary a lot (back in the day I kept mine on gravel with no apparent problems, but I have heard horror stories of the dreaded impaction on this), your best bets are 1) nothing 2) a substrate so small that even ingested it won't cause problems; ie smooth playsand, availalable from Early learning Centre or Argos or 3) a substrate so big they can't possibly eat it, slate pieces or pebbles.


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## ChazzieJo (Jun 14, 2012)

lovecraftfan said:


> I do water changes regularly with treated water and clean the filter too but could have left it a bit too long I started testing but the tests always seemed to say water change and or put more chemical water safe in, so stopped testing just did the changes. The two little ones are in the tank already so if a pathogen its probably too late but will flush and change. I put cherry shrimp in as an interactive attraction they have breed well and gone from 4 to probably over 100 they help clean the tank and give the guys something to chase. Thank You


I think you've misunderstood. You can buy water testing kits that tell you how much ammonia, nitrite and nitrate you have in your water, it's vital to know these and it should be tested fortnightly for an axolotl in my opinion. If you don't want to fork out for the kits, a lot of fish shops offer a water testing service for a small fee, I know PaH do for free if you go in with a water sample. A slight ammonia spike would have had an negative affect on your axolotls. Are you cleaning the filter in tank water as opposed to tap (which should never be done!)? Are you keeping your temperatures at an even temperature and taking action to ensure it doesn't fluctuate?


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## Ony (Oct 19, 2012)

Water changes and testing are really the most important tools you have. If you don't have a decent liquid test kit like the API master kit then its safest to assume there is a water quality issue and do daily 25-30% water changes (preferably with aged and temperature matched water) until you can test.

If you could post ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte readings it would help rule out filter/water quality problems. You should also test regularly to make sure that water hardness and PH remain stable. (I just stick a cheap TDS meter in ever time I remember, they are about £8 on amazon.) What filter do you have? It would need to be something powerful to deal with all that high fat/protein food.


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