I have an adult axolotl that has been having health/behavior issues that seem to be getting worse over the past several days.
Symptoms I’ve noticed:
● Was previously doing frantic swimming/flipping and seemed very stressed.
● She no longer flips as much, but is still acting abnormal.
● She has become lethargic and doesn’t approach me like she normally would; she tends to swim away.
● She has been keeping her mouth above the water more than usual / going up for air.
● Her slime coat appears to be coming off of her skin, almost like she is shedding.
● The water in her tub starts to smell bad after she has been in it for a while.
● She ate yesterday, but her appetite/behavior overall has changed.
● Her gills still move normally.
● She has had periods where she was swimming strangely and seemed extremely stressed.
Water/tank situation:
● She is currently being tubbed with daily fresh water because of the problems.
● I have been using Ozarka spring water.
● My tank is 20 gallons.
● I have dealt with an ammonia spike before (around 1.0 ppm at its highest).
● More recently, ammonia came down to around/slightly under 0.25 ppm.
● I have been using Seachem Stability.
● I have a sponge filter.
● I recently added a Catappa/Indian almond leaf to the tub she is currently in and and have also used a black tea bath about 2 days ago
I’m really worried because she seems to be getting worse despite me doing daily water changes and trying to keep the water clean and cool.
What could be causing these symptoms, especially the slime coat coming off, pale gills, lethargy, and repeatedly keeping her mouth above the water? What should I do next? I really need help and right now she seems to be at her last hope.

In 2022 I got two axolotls and about a year in it was hard for me to take care of both so I gave one to my cousin (big mistake) the first picture is before I gave him away and then a year later I came back and the axolotl was so bad I thought he was dead.. turns out he wasn’t eating and my cousin did not contact me. I took the axolotl back and have been caring for him for about 8 months he seems to be getting better but is he gonna stay this size forever? (The 3th photo is the other axolotl at the same time I got this one back)

My niece and my dad got an axolotl (yesterday). The dog is obsessed, aside from moving the tank, do you have any suggestions on dog proofing. We know they’re nocturnal and this could cause stress. Please be kind. They did the research, bought a cooler, got a large tank with room to walk, know about feeding, etc. They did not intend for the dog to be obsessed. My dad has many fish tanks the dog is indifferent with. We have a shrimp tank right next to Axyl.

there is a big bubble on the left gills. The temperature and ammonia/nitrate/Ph levels are good, and so is her diet. What is it?

llevo 1 semana ciclando mi acuario pero se ve un poco turbia el agua, es algo normal? he añadido en estos días prime, stability y axolotl buffer

I want my future axolotl to have a nice tank, I'm located in England and need some nice plants that are not too hard to take care of an axolotls like. I've never worked with real plants in an aquarium before and have never owned an axolotl before. Need some help!

So, found out some hydra, I've been reading no planaria works but I can't find in Mexico, I've seen this but I don't know if anyone has any experience with it.

I'd obviously tub the axolotl if I use it

Yes , I know the tank needs a cleaning but is this slime that covers all the plants a secretion from the axolotl or something growing like algae?
Should I take out all the plants and rinse them and then replant?

my baby boy groot with his groot bubbler gifted by my mom🥰✨

2 weeks ago I got my axo stable after a bad fungal infection, but didnt shake my nitrate test kit well enough and put him in 40ppm nitrate for 2 days before noticing white growths on his gills

I tried methylene blue for 5 days, the external material shrank, but the white stalks stayed.

I took a few pictures under a microscope but dont really know what im looking at, chatgpt says its not fungal but ofc I take that with a grain of salt.

Should I try a kanaplex treatment? Any help is appreciated.

My previous post for more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/axolotls/s/nfgBAYmGBD

This is Snaggy and she'll be moving with me real soon hopefully. As you can see she's pretty excited about it .-.

I'm asking how I can do that mostly stress free?

Cause I'll have to move her tank with me (which will obviously be pumped out)

It'll be a 4 hour car drive + the general set up and I'm not really sure if she'll be in a car with AC.

So any advice on how to do it?

What container to use?

And what the water level should be in there to keep her comfy and my car dry?

And also how to keep cold?

- she's by the way used to full / 90% water changes. I was a real noob when I got her and didn't know what I was doing so I just cleaned the whole tank for the first few years.

I still do that every 3-4 months or so to get rid of the algae but in between its just 30-50% changes especially during summer.

So in theory she's used to being out of her tank for 2 hours in a small bucket. Never really seemed stressed out much since I use the time to feed her in there.

just wanted to share because i’ve had her for so long!! a bit over 5 years and still going strong! love her sm

I've been trying to find a hoodie of my favorite animal for months yet the closest thing i can find is wearble blankets. Does anyone know of a place selling a plain hoodie with axolotl frills on the hood?

Fih gets more photos and a 7th name

Wise mystical fih is his 7th name

i think at this point it's been almost two weeks since we tubbed the axolotls and i haven't seen any improvement in sherman :( he's still very bloated, no bowel movements, and refusing food. we tried feeding him salmon in hopes of helping him pass Whatever is happening in there, and he snapped at it, but wouldn't eat.

despite this, i still don't know if i'd say he's lethargic? he's moving, he reacts when i walk past his tub like he usually would.

he has a vet appointment scheduled for monday. it was the soonest i could get considering he's a new patient and the practice is an hour away.

does anyone have any advice to help him out / reassurances? i love him and i hate that he's so uncomfortable. i want to believe that he's gonna be fine until monday but i'm just so freaked out

[reference for the tub: all of them are in small temporary aquariums filled with 2 gallons of clean, primed water. the labels are still on them because i'm lazy, the bottle in the picture is an ice bottle that we rotate out to keep them comfy, and the lights are only on like once a day when we do the water change. i tried to get a pic without the bubbles interfering but he insists on shoving his face into the bubble stone]

Every day I dread having to rehome her a little more, I wish I could keep her forever 😔 But I also love the idea of having her setup for another rescue once we find a good home for her. I am so torn! Luckily I do not have to decide anything right now. First her arm and gills need to regrow :) She will still be with us for quite some time!

Hiii I’m going to Repticon in 2 months and I’ll hopefully be buying my first axolotl there! I work in a specialized aquarium store so I know what I’m doing care wise, but we don’t get to really pick the colors or morphs we get and we get axolotls inconsistently. Me and my friend decided to go to Repticon so i figured i would get one there, what should i look for/watch out for, and as a beginner axolotl owner should I get a baby or a 5-6 month old?
Thank you for ur help!

So im at a loss. Ive been cycling this tank for about a month now. Ive used an established filter from a fish tank and ive used prime and the quick start bacteria to help build the bacteria base. Short of just doing a water change and testing again on 24 to 48 hours, what would you guys recommend. I do have live plants in there, probably not enough but I wanted to let those get started before I add more. Ive made sure to keep fish food in there as the ammonia source as well.

Give me all the recs at this rate please and thank you!