My Axolotl water parameters - Help! (2024)

Hello all,
I have a 10inch Axolotl, he has a 4ft 230L tank, he has around 170L of water in there. I’m a little bit worried about his recent parameters and wondered if anybody can help. Iv attached photo’s of him (he seems extremely healthy) & I have posted a photo of his parameters.

Any support would be much appreciated

wolfen said:

couple of questions..
how long has the tank been set up?
what is the cleaning routine?, ie.. daily waste removal and water change weekly, water change only etc..
what filtration are you using?
why the low water level?
as to the parameters, the nitrites are the worst as the damage done is invisible (poisons blood), do a fifty percent water change, increase water level, add 2g/l non iodised salt for protection, give daily methylene blue baths, ensure good water oxygenation, ensure good level of biological filtration.

Click to expand...

Hello,
The tank has been set up for 10 days (I’m in the UK) the aquarium attendant said I only had to have the tank set up for 48hrs before added an axolotl in (I’m worried now as it states 6-8weeks everywhere else)

filter is a ‘Betta’ that can support up to 270L

The aquarium owner stated to only fill half way up to prevent the axolotl from jumping out.

I performed a 25% water change 3 days ago, used ‘fluval cycle’ for the last 3 days and was going to perform a 25% water change again tomorrow.

wolfen said:

couple of questions..
how long has the tank been set up?
what is the cleaning routine?, ie.. daily waste removal and water change weekly, water change only etc..
what filtration are you using?
why the low water level?
as to the parameters, the nitrites are the worst as the damage done is invisible (poisons blood), do a fifty percent water change, increase water level, add 2g/l non iodised salt for protection, give daily methylene blue baths, ensure good water oxygenation, ensure good level of biological filtration.

Click to expand...

I use a turkey baster to remove poo within a couple of hours at most, as soon as I see, I remove.

wolfen said:

what looks like has happened is some of the waste was missed.
with daily waste removal there can be problems when waste is accidentally missed, because the waste is removed before going through the filter system it deprives the biological filtration of food causing a reduction in the bacteria colony, this means that when there is a sudden increase in waste materiel the bacteria colony can't cope and you get spikes.

Click to expand...

Hello,
Ok thank you so much for all your help. Iv just performed a 40% water changed and added additional water into my tank, my tank water is now 1ft deep instead of 10inch deep, which leaves the overall water level only 5inch away from the top.
(Don’t worry I use ‘axosafe’ dechlorinator & Axotonic salt mixture) Do you recommend I do anything else? Also the levels are still reading the same, I have to give it come time to filter to show it’s new results don’t I?

Rachellaura_ said:

Hello,
Ok thank you so much for all your help. Iv just performed a 40% water changed and added additional water into my tank, my tank water is now 1ft deep instead of 10inch deep, which leaves the overall water level only 5inch away from the top.
(Don’t worry I use ‘axosafe’ dechlorinator & Axotonic salt mixture) Do you recommend I do anything else? Also the levels are still reading the same, I have to give it come time to filter to show it’s new results don’t I?

Click to expand...

I also have a mild air stone in the tank to help oxygen.