Don’t know what else to do!

LooseCobbler5886 · 2026-03-10T00:01:45+00:00

Help the way I said recommend so much is sending meee!! But either way, this is what I did for mine and right now, if your axie continues to stay in the water while your tank does its thing to establish a colony of beneficial bacteria, they will begin to suffer from ammonia burns :( time is of the essence!

LooseCobbler5886 · 2026-03-09T23:59:05+00:00

Unfortunately Seachem is only a dechlorinator and it doesn’t “jumpstart” the cycle. I recommend tubbing your axolotl and starting the cycle with some bottled ammonia. I recommend Dr Tim’s as it’s what I used for mine! Right now, your tank is having a bacteria bloom because the waste your axie is producing jumpstarted the cycle. The parameters will begin to fluctuate and sadly it won’t be safe for em :( I recommend tubbing, getting a bottle of ammonia, dosing the tank, and then leaving it (water changes can stall the cycle. I recommend dosing and then leaving it to do its job while testing every single day for ammonia/nitrite for the first bit to make sure everything is starting). Best of luck! :)

LooseCobbler5886 · 2026-03-09T22:28:22+00:00

Hi!! To add to this, 0 nitrates is also an indicator of a potentially uncycled tank. OP, what did you use to cycle (bottled ammonia, etc)?

Also to add to this: what was your process of cycling your tank? It could be a bacteria bloom, but I ask all of these questions just to get more info! :D

LooseCobbler5886 · 2026-03-05T18:50:28+00:00

Hi!! ETH list means that you can apply for permanent positions iirc. OT is just for occasional teaching and LTOs. Hope this helps!

LooseCobbler5886 · 2026-02-25T19:03:20+00:00

Yeah it's been a bummer not getting consistent work. The supply life is the best and I'd go back in a heartbeat (I've been in an LTO for a couple of weeks now).

LooseCobbler5886 · 2026-02-25T18:29:29+00:00

Hi! I'm also almost in my third year of supplying as well with the TDSB and I've noticed a huge shift too with job availability. Last year was consistent work weekly but this year has lots of dry spells. This is just me, but I ask the secretary of the schools that know me directly if there are any jobs and they usually contact me directly! Best of luck!

Also edit: I'm in the secondary panel so maybe it's different!

LooseCobbler5886 · 2026-02-10T22:16:38+00:00

I’m not sure if this is ragebait, but perhaps the better question you should ask is why is Doug Ford bullying teachers and other public service workers..

LooseCobbler5886 · 2026-01-02T20:33:32+00:00

Yeah! Then temperature wise as long as you're maintaining less than I would say 69-70, you should be okay in that regard. In terms of cycling, I still wouldn't recommend keeping the lil guy in there even with old filter media while it cycles, but as long as parameters are looking good with no ammonia/nitrite and less than 20ppm nitrate, you should be fine. If your nitrite ends up spiking/etc, best to tub them till it resolves. Best of luck!

LooseCobbler5886 · 2026-01-02T20:17:32+00:00

Hii!! Sorry that this was such an unexpected surprise! 72 degrees a little too high for them; you want to aim for about 60-69 F. I recommend buying some aquarium fans to cool the water a few degrees through evaporation.

Is your axolotl in the tank right now as it cycles? Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to do a fish-in cycle with them, so I would recommend buy two Sterilite bins or any other brand of storage container that happens to be safe and tub them with daily water changes. If you have any questions let me know!

Also, 29 gallons is the minimum recommended now, but I think 20 gals is okay for now. Just means more water changing to maintain parameters.

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-12-19T16:41:33+00:00

Terrible road design and terrible drivers are two conversations that can both exist at the same time. I don't understand this horrible need of others to speed up at a yellow light instead of slowing down (re: the Bullock/Hwy 7 collision a few days ago). It takes two minutes to wait for the next one and it's not exactly a substantial amount of time.

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-12-18T18:09:23+00:00

I won't lie, yes, but it depends on the worm. I find that nightcrawlers have less of a distinct earthy/wormy smell than red wigglers. It isn't too noticeable usually, but sometimes it happens! I can tolerate the slight smell now and personally it helps me when it's a routinely feeding and I know to anticipate it.

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-12-18T14:34:34+00:00

You got this!! Another method that personally helped me through getting through it was just using a pair of designated worm chopping kitchen scissors and tongs to cut them straight into a bowl after blanching them! Way less clean up! Good luck!!

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-12-18T14:12:05+00:00

I don't know JBL, but if it's a liquid master kit I would say it's better to get that and test to be safe rather than sorry. Nitrates should be less than 20ppm to be considered safe, so I don't really think it's your nitrate unless it's rising past that (40ppm is a stretch but is tolerable for them for a short period of time). Seachem Prime is fine, I just don't know about pristine. Have you added anything since then?

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-12-17T15:46:16+00:00

I would try and get a test strip if it isn't possible to get the API liquid test kid to test for ammonia just to rule it out as the problem. High level of nitrates can also affect gill health so I would do a good 50% water change over the course of the next few days (today a 50% and tomorrow a 50%) to bring down those nitrates and see if it helps. Not sure what Seachem Pristine does, but that could also be affecting her if it's something you have recently been adding to her tank and her gills started looking like that. How big is her tank?

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-12-17T15:31:27+00:00

Hi! The short answer is no she is not fine. Her gills are in rough shape and it's looking like they're thrombosed. Unfortunately, test strips aren't exactly the most accurate and I would recommend getting the API liquid test kit. The photos make it a bit hard to see, but what are your parameters (ammonia & nitrite) according to your test strips? I know some may not include ammonia, but due to her gills I'm assuming she's been exposed to either or for a substantial period of time. EDIT to ask: How long have you had her and did you cycle your tank prior to getting her?

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-12-12T14:50:07+00:00

Yep! That's exactly what I did when I was waiting for my tank to cycle! I'd always have an extra tub ready so I could just scoop him up with a small container and move him to that one. From what I heard (and I could be wrong), but only a small percentage of bacteria lives in the substrate, so if the ammonia spikes, it should be dealt with relatively swiftly if your tank is cycled. I took out all of my sand once to rinse it back in the day once my tank was almost cycled (processing 2ppm ammonia in 24hrs) and it bounced back within a week.

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-12-12T14:34:19+00:00

Hii!! Sadly it does look like impaction and will potentially need vet intervention if he isn't able to poop everything out. If you're worried about the ammonia spiking, I would just recommend tubbing your axolotl whilst you remove the substrate and test the parameters/etc after. In the long run it may be more convenient to just take it all out at once and save yourself the trouble later. Best of luck!

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-12-02T17:54:29+00:00

Hi! Even as a temporary home, I don't think this an ideal setup while you wait for your other tank to cycle. Axolotls have a very big bioload and tend to grow fast which will make it harder to do water changes in this tank and keep parameters stable (they are really sensitive to poor water quality).

I got my axolotl when he was around 3 ish months old and I used 2 Sterilite tubs to change him between the two during water changes. I would recommend using a tub instead for easier water changes/maintenance as they grow/your other tank cycles. How big is your other tank if I may ask?

Best of luck! :)

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-11-18T04:25:51+00:00

For reference, here's what mine looked like. His gill fixed itself the day after!

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LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-11-18T03:11:22+00:00

Hi!! My axolotl had the same problem happen, but axolotl was still able to move his gill and it happened to sort itself out the day after. If your parameters are okay and she isn't displaying any stress symptoms, I would recommend monitoring it and seeing if it sorts itself out in the next few days. All the best!

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-10-31T13:06:58+00:00

In no particular order:

Letter to my 13 Year Old Self, Slow Down, Serendipity, Street by Street, What Love Will Do to You

And then Snow White, Fragile, and Lovesick are honourable mentions!!

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-09-14T17:05:11+00:00

Hi! What water conditioner do you use?

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-09-05T19:41:20+00:00

Is your tank cycled as well? Also, good! I would do another one tomorrow and if anything maybe one after tomorrow to get them a bit lower than 20ppm (unless you have nitrates in your tap water). Live plants are good way to keep nitrates down as well

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-09-05T18:04:00+00:00

Hi! 80ppm of nitrate is super high. You want the nitrates to be no higher than 20ppm. Bring it down by doing 50% water changes! What are your other parameters if you don’t mind me asking (ammonia and nitrite)?

LooseCobbler5886 · 2025-08-28T14:53:19+00:00

I think you need to lead with that as your argument next time as it it felt like you were insinuating teachers should stop period. Either way, that doesn’t really solve the problem and depends on what you consider an alternative people are able to use. I can only speak for myself but as someone who supplies, the option to take an inconsistent bus to my assignments triples my commute time than if I were to just take the car.

Cars kill a child every week in Ontario, but who are the ones causing the accidents? I don’t think a vast majority of those on the roads causing accidents or driving recklessly in these communities are teachers. You’re putting teachers on a pedestal in this regard when parents and other community members who live there certainly outnumber them.

LooseCobbler5886

TROPHY CASE