Question: Axolotl occasionally swims up to surface?

[astroaxo]

Hi! I just got my first axolotl this morning, and although she seems to be settling into her tank well, she's doing something strange.

Every now and then, (every 10-15 minutes maybe) she'll swim up to the surface of the tank, stick her head out the water just a little, to, what looks like, get some air.

Is this an issue with oxygen levels in the water, just a playful axie or something else?

 

[Hayleyy]

Perfectly normal, but what do you have in your tank that adds oxygen? Anything like a fan, filter, sponge filter or air stone will add oxygen. How big is the tank and what of these things do you have?

 

[astroaxo]

Sorry for the late reply, I have an 11-gallon tank and a filter in it. She still does it occasionally, but only once every hour or half-hour.

 

[Hayleyy]

There should be enough oxygen in the water then, I wouldn't worry

 

[RoreyRoreyRorey]

It sounds perfectly normal! Is there any chance you could post a picture of your axie? I love seeing them, and it would provide an opportunity for us to be absolutely sure nothing is up with its gills.

 

[tundrabadger]

I've noticed my younger axie gulps air more often than my two adults, but they all do occasionally. it's just a cute thing they do occasionally. Part of the fun of having them. I thought Vita was going to do it as I wrote this, but no it looks like she just wanted to turn around in place.

 

[astroaxo]

Thank you all for your messages! I didn't realise how active axolotls were until after a few days after my girl had settled in! In the morning and during the day she's generally quite slow, but during the evening and night, she's very energetic! She swims around a lot (often crashing into the sides of her tank), so hopefully I'd like to get a bigger tank sometime in the future.
I'm glad to hear that gulping air is generally a normal thing they do. Attached are some photos of her! (she's an albino, apparently around 2 years old and her name is Bean)

 

[Hayleyy]

Just letting you know that substrate can cause impaction issues so I would recommend getting rid of it asap and leave it bare, or use sand and/or stones bigger than their head

 

[tundrabadger]

My juvenile settled in and started being active around me fairly quickly, but when I brought my adults home it took longer, particularly for Virginia (also a 2 year old albino incidentally). I don't think I saw her actually move for about a week. I knew she was doing it, but never when I was in the room, which confused me because the woman I bought them from told me that she was the more active and sociable of the two. Now, the other adult, Vita, is still actually more active and friendly than I was led to believe, but once Virginia got used to having new people around she started being very active, and hiding a lot less. So I know what you mean about seeing how active they are once they settle in. Incidentally she just swam up and gulped some air. and then failed to judge her descent well and landed headfirst in a plant. it was a good moment. I'm very proud.


I second what Hayleyy said about the substrate, not that it needs seconding, and add that I find sand easier for getting poop out in between water changes.

 

[astroaxo]

Thank you guys; when looking for substrate I did want to make sure it was fine enough and it is actually quite finer than it appears in the picture. I can't really replace it right now but I'll look at doing it in the future (I have live plants in the tank as of now so I don't want to go bare bottom)

 

[astroaxo]

I am going to try and get some sand in the next two weeks. Thank you

 

[Hayleyy]

I'm using play sand from bunnings, if you need any recommendations. Much cheaper than any aquarium sand. You just need to wash it many many many times until the water runs clear. I also sift it to get any bits of gravel that snuck in

 

[astroaxo]

I found a great sparkly, fine black sand that works really well and is in my tank now