HELP! Floating axie....

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Help! My Axie keeps floating about the tank! He tries to swim down to stay at the bottom but it's not working. I've lowered the temp and changed out the water and put the water level so he can stay on the bottom (his gills are covered) without having to swim. Is there anything else I can do?

iv had the same problem over the past few days and my mildrid is getting a bit better as i started using something called SAFE GUARD in my water it gets all the nasties out and fingers crossed its working i hope iv helped with your problem i was also told to try cooling my water down to between 5 & 10'c i have'nt had to try it yet but it was incase of bactierial infection in the gut causing gas build up oh yeah you don't feed for 10-14days and warm your water up very slowly good luck hope its feeling better soon.x.

I treat the water (ex. chlorine removal) before adding it to his tank so I know that's not the problem. He's seems more active since the temp in his tank has been lowered but he's still floating. I also keep him in my classroom at school so I'm bringing him back to my house tonight were the environment is less stressful.

There is no need to cool your water down to 5-10C. As long as you can maintain the temperature below 20C especially during the summer as the warmer temperatures can stress an axie. And sorry, Layla not sure where you get the idea not to feed for 10-14 days (Axies may not eat if the temperature is lower than 10C, ie if they are in the fridge for recuperation/because they're sick).

Katie, apart from checking temperature another thing that should be checked if floating occurs is testing your water parameters for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If levels of ammonia or nitrite are above 0 then a 20-30% waterchange should be done daily or every 2nd day to bring the levels down (no need for adding chemicals (apart from one that removes chlorine and chloramine from tapwater).

Also, one should never do a complete water or large waterchange as this can cause your tank to start cycling again, which can invariably effect your axie if you do not maintain regular (usually daily) partial 20-30% waterchanges depending on size of tank.

What substrate do you use? If your axie continues to float and you can keep his tankwater temperature below 18-20C that may help.

Otherwise if he continues to float or looks wobbly (leaning to side) placing him in a container of dechlorinated water, low enough for him to rest feet on bottom and not float, and placing him in the fridge should work. Place a lid on and wrap in a dishcloth (to stop temperature fluctuations and light flashes from normal fridge useage). Place a bottle of dechlorinated water in the fridge which you will use for complete daily waterchanges on his container. 5C is the minimum temperature for fridging an axie. Fridging an axie lowers its metabolism and will calm an axie down. You may find after a few days in the fridge that he comes right.

i got the idea from a web site and as i said i hadn't had to try it i have had my axy for 2 yrs but am learning new things all the time and when its a bit unwell i will try anything to get it feeling better again and the water cooling in the tank is the same as the fridge method just in its own enviroment the feeding thing was saying not to feed as the axy wont eat anyway im sory if im giving wrong advice im just trying to help.

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>Quoting layla perry on Tuesday 24 April 2007 - 01:12 (#POST129760):</font>

and the water cooling in the tank is the same as the fridge method just in its own enviroment<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Layla, the difference being the water would fluctuate, from cool to warm, depending on season/temperature which may not help the problem once it warms up; adding colder water to cool it down again just causes a fluctuating temperature which could add to the axies stress. Whereas with the fridge its at a set temperature therefore constant cooling at same temperature which will alleviate stress, slow its metabolism down to give it a chance to heal. Chilled water has more oxygen than warm water as well.

ok kapo like i said only trying to help i manage to keep my temp down in my tank it doesn't stress my axy as much as moving him to the fridge iv had success with it myself ant try to help others. i don't no everything there is to no but try to help others have the same success as i have had in the past.

It sounds like a bacterial gas buildup. What's he been eating recently, and has be been passing waste?

Do you have gravel in your tank? This can be a major contributor to these problems. Swapping to sand is easy, and much safer for them.

One Axolotl I kept had a similar problem - you did right by lowering the level so he can touch the floor again, open space under an axies feet can be quite stressful for them - imagine someone dangling you out of reach of the floor.

With the fridge, are you remembering to do full waterchanges every day, and ensuring there is airflow into the fridge too? (It doesn't have to be much, but a tightly sealed fridge can mean less/lack oxygen)

Hope this helped.