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Forced to float

C

chip

Guest
so i've been gone all summer and my parents have been taking care of my axies. i have 4 juvies, and two seemed to have grown a lot, while the other two not so much. one seems to have lost at least half of its right arm and can't seem to stay down -- it's like it's forced to float to the top. i put some food in and it sank to the bottom, and the axie swam down and floated back to the top almost as quickly as it had swam down. and it would keep swimming down trying to get food, and then would float back up. it's always at the top just floating sideways looking dead, but when i poke it, it darts around the tank.

anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? thanks

-chip
 
R

ros

Guest
Hi Chip,
If you read http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm#wounds
Wounds and Physical Damage;
& follow guidelines...he/she should recover & his/her arm can regrow;

Separate him/her & place in well dissolved cooled salt solution...just enough to cover him/her.
Table salt, cooking salt, or iodized salt, is ok to use, but not "low" or "low-sodium" salt.
Please note well: Salt solutions can do great damage to the gills of axolotls, leading to bleeding and shedding of gill fimbriae, so don't subject an axolotl to high salt concentrations for very long periods at a time.
No longer than 15 mins twice a day, ok Chip.
Keep him/her stress free & cool by keeping him/her in a container with just sufficient enough water to cover him/her.
Regards, Ros.
 
A

anne-marie

Guest
Chip - what are you feeding? Some live foods can cause a bacterial gut infection which could account for the ffloating. Floating is stressful for axies so put him in shallow water so he can touch the ground.

What are your water pH, ammonia and nitrite like? How often were your parents doing water changes and feedings?
 
H

hayley-jane

Guest
Is floating stressful for them?

My tiny axie Elmo has decided he wants to float at the moment...he goes up to the surface, takes a HUGE gulp of air and then floats.

When I touch him he burps his air and floats back down - waits for me to move away from the tank then does it again....whats he up to!?
 
C

cynthia

Guest
Hayley - the kind of floating that Elmo is doing is normal. When they float or hang in the water motionless its called "hangout". Some axolotls do this for hours at a time. Others, not so much.

I would recommend that you stop touching him when you see him in hangout.

It's when they can not stop floating that you need to worry. They may appear tilted to one side and you will see them struggle to try and get to the bottom but just float back up.

(Message edited by cynorita on August 08, 2005)
 
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