Urgent!!! my baby keeps floating and is seriously stressed!

i have four babies in my tank and one keeps floating upside down...he is trying to correct himself and keeps trying to swim to the bottom but keeps floating up again he is really stressed im booked into a vet tomorrow but doesw anyone know whats going on?? im scared he will die...nothing has changed in the tank except i changede the water yesterday..

i thought i might add that he hasnt been as hungry as the others lately either (pellets and bloodworms) and when he does try to swim to the bottom bubbles seems to come from his mouth

maybe he just has a belly full of air.how long has he been doing this?

umm i just noticed it tonite...he was fine last nite at 10:30 and i found him doing it at about 4pm this after noon...i tried to catch him and pat his belly...(i was advised to) but nothing has changed...is he seriously ill? the other axies in the tank are looking stressed cause he keeps swimming into them and it looks like hes trying to hold onto them to stop himself floating...

well taking him to the vet wont hurt.but it could possibly a belly full of air or his swim bladder could possibly have something wrong with it (thats if axies have a swim bladder.) someone will correct me if im wrong though.

hope your axie gets better.have you got pics of your axies by the way?

i was told by the pet shop that i bought him at that he was constipated and this was pressing on his swim baldder causing the floating, but when i rang the local aquarium the guy there told me axies dont have swim bladders that being how they can stay on the bottom of the tank...im not sure whos right but the aquarium dude sounded like he knew what he was talking about...the lady at the pet shop also told me to put my baby in a salt solution, but the pet shop guy told me not to and to take him to the vet...

i dont think a salt soloution would work for this type of thing.i think they are only for infections i.e. fungal. have you had a look on www.axolotl.org ??? that site is really good and is part of the forum.i think there is a picture of an axolotl where john clare (the founder of caudata.org) has put on where all the organs are.look on their to make sure they dont have a swim bladder. i cant remember seeing one though.

maybe he has swallowed gravel along with the air and this could prevent it getting out if the gravel is stuck.how big is the axie and how big is your gravel?

the axolotl is about 10cm and the gravel is between 1.5 and 2 cm big we got larger aquarium gravel to try to stop them swallowing it..the last meal i gave them was pellets though so maybe he swallowed some when he ate it off the bottom...so if this is the case what next? will he just "burp" it up?

i think this gravel might be too small for him so it is possible he has accidently eaten some while eating his food. you could hand feed your axies which has many advantages...you know how much each axie has had and it prevents the axies eating the gravel. hopefully if he has swallwed gravel and it is small enough he should be able to pass it when he does a poo.lol. my axies have been pooing out small bits of gravel which isnt from my tank because i have big rocks in mine. so it could take a while for it to pass.

Lulu,

Axies do have a swim bladder, there is a thread going on somewhere at the moment about this topic.

Im not sure what could have made him start floating, but axies do this from time to time. All 3 of my axies also 'blow' bubbles when sat on the floor or the tank.

It is very possible that he has air in him that is making him float.. your best idea to stop him from getting anymore stressed is to find a small container and fill it up so there is just enough water in there so he can stand up.. (make sure its tank water! If its shallow container though make sure it has a lid or you can cover it up, some axies may jump when startled.

Take him to the vet still though, he maybe able to help you out more.

As Claire said there is no need for the salt baths as he ha no infection that we know of.

The small gravel may be a problem, if they eat too much it can block them up, and some have been know to die.. You best best is to remove the small gravel and replace it with either sand (which ive had alot of sucess with) or large river stones or anything that CANT fit in there mouths.. anything that can they will eat!.. or if u cant take the small gravel out at the moment cover it with larger rocks/slate.. so they can eat it!

Good luck.. let us know how it goes!

(Message edited by jigglypuff on March 02, 2005)

man that will be a big and possibly quite painful poo...he is only small...lol
i usually do hand feed them but because he hasnt been hungry i left some in the tank to eat when he felt like it...hopefully hes all good...i think ill still take him to the vet if he hasnt sunk by tomorro arvo..thanx

Take him out of the tank to be on the safe side and so he doesnt get too stressed anymore.

yeah i remember a thread about the swim bladder.just couldnt remember it being on that pic what john clare did.

good luck at the vets

ahh ok thanx very much kim xxxlu

My axy had the same problem a couple of days ago. He was floating and looking stressed, so i scooped him out of his tank with an ice cream container, gave him a worm, then he just floated for a while then did a poo and went merrily on his way He's fine now. I'm no expert, but i'd say yours could be constipated.

(Message edited by Amy on March 02, 2005)

When feeding my axolotl's I have a ceramic pot plate that i have always in the tank and i just pour the pellets on to it and the axolotl's will smell it and then eat the pellets off the plate with out eating up any gravel!

thanx guys...i think i will try your idea dan...
last night i went home and found starscream on the bottom of the tank he had done a poo so im guessing you were right amy...hes all good now so thankyou all very much. xxxlu

awww im glad to hear he is better now