Floating, not-eating axolotyl I'm scared is going to die

Hi,

One of my axolotyls is not doing too great. It hardly moves and is floating at the surface. It has been hiding behind the filter or in some plastic plants near on the surface to stop itsself being pushed around the tank by the current. Its also not eating much but I have managed to get it to eat a little bit. Its been like this for a maybe a week now. A while ago it was doing this sort of thing but it came right again.

I don't think it has any infections or fungus but its gills don't look healthy. Briefly mentioned it to a guy at the pet shop and he said it might have swallowed a small stone.

I have two axolotyls in this tank and the other one is doing perfectly fine. We've had them for about one and a half years but im not sure exactly how old they are. When we got them they were similar in size but one was a little larger, the larger one which is the healthy one now, is much bigger than the sick one. So I guess the other one has always been more healthy. They ususally dont attack each other but have occasionally grabbed each others limbs when I feed them.

Previously I had been feeding them this freeze dried worm stuff on a wooden kebab stick thing but since that one was getting sick I got them this frozen meat mix stuff that the pet shop recomended. The big one seems to like it.

I'm wondering if I should separate it and maybe do a salt bath? If thats a good idea then what kind of container should I use? And does it need a filter or something like that?

Any other suggestions for helping it get better would be greatly appreciated! I really dont want him/her (not sure which) to die!

hi
the first thing i would do is seperate the poorly axie, pop it in a small container and cover with just enough dechlorinated water to cover its back, cover it in something quite dark and pop it in the fridge, this will help prevent it floating and help it de-stress. pop a bottle of dechlorinated water in there with it for water changes.
dont take for granted that the axie who seems well is well there are things i would advise you to do to make sure.
firstly if they are on gravel they can swallow this and the become blocked up, there are people here who have had axies still pooing out gravel months after it has been removed from the tank, some arent so lucky and die, so if they are i would remove it, sand or bare bottom is what most recommend. soif on gravel i would recommend removing it.
you then really need to check your water parameters they should read,
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
ph 6.4-7.8
nitrate 40-80
if there is excess nitrate or ammonia in the tank you need to start doing 20/30% water changes daily as this is very harmful and can cause lots of problems.
i dont think you need to do salt baths as there is no injury or fungus.
hopefully your axie is just suffering from a bit of trapped wind abd the fridging will help it pass.
hope this helped a little bit.
good luck

Ok, I'll try sticking him in the fridge. I don't think its looking good though. How long can I keep him in there?

And I'll look into testing the water.

Thanks alot! I didd'nt want to do anything harmful by accident.

providing your fridge is not lower than 5c he will be fine the cold slows down the metabolism therefore enabling them to de-stress some people keep theirs in there for the whole summer months so dont be to concerned if he is in there for a while.
just remember to clean water everyday and try empting with food. dont worry to much if he doesnt eat they can go a while without food as well.
good luck