floating upside down!!!

Ive had my axolotl for about 6 months, he lives in a large 4 foot tank all to himself and a few gold fish, of late he had been air gulping which caused him to float, but i gave him a gentle massage and he release the air, he'd be fine for a few days and then gulp some more.

recently i found him looking very sick, he was foating on his side but at the bottom of the tank and i found that the fluffies on his gills have been pulled off, im asuming the gold fish got him when he was feeling week, so i put him in the fridge in shallow water so he could touch the bottom but could only leave him there over night as our fridge is too cold. now i moved him into a smaller tank, a little less then two foot with ice bottles to keep him cool over summer, but he is still floating, now upside down

im scared i will loose him, what else can i do? he wont let out any air, and he has had a terrible few days! please help

Ok a few things I would suggest:

-get rid of the goldfish. Goldfish can nip at your axolotl when he is asleep and in general stress out an axie

-stop 'massaging' your axie (not sure what you mean by that but you might be damaging him - they shouldn't be touched unless you absolutely have to). If your axie is only gulping air occasionally this is quite normal behaviour. Axolotls have rudimentary lungs so will gulp for oxygen. It is only worrisome if it is excessive.

-what are all your water parameters? Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/ph/temperature?

-I would put the axolotl back in the fridge until he stops floating. What you did before with the container is fine. Your fridge should have a temperature control so turn it up to the least cold it can go and that should stop the temperature worries. My highest fridge temp is 8C so I tend to keep my axolotl in that when necessary. But yea, temperature in the fridge should be above 5C, you should do daily 100% water changes of dechlorinated water and also wrap the container in something to block out the fridge light

Anyway, when he stops floating and starts to recover I would suggest keeping him in a tank without goldfish and yes, your bottled frozen water is a good way to keep the temperature down. Just make sure there is no sudden temperature changes.

Good luck~~

thankyou for replying, straight away i got rid of the gold fish, and am giving them away, by messaging i ment rubbing his belly gently, which i read in a library book but i wont do that anymore if it can damage him. i cant put him back in the fridge, because its the only one we have and the food in the fridge needs to be below 4C (or is it ok to have axolotl at 4C?)

now he has stoped gulping air, he hasnt all day, but he is still floating. to keep him cooler and kind of mimic the fridge i lowered the water in his small tank to just covering his back (which is keeping it cooler because of less water for a frozen bottle to cool) but sometimes he cant help but to roll back upside down even in shallow water, im not sure if this is just what he is comfortable with until the air passes.

temp is 14.6C
pH is just under nuteral
(im not sure how to test ammonia or nitrate and nitrite but the pet shop gave me blocks that dissolve to prevent ammonia...)

but he is only in a few inches of water. please let me know if im doing anything wrong, also there are little white bits on tips of gills, they arnt fluffy like fungus, it looks more like flesh from the fish nibbling, but he is a brown axolotl so is white flesh unusual, not sure if i should salt bath him because i dont want to stress him anymore.

Ok hmm the library book sounds a bit dodge with that advice. I have read a lot about axies this year but not come across that advice. Perhaps someone else here can clear it up? I know that gulping air occassionally is ok and touching axolotl's can damage their slime coats. Mine tends to gasp at the top a lot after he has eaten.

Ok its great you got rid of the goldfish, hope you found some good homes for them. Probably safer for them to be away as axies can take bites out of them too!

Ignore the petshop's advice for getting rid of ammonia. Generally adding things to your tank to change ph, ammonia, etc are bad for your axolotl as it causes the water parameters to vary too much. You can buy test kits for ammonia/nitrate/nitrite from most pet stores but you can also take your water to be tested for those there as well. So perhaps do that as soon as possible and buy the tests at the same time. Ammonia and nitrite should be 0 and nitrate 10-40.

I am not sure about the white marks as it is hard to tell without a pic. If they are bites, you just need to keep your axie at a low steady temperature and they will heal faster that way. If gill filaments are missing, if your axie is housed well they should regrow over time. If you could turn your fridge up a bit to 5C and house him in there that would be ideal but if you can't do that then keep your tank as cool as possible (but make sure the temp does not vary a lot). Not sure if 4C is ok, I tend to try to keep the fridge above 5C. Try to stick in there... it may take a few days-week to get your axolotl back to normal and not floating.

Halz remove him from the tankwater completely and place him in a fresh container of dechlorinated water. Lowering the water in the tank may have stopped the floating; but the problem may be water quality related; which you've left your axolotl in which probably isn't a good idea.

Once he is in the other container - if you can keep it cool daily, without fluctuation of temperature then you don't need to put it in the fridge. What you will have to do though is almost complete daily waterchanges on the container (to stop any toxins building up in the water - don't add anything like medicine or ammonia blocks etc.. to the tank or to the container).

Next stop using things like ammonia block/nitrazorb etc - these are only temporary fixes and don't fix problems. The best way to fix ammonia/nitrites are usually frequent partial waterchanges.

You need to take a sample of tankwater to the petshop and ask them to test for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates! Get them to write down the results and then keep a record of it by the tank. Basically any ammonia or nitrites over 0 and you need to do 20-30% waterchanges the same day that you tested the water. You may very well have had a buildup of ammonia and/or nitrites in the tankwater.

How often did you clean the tank (waterchanges and/or spotcleaning)? Goldfish do excrete a lot as well which would have added to the bioload in the tank; as well as nibbling at the gills.

I have heard some people massage their axolotls stomach, though I've never done it nor would even try it as we can damage their slimecoat, but some have done it to relieve a possible air bubble. I do not think it is an airbubble though. Gasping can be related to nitrites in the water.

We fridge our axolotls at 5C with no problem.

kapo said:

Halz remove him from the tankwater completely and place him in a fresh container of dechlorinated water.

Click to expand...

the small tank (under 2ft) i am housing him now is fresh dechlorinated water, and i am changing it daily, he hasnt been in his usual home (4 ft) for two days now, so not to worry as it is fresh water.

i also read somewhere on the internet that swallowing gravel can cause axolotls to gulp air as a way of "regurgitating" the gravel, not sure how true that is though. but would gravel swallowing cause the floating?? i didnt realise gravel was bad until i found this site a few days ago, so defentally before i put him back in his original home i will remove all of the gravel and replace it with sand or big rocks.

i will get water tested asap but since water is fresh would the amonia, nitrite and nitrate levels be ok? since im only a beginer im not 100% on all of these.

so i am keeping him in cool water under 15C with water level just covering his back, would this be the right thing to do for a week or so until he is looking better?

i havnt fed him for about 3-4 days because ive been to focused on him being comfortable first, should i feed him next chance i get or leave him be for a few more days to heal?

thankyou all for your help.

One of ours died from gravel impaction, which lead to a eventual prolapse, 18months after she had last been on gravel.

Being in lowered water changed daily will help. Keep him there as long as possible, not just a week.

Depends on the gravel and how soon they've swallowed it. Gasping, especially in relation to floating oddly/lopsided or upside down sounds more water related than anything else.

Five of ours (one now dead) had all been on gravel. After we bought them they went on sand and no substrate (bare tank floor). None of them gasped trying to get rid of the gravel - gravel size ranged from couple of mm to just over 2cm round glass pebble size. I've never seen them vomit it up but have seen them excrete it (rather painful looking - think constipation!)

While your axie is in the temporary housing/tank; remove the gravel from your 4ft tank (lower the water if needbe/but don't get rid of the water). Remove the gravel, undergravel filter if you're using one and any ammonia blocks from the tank. Get your tankwater in the big tank tested to see what the figures are. By the way no need to adjust your pH. As long as the levels are around 6.4-8.0 your axolotl can reside in those pH levels. The important ones to keep an eye on are the ammonia/nitrite.

And whatever the petshop advises you to buy - DON'T. If in doubt about anything return to the forum and ask - most fish medicines are toxic to axies. Try and avoid touching your axolotl unless you absolutely have to (we can damage their slimecoat - ie from soaps/detergents/perfumes etc... we use in every day life).

Good luck and keep us posted

The best substrate is actually no substrate/bare tank floor - it's easy for feeding and cleaning maintenance. With sand you have to be just as vigilant cleaning - ensuring you stir the sand regularly to ensure no pockets of gas buildup (waste/food can) in the sand.

With river rocks (2inch size+) the problem you'll have will be waste buildup beneath the rocks (which may have been what had happened with the gravel which in turn caused ammonia and/or nitrite building up in your tankwater).

thankyou soo much for all that info

i know you shouldnt touch the axolotl, but sometimes when i check on him he is upside down again in his low level water, (and it seems he cant roll over himself like a turtle on its shell) so is it OK to move him back to the right side up, or should i just leave him? as he might be comfortable that way during his recovery?

i will leave him in this small tank for all of the summer season as i live in NSW Australia and it really heats up, this little tank is so much easier to manage in temperature so pehaps i should transfer him into it every summer? when is it safe to raise the water level (im asuming when he has no longer floating and his gills have totally grown back)

thanks again, and i will keep you posted on his progress

(also when should i feed him?)

I would raise the water level when he is able to stay in a normal axolotl position for a day or so. I think the priority is to keep the little guy cool so spending the summer out of the main tank may well be an answer.

anyone have any sugestions on feeding? should i wait until he is in normal water levels or feed him anytime because he hasnt eaten for probably 5 days due to all the stress.

thankyou

5 days is not a big problem, they can handle that. If he wants to eat, let him eat. Just offer him some food and see what he does.

my axolotl passed away today

which came as a shock.. but atleast he isnt suffering anymore and is in axolotl heaven

i just want to thank everyone for all your help you are very great people helping others everyday, if it wasnt for all of you i wouldnt of learnt as much as i did.

Thats sad news, don't give up axies are the worlds greatest pets and now you have the info you need to keep them. The best cure for post axie blues is another one

I am sorry to hear about your axie halz.

Sincerest apolagies on your loss...

sorry for your loss halz should you get another one you no where to go for friendly help and advice

I wish i had found this site before i got my axie but were fine now and have even got a new addition yesterday have been a new axie owner since november so a newbee myself do lots of reading ask lots of questions and should be fine good luck

merry xmas to one and all and a happy new year to both owners newts and axies lol

thankyou

im feeling better now, and i am thinking of getting a new pet soon, maybe not an axolotl just yet but for sure in the future when i have my own place and own refridgerators and air con, since it is so hot on the gold coast.

im not letting my beautiful four foot tank go to waste so i might get a reptile or another amphibian, a blue tongued lizard would be nice.

anyway thankyou all for your help and kindness, i defently wont give up on axies as they are wonderful little creatures and will def want some more in a year or so.

thanks again

halz