gills flip over

I have 3 axolotls in the same tank of 30 liters (4 months old, about 12cm each), they look fine, they're good eaters, but one of them has his gills bend foreward and he is more scared then the others. When he takes a bit of air, he rushes and bumps against everything. Does anybody know a reason why he is so stressed while the others aren't? His gills are also mutch longer then the gills of the other two.
Thanks!!

There's no reason why you can't have one axolotl that is more highly strung then the others, much as you do with people. Some people handle stress better then others.
How long have you owned them Ginny?

funny..I have 5 axies in 100liter tank, they're about 9cm long and I'm woried about the space.. .___.
Maybe I'm just that stressed one. :grin:

Are you sure that the others don't teace this stressed one?
And have you got them all from same place?

(sorry, my english isn't just so good..)

I got them when they were one month old, so I have them for about 3 months now. I got them all from the same place, they are brothers and / or sisters (can't tell yet).
And they are getting a new (bigger) home soon, but I don't have enough space yet, when I move they will have space enough.

I don't think the others are teasing him. I really don't know why he is so stressed. I understand that some individuals are more stressed then others, but then the other two should be a little stressed and they aren't.. I thought that maybe because he has longer gills then the other ones, he might have an infection that causes him to use more oxygen, and that's why he developt longer gills, or am I thinking to difficult?
Or maybe he is more stressed about the lack of space then the others.

Hi Ginny. Thats a very small tank for three axies, so that could be contributing to his stress. But I understand what you are saying about needing space for a bigger tank. Is there a filter in the tank? Probably the most common cause of gills being forward is too much flow from filters. Very still water is best for axolotl's. If you can feel the current in the tank or it is causing the feathers on your axies gills to move, it's too much and you need to find a way of dispersing it eg directing it to the wall of the tank, putting something in front of it etc.
You should also check your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH and temp as poor water quality is a common cause of stress. It will be hard to maintain good water quality with that number of axies in a small tank; you'll need to do frequent water changes, I'd think 20% twice weekly. Depending on the results of your water tests, you may need to do daily 20% water changes if your ammonia or nitrite levels are above zero. Let us know your results.