Floating axolotl

Okay well I have two axolotls, one is a golden albino female and the other is a malenoid male. There is a problem im not sure of though, my golden albino has been floating, but for the moment she is between the filter and the side of the tank. She doesn't seem to be frantic and gasping air should I be worried?

Could be a couple of things- she might be constipated, has there been a reduction in the amount of poo in the tank? Second, has to be asked sorry, are they on gravel? If she's swallowed some it would make her float. Third, maybe she's just being weird. Any sign of fungus, or more activity than usual?

Err not sure if the gravel thing's right, it suddenly doesn't sound right in my head. Worth checking anyway though!

Mine has just started doing the same thing too. I have large river stones on the bottom of my tank, so i know its not from consuming them. I think mine is constipated. I put him in the fridge today. So far he has poo'd once. I havent fed him today either. Maybe you could try the "fridge" treatment too?

Okay well, she doesnt show any signs on fungus, yes they are on gravel but im sure they haven't eaten any, I sit right next to them as the tank is right next to my tv so i can soo, and when I'm not home i get my mother tto check all the time and she said she has never seen them and I hand feed them so yeah. I think it might be she was constipated she hasn't floated for a while, wouldn't surprise me if shes constipated, shes a major fatty xD

There will be plenty of more experienced people than me telling you this I'm sure, but you should definitely take the gravel out!

Welcome Wade!

Definitely take out the gravel. Definitely definitely. You can't be watching them all the time and they have a tendency to snuffle around for food. They open their mouths very quickly to suck in food, and often take in gravel with it. You might even think they have spat it out, but you would be surprised.

I originally had mine on gravel as the pet shop told me to - once I found this forum I realised how dangerous it was and swapped to a thin layer of sand. I kept finding gravel pooped out for about 4 months afterwards.

They can eat stones up to the size of their heads - and we've seen many axolotls die or become seriously ill and require hundreds of pounds worth of vets bills to recover.

So - even though you may not have seen it happen it is very likely they have gravel inside. This can cause them to float as they try to pass the stone through their system.

If the floating persists to the point your axie can't stay on the bottom, you may need to consider putting her in a shallow container so she doesn't get stressed. At that point she may need to stay in the fridge to help her pass it.

That aside, there ARE other reasons axolotls float - sometimes they just feel like it, or want to be near the top if the oxygen levels are low in the tank. Try keeping the tank as cool as poss and maybe running an airstone very gently, that might help!

But get rid of the gravel

Yeah alright, I'm only 17 and have very little money atm, and only work a few hours a week with fuel for my car phone bills, insurance etc etc I can't afford anything at the moment but when i can buy some decent sand I will, also my boy axolotl has a curled tail end like just the very very tip as though he might be stressed, but he still eats fine and doesn't seem stressed? I change the water every week around 20%, pH is about 7.6 aswell as everything else being 0 (ammonia, nitrite).