Worried axie mummy: gulping and floating

Jossie · Jan 8, 2012

Its been a while since ive been on here, and was going to post a post that everything has been fine and dandy.
Of course now it isnt.

Ax is gulping every now and then tonight. More than normal little axie gulps.
His tank is in my room so i know what normal things sound like.
Hes also floating a bit.

Which is stressing me out (evidently seeing as its 1:20 am and im posting this)

Im thinking its too hot, as his tank is at aprox 23C.

Im not entirely sure what to do.
Ive stuck some water in the freezer, could adding ice help?
Or that i might i need to do a water change (its 1:20 am though and this would be a bit tricky as my tank bucket and siphon is outside)

:S

smily sam · Jan 8, 2012

He is probably gulping because of the temperature and the amount of dissolved oxygen there is in the water and how fast his metabolism is, the warmer the water the less dissolved water there is in it, also the higher the metabolism of the axolotl is, the higher the metabolism the more oxygen is needed. the air he is gulping to get more oxygen is probably making him more buoyant.
To fix it you need to have more oxygen in the water, you can do this a number of ways, you could add an air pump, add oxygenating tablets and or lower the tank temperature.
If you have any questions feel free to ask.
Sam:happy:

Jossie · Jan 8, 2012

Thanks Sam.

I know that low oxygen is the reason behind gulping, as well as cooler water being able to hold more oxygen and so on.
Its just it appears to be irritating him (as can be expected)

*frets*

Im waiting for the ice to actually freeeze.
Im hoping it can lower the temp a little.

smily sam · Jan 8, 2012

Jossie said:
Thanks Sam.

I know that low oxygen is the reason behind gulping, as well as cooler water being able to hold more oxygen and so on.
Its just it appears to be irritating him (as can be expected)

*frets*

Im waiting for the ice to actually freeeze.
Im hoping it can lower the temp a little.

Axolotls begin to get stressed and more susceptible to disease at temperatures above 21 deg. C
Sam

Jossie · Jan 8, 2012

This is the warmest the tank has ever been.
I guess ive been lucky that it has been fairly cool.

This is also the first time he has exhibited this kind of behaviour.
Hence my worriedness

danchristopher · Jan 8, 2012

How big is your tank? Smaller tanks can be harder to maintain a stable temperature in when using ice cooling methods. Obviously you want to use dechlorinated water for anything that you're going to put in the tank. Many people have success freezing a plastic 2L bottle filled with water and popping that in the tank and then rotating it with another when it defrosts.

Otherwise you might try having a fan blow across the top of the water, this can help bring the temp down.

Jossie · Jan 8, 2012

I have a 2ft tank.
From memory its 15 gal.

I would set a fan up, excent i have no idea where one is.
I think im going to invest in a small fan and maybe an airstone (just to give him some extra oxygen availability on hot days)

My Lottie · Jan 9, 2012

Hi Jossie .... it seems all of us in Aust seem to have the SAME problems with the temp of our axies home ??

I live in Gippsland, Vic, and have moved my sick "lottie" into the lounge room under the aircon, and on hotter days I am going to keep the air on "econo" about 21, then hopefully her water will stay cooler, too. :happy: I also use frozen small bottles ... just float the on top, but everyone says "don't let temp fluctuate too much"... how can you win, when a chiller cost $700 upwards.?

I have always had an airstone, and since she has been not eating (since 14th Dec) have now got a filter, too! She just stays on the bottom!

Best of luck with everything... from Lotties mum

Kaysie · Jan 9, 2012

Gulping more air at the surface is just an artifact of the warmer water. Warmer water holds less oxygen than cold water, so your axolotl is getting its oxygen from the surface. The floating comes from the gulping. If you watch, he'll burp and sink back to the bottom.

You Aussies don't have it easy, keeping temperate animals in a semi-tropical climate.

Jossie · Jan 9, 2012

Thank you everyone.
I thought that was why he was floating, I don't think he quite understood that this was the reason he was floating (so he was swimming about trying to sit on the bottom).

He's completely fine now.
And I now have two 1.25 L bottles of ice at the ready to help lower the temp.

It's actually been quite mild (here in Sydney at least) this year, so I guess I've been pretty lucky.
And you're talking to one of the few people who doesn't own a fan (I think we have one maybe two somewhere) or air conditioner.

Kaysie · Jan 10, 2012

You'll need a lot more than 2 bottles. They melt much faster than they freeze. I recommend more like 10. You'll have to swap them out constantly to avoid swings in temperature.

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