Question: Acting weird at night?

Glorlim's in a tank on his own, partially because he's the "ugly" one (my fiance's words, not mine!) and partially because I knew he was male and wanted to be prepared for any eggs, so he'll be introduced to my females when I know I can take care of them.

For the last couple of days he's been acting very weird at night time, usually around 9pm. The area he's in gets dark at around 5:30-6pm so I can't work out why the behavior starts at 9.

So he's been doing a lot of floating at night, but his bottom half kind of sinks so his back is bent. He'll also frequently "freak out" and swim rapidly around his tank, a few times he's even tried to swim straight up like he's trying to jump out! He's also been trying to sit on top of his thermometer

I panicked a little the first time I saw this, tested his water and checked the temp plus put the lid on (just in case!)

PH - 7.0
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrite - 20ppm
Ammonia - 0
Temp - 18 degrees.

I can't work out why he's acting like this, it's only been in the last week or so and only at night! He also hasn't been eating as much as usual, although he's never been as big an eater as my other three. The tank's a 10gal 2ft x 1ft, with slate (siliconed down) and black sand as substrate.

It's mainly the 'trying to get out' that's worrying me. I can handle the floating but I don't want him to get hurt. Or morph.

Also normally when he's floating his tail is sinking too, he's floating normal tonight because I tried to get pics of him -.-

I got a video of him acting weird!

Glorlim trying to be a dolphin? - YouTube

This is him trying to swim out of the water. None of my others have ever done this and I haven't seen him do it until yesterday.

Sorry if the video won't play D:

Quentari said:

PH - 7.0
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrite - 20ppm
Ammonia - 0
Temp - 18 degrees.

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That should be nitrate - 20ppm, not nitrite -.-

he's now floating about all the time. I'm going to put him in a bowl of shallow water and see if that helps him burp or whatever, but I still can't see why he's doing the jumpy out of water thing.

I wish I knew what was wrong. Hope you figure it out soon. xx

hairypumpkin said:

I wish I knew what was wrong. Hope you figure it out soon. xx

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Me too, it's creeping me out I haven't seen him on the floor of his tank in hours, possibly since yesterday. I put my hand under him last time he did the jumping and he kind of climbed on it and out of the water, sat there for a moment then went back in the water :/

Maybe he is trying to morph and that is why he is trying to get onto the thermometer? He is looking for land?

If he is morphing, he might be getting stressed because he can't raise himself out of the water. That could explain the frantic swimming.

Honestly, I don't know. My little one is most active around 10:30pm-1:00am, maybe around 9pm is his active time?

Is he alone in this tank, or does he have tankmates?(if so, please tell us who)
I am thinking, maybe he gets startled by other fish/axies in his tank, happened to me a couple of times. Then ill hear all kinds of splatter and weird noises from my tank, because he is trying to escape the wrath of other fishes

Mine used to swim like that when he could see his own reflection, or the reflection of the tank in the glass. Not sure if he was thinking it was another axolotl or there was more tank to swim in. He would go crazy and get to the top of the water, but he never tried to jump out.

Does he do it around the whole tank or in one particular place/side? That's the only thing I can think of other than he's trying to morph. If he was morphing, judging by what other people have said on here, there would be physical signs.

He's alone.

All I can think of is morphing too, but I'm not sure

Unless he's just active at night? Mine is very active when we're in bed. He swims around the tank like he's got endless energy.

Lol, mine spash around like crazy when I sleep. I sometimes feel drops of water on my face...
They're like:

He's alone in his tank. Good news he wasn't morphing! I woke up this morning and he looked dead. Thought I saw his tail twitch so he's in the fridge and I have my fingers crossed he's alive. On closer inspection he's got some fluffy white bits on his body so he probably had a fungus, but I didn't realise because he's got white bits all over his body normally I feel like a horrible person for not noticing that sooner and if he dies now it'll be my fault.

Glorlim did not make it. I had him for 89 days. It was almost certainly a fungus, I didn't see it in time to save him. Will the substrate, plants and hides from his tank need disinfecting before coming in contact with any other fish? Or should his tank be safe? I've never has a fungus on an axolotl before. Is it caused by something? Or just random?

I'm sorry for your loss.
And yes, if he had a fungus, you will most certainly need to desinfect everything. Just take out all the decorations, put them in your bathtub, and get some boiling water.

Here is an article about fungus.


Fungus spores are opportunistic and given the chance will invade most types of organic material, including living tissue. Fungus do not harm healthy aquarium fish because the mucus layer on the skin of a fish prevents the spores from infecting its living tissues.

However, if the fish’s mucus layer is damaged, fungus can quickly develop, particularly if the fish is living in dirty or otherwise unhealthy conditions. Rough handling is a common cause of fungus, but other common causes include fin nipping and fighting among fish. Any diseases that produce open wounds, such as ich, ulcers and hole-in-the-head disease, can lead to fungus.

Fungus is also associated with environmental stress, presumably because fish exhibit a weaker immune response when they are not properly taken care of. Chilling, poor water quality and inappropriate water chemistry are all common reasons why aquarium fish develop fungus. Keeping brackish water fish in freshwater conditions can also lead to fungal infections.

Source: Aquarium Fish Fungus

Are you getting another pet, or are you going to take a break from being an aquarium keeper?

Again, sorry for your loss. ;(

Oh no So sorry for your loss

michel3171 said:

I'm sorry for your loss.
And yes, if he had a fungus, you will most certainly need to desinfect everything. Just take out all the decorations, put them in your bathtub, and get some boiling water.

Here is an article about fungus.


Fungus spores are opportunistic and given the chance will invade most types of organic material, including living tissue. Fungus do not harm healthy aquarium fish because the mucus layer on the skin of a fish prevents the spores from infecting its living tissues.

However, if the fish’s mucus layer is damaged, fungus can quickly develop, particularly if the fish is living in dirty or otherwise unhealthy conditions. Rough handling is a common cause of fungus, but other common causes include fin nipping and fighting among fish. Any diseases that produce open wounds, such as ich, ulcers and hole-in-the-head disease, can lead to fungus.

Fungus is also associated with environmental stress, presumably because fish exhibit a weaker immune response when they are not properly taken care of. Chilling, poor water quality and inappropriate water chemistry are all common reasons why aquarium fish develop fungus. Keeping brackish water fish in freshwater conditions can also lead to fungal infections.

Source: Aquarium Fish Fungus

Are you getting another pet, or are you going to take a break from being an aquarium keeper?

Again, sorry for your loss. ;(

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Thanks for the info. I'll boil everything I can, dunno what to do with the live plants he had though. Not sure what caused the fungus as his water was pretty much perfect and he had no tank mates but ill be keeping a closer eye on my babies from now on (especially ones its harder to see fungus on)

I still have 3 axolotl in a different tank who are all fat and healthy, and my fiancé just told me he ordered me a new axolotl from our pet store last week so as of next week ill have a new one. Just a shame he'll end up being a "replacement" at least ill have time to disinfect everything before it gets here, and thank god glorlim was separate from my other three

You said he wasn't as voracious an eater anyway. =( He might have been a bit run down and it got a hold of him. Even with the best will in the world and perfect water quality, it's not impossible some pathogen or internal blip - like extra sensitivity, maybe - could have brought him down a bit and made him more prone to infection. You probably won't get an answer, but you must not be hard on yourself; there wasn't much you could have done, and the fungus escaped your notice until it was too late. I'm sorry he's gone.

Perhaps someone knows about isolating plants/how long it takes the fungal spores to die off if they can't get anything to grow off. I certainly wouldn't introduce them to your new little guy when he comes, in case he's stressed from the move.

Started emptying his tank and so far I've found 3 tiny snails and 2 huge ones that must have hitched a ride on the driftwood and camouflaged with his dark themed tank. What are the chances they crawled on him and took off some of his coat? giving the fungus something to latch hold of? either way the only things in the new guys tank will be stuff that's boil-able. Not taking ANY chances.