Is my axolotl ok? PLEASE HELP

I can't tell if he's asleep or if he's dying! Twice today I've seen him drifted up against the filter and doesn't respond to me gently touching him for a little bit, then he'll jerk suddenly and be ok again. He still has a huge appetite, I've unplugged the filter, its a low strength tetra whisper. I've only had my axie for 2 weeks please, if you have any advice please let me know, the tank chemical readings are normal, but ammonia is .25<x<.5 doing a large water change now. Please help!

This is the first time I've seen him do this!

Did you cycle your tank before putting him in? What are your other parameter readings?

A big water change is a good idea.

But axies generally aren't that active, and because they don't have eyelids you can't tell when they are asleep.

you said huge appetite? so far in my experience the axolotls that eat the most sometimes are the least active aswell. If your tank is fairly cold and by tht i mean on the lower end of the acceptable spectrum then tht might cause your axie to be slower. Since they are exothermic their body temp and metabolism depends on the temp of the water they are in.

also i have had my axolotl do the exact same thing to me. she would drift up and just float (not coming out of the water at all) very close to the surface. I also thought she was dead and i was panicking, touched her once and she didnt move. Of course i panicked more so i touched her one more time and she freaked and was normal again. This happened a couple of time. Also antiejude is correct, its hard to tell when they are sleeping.

overall since i have seen this exact behavior in my own axolotl and my lil girl is pretty healthy i would say its probably not something to worry about. In the off chance tht it might be something worth worrying about, keep a close eye on water parameters and just observe your axie. If there is something actually wrong chances are it will reflect on the rest of your axolotls behavior such as eating or even might show physical symptoms.

good luck!

My two Axolotls float around all the time. Sometimes they drift up to the current from my filter and float near the top of the water until they hit the glass at the other end. Then they swim back and do it all over again! Every 'lotl is different, so you can't tell sometimes. Does he look sick? The water in my tank is pretty cold, so mine are a lot less active than some I've seen but it all depends on how you keep them/their personalities!

Ok I did the water change on my axie and he's really perked up the last couple days, still has a vicious appetite, and has been doing a lot better, I think I may have just been freaking out, I'm a new owner, this is my first one, so I tend to get worried quickly.

Don't worry about it. Everyone starts somewhere and I was pretty panicky when I got my first, because I'd never seen whatever was panicking me before.

It sounds like your axolotl was either asleep or napping, was possibly 'floating' and either had wind or was constipated, or he was relaxed because of the cold water.

All of these are reasons for axolotls not moving much or being a bit sluggish. Mine often scare me by not moving at all, not even their gills. Usually this seems to mean they're having a really deep snooze.