Floating axie and red tail

Hello all,

My axolotl, Chupacabra (Chewy), has been floating around the tank a lot lately. He doesn't seem all that bothered by this - he seems to opt to go and sit on things that are high up (like the filter and the spray bar). It's not usual behaviour for him, he normally likes to lurk at the bottom of the tank.

I checked the water quality
Ammonia: 0
Nitrates: about 50
Nitrites: 0

and the only thing I could say about it is that it's quite hard. I'm going to buy some Scottish mineral water to do a water change with tomorrow, which Iv'e done before, though I don't know if water hardness would cause axolotl floating...

I should add that he has a red tail at the moment. I THINK it was because he scraped it. I had him in a smaller tank for a couple of weeks and he kept rubbing his tail against a model log I had in the tank for him to hide in. It's been 2 weeks since then and it's still quite red. I don't know if that's a symptom of disease or if it's just taking a while to get better.

He's not off his food - I give him an earthworm every day or two.

Does anyone know what might be wrong? I know it's fairly minor, I just figure the earlier I can look into this the better!

Hi Cori,

Would it be possible if you take a photo of him and post it up here? Photos can help in diagnoses. It is also advisable to take serial photos (such as on a daily basis) so that you can compare and assess if your axolotl's condition is improving or deteriorating.

It is very good that you are monitoring the water parameters. Poor water condition is the number 1 cause of illness. Also make sure that the water temperature is cool around 18 degrees celsius and that there is no excessive currents.

Does the axolotl have other tank mates? What substrate do you use in the tank? Do you provide it with hiding places?

It is very promising that your axolotl is still feeding well. Inappetance is definitely a tell tale sign something is amiss. illness and even spontaneous metamorphosis commonly show up as inappetance first.

Floating itself can have many causes, ranging from things like the need to 'burp' or 'poop' in which excess air in the gut is expelled and the axolotl will then slowly sink back down. This is not a cause of concern. Other reasons include gill pathology in which the the axolotl need to go to the water surface to get air. Some axolotls when they undergo metamorphosis will also tend to go to the water surface a lot as they want to reach for land. Only with photos and more info can you then determine what is the likely cause.

As for the red mark on the tail, again a photo is essential. Trauma is definitely a possibility but you also want to exclude things like abscess, neoplasia, clotting problems, or even scepticaemia (which can show up as vasculitis/phlebitis).

Cheers

It is very good that you are monitoring the water parameters. Poor water condition is the number 1 cause of illness. Also make sure that the water temperature is cool around 18 degrees celsius and that there is no excessive currents.

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It's cold - I live in a student house. Heating is a LUXURY! To be honest I wonder if that room can get too cold for him but I suspect that's my subjective opinion No he's got a nice, cool, shadowy little alcove. Flow is probably a little fast for him but it's as small as I can make it with a filter. There's a spray bar and an ornament by the filter to dispel it as much as I can. (When he was new, the current used to push him around the tank!)

Does the axolotl have other tank mates? What substrate do you use in the tank? Do you provide it with hiding places?

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It's just him. I use sand in the tank, and he has a mangrove root and a log to hide in (though he doesn't usually)

As for the red mark on the tail, again a photo is essential. Trauma is definitely a possibility but you also want to exclude things like abscess, neoplasia, clotting problems, or even scepticaemia (which can show up as vasculitis/phlebitis).

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I'll dig out my camera and see what I can do! Thank you for your reply