Question: Floaty axolotl, video included. Is he ok?

Hey guys,

My axolotl Devin has been in his new tank for 8 days now. He's been fine up until yesterday when I caught him floating a lot at the top of the tank. He's almost always arch-backed at the moment and his tail isn't lovely and straight like it was for the first 6 days. I've noticed a little curl at the end of the tail as well. The tank temperature is 19-20 degrees, water PH is 8.0, water hardness is hard, ammonia, nitrates and nitrites are next to nothing.

I've noticed that when he swims he sort of does all the work with his front two legs now, and when he's moving it's almost like his rear legs are rolling him over sideways. I've uploaded a video of his behaviour to Youtube, so please watch it if you have time and let me know what you think. I'm worried he may be ill so i'd like to help him in any way I can.

Youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9F_9Su0KeU
(sorry if the annotation are unreadable. Click the video to view it on the youtube page.

I have been feeding him tetra fresh bloodworms in jelly and he's been eating fine. 3 days ago I fed him a live earthworm cut into several smaller pieces but maybe the sudden re-introduction of live food has given him constipation? He went to the toilet yesterday but (and yes this sounds silly) what came out wasn't anywhere near the amount I fed him.

I've read that not feeding him for a couple of days might be a good idea, but will he be ok? :-s

Hi Ratticon,

I like it when members try to provide as much history and information as possible, it really makes the diagnosis much easier. The youtube attachment is a video of 10 000 words. Good idea on that one.

Arched back and floating as well as 'hind limbs heavy' type swimming are really quite typical of conditions like impaction and constipation. Heavy intestinal parasitism can also cause a similar presentation. Although neurological deficits are possible, it is really much lower on the differential list. The curled tail tip is a general non specific sign of stress that accompanies many illness or discomfort the axie might have.

Tank temperaure of 19-20 degrees is not bad. Are there any excessive water currents? Because you mentioned that ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are all 'next to nothing', it made me think that perhaps the tank isn't fully cycled beforehand. It sounds like really fresh water to me. In a cycled tank, ideally ammonia and nitrites are indeed at 0 but i would expect some nitrates. What are the water parameter readings? Traces of any amount of ammonia and nitrites can actually cause toxicity in some more vulnerable axies (in which they do demonstrate neurological signs).

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/waterquality.shtml

Also i can see you have sand as your substrate but do you remember if the place you acquired your axies kept them on gravel?

Good news is your axie doesn't look too bad. Still has a good appetite and being still able to poop indicates a patent gastrointestinal tract. That doesn't exlude a 'partial' impaction or constipation but is a positive sign nontheless. You can minimise constipation by actually offering a large variety of food. Earthworms are excellent. Live bloodworms, blackworms are all fantastic as well.

http://www.axolotl.org/feeding.htm

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/foods.shtml

Actually at this stage, i would just recommend you continue to offer a variety of food types, monitor the behavior of the axie as well as observe the fresh poop samples. Assuming you have optimal water parameters, temperature, no excessive currents, the condition has a high chance to self resolve.

If in a week, the condition hasn't improve or you notice any signs of deterioration, i would advise on fridging by then.

Fridging your axie will destress it, boost its immune system and render harmful pathogens (both bacterial and fungal) less viable. It also faciilitate the passage of impacted material through stimulating peristaltic movements in the gut.

- Set your fridge to about 5 degree celsius.
- Put your axie in a container large enough to allow it to stretch its limbs and tail comfortably.
- Fill with fresh dechlorinated water enough to submerge it but not allowing it to float.
- Cover with a lid. You can use a perforated lid or netting to prevent it jumping out.
- Use a tea towel to cover it to keep the environment dark.
- Perform 100% water changes daily with clean dechlorinated water.
- You can pre prepare bottles of water in the fridge.
- Continue to offer a variety of nutritious food daily. Try live wriggly food like blackworms, bloodworms, earthworms. You can also try the usual pellet, offer treats of shrimp and fish etc. Otherwise you can also blend everything in a food processor and then roll the resultant mash into a pea sized ball to try offer your axie. Remove uneaten food within 20 min.

Cheers.

Hi Ben,

So sorry to hear about little Devin. Hmmmm, I'm not sure about what the problem is with Devin, but he does look like he's struggling a little. My first thought is to give him a short visit to the axie spa (in the fridge)but as he's still quite small and young I don't know if this would be wise. I am thinking that if he does perhaps have constipation that the fridge would help him pass any blockage.
Have you carried on with the bloodworms after you fed him the earthworm?
Where did you get the earthworm from? Are you sure it was from somewhere free of pesticides etc?
I'll leave this one for others to add their two pennorth,
I hope little Devin will be back to his self soon, Kerry.

Edit: Ray the expert on axies beat me to it!

Hey guys,

Thanks for the quick response, I wasn't expecting to hear so much in-depth!

Devin's back at the bottom of the tank now, and he looks a little less curled up. I haven't fed him since the earthworm - I bought a box of them from a local bait where they are bred in what looks like ordinary fertiliser. Should I try to breed worms at home instead?

There isn't a great range of food around here to buy for him. I think the local pet store sells frozen bloodworm cubes so i'll try him out on those. I've not seen blackworms anywhere, and I'm having trouble finding trout/salmon pellets.

Can anyone recommend a good online store for buying food from? I live in the UK so ideally in the UK or Europe.

I have a Fluval 2+ filter running 24/7 and i've been doing 20% water changes every other day. I don't think the tank is fully cycled yet.

Is it possible to change the water too much? I understand I need to leave the water a little to help establish friendly bacterial colonies, although i've been a bit paranoid in nature and doing the water changes in combination with the filter.

Updates will come!

One of mine dose some thing like that before he make a big poo. has he gone ?

Hm. One of mine does that as well, but he intentionally gulps air to float around. He's a weird one.

you can feed him pieces of cut up fish . mine love it

Have PM'd you about earthworm delivery, Kerry

Hi Ratticon,

You can indeed try breeding your own earthworms at home. It really is quite easy. I know you can get starter kits from some bait/aquarium shops or warehouse. Otherwise, you can order in 'tubs' of earthworms which can last you a month at least so its still really quite convenient anyway.

Keeping your filter running at all times is good. The aeration keeps your bacteria nice and happy. A 20% water change with regular siphoning of detritus and wastes is excellent as well. Continue with it. Bacteria will tend to settle and colonise on surfaces such as tank walls, ornaments, substrate even plants. As long as you don't scrub away the slimy layer, you are effectively preserving the bacteria.

Don't worry about not having enough 'bacteria food' at this moment. This is because your tank already has an axie in it. (Well ideally it would be better to cycle the tank before axie) The axie alone will produce enough nitrogenous wastes through its skin, gills and poop for bacteria to have a good feast.

Cheers.

Update! Devin is back on the floor of the tank again He did two massive poos this morning so I think the offending article is out of his system. I fed him another worm last night and he's not being a wierdo today so i'm hoping it was a one-off. I'm keeping a close eye on him to make sure the worms are okay.

As a result of the big poos the ammonia in the tank has gone from 0-0.25ppm to 0.5ppm. I did another 20% water change today and it has dropped to 0.25ppm again. Is that a dangerous amount of ammonia to still be around? I don't know when I should start worrying seriously about it, so I just kind of worry all the time

slimer said:

you can feed him pieces of cut up fish . mine love it

Click to expand...

what sort of fish? I gave him a tiny piece of raw tuna last week and he loved that. :wacko:

Hi Ratticon,

Glad to hear the good news. That must be two giant poos.

Actually ideally you want 0 ammonia in the tank. Traces of any amounts can cause illness especially in susceptible animals. Its excellent you did the water change.

If you use a filter that can incorporate chemical filtration, it might be a good idea to get some zeolite and activated carbon filter sheets or granules for your filter. They can help remove ammonia.

If you keep live plants in the tank, they can also help buffer against ammonia spikes by preferentially using up the ammonia.

Raw tuna is excellent as a treat. Any raw red fish meat (salmon etc) are all suitable as occasional treats. Just try avoid feeding too much white fish meat. White fish meats contain thiaminase, an enzyme that can break down vit B thiamine. Prolonged consumption of raw white fish meat can thus cause a thiamine (Vit B) deficiency.

Cheers