Gill blinking

Blaze

Blaze

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Blaze
Just reading up on gill blinking and It said somewhere that its just them breathing?
I have never ever seen Sunny do it, not even the slightest, and I do spend a lot of time around him and watching him.

Hes happy and healthy so it's not affecting him, so what could it be?

Thanks in advance
Blaze
 
I have been wondering about this myself. I have heard from some people that gill flicking is a sign of stress. Mine does it all the time so needless to say, I was very worried. But then I did some research and everything I could find says that its very normal and part of them breathing. My axie seems healthy otherwise and eats really well so I'm not too worried anymore. I hope someone can clear this up because alot of us are still confused on the subject.
 
I noticed that my axolotls (who are in the same tank and so the same conditions) seem like they have different gill-flicking behaviors. One almost never does it, and the other seems to more often, mostly when I come quite close to the tank and he sees me. I was worried that he flicks his gills so much more than the other, but after reading around a bit it seems like it's okay and maybe just something he does that the other doesn't...?
(I haven't had my new axolotl for long enough to really compare against the other two...seems somewhere in-between so far, but she's in a different tank so that probably affects things too...)
I'd love the input from someone a bit more knowledgeable as well.
 
Gill flicks are normal. The flicks sweep the gills across water such as to allow for rapid gaseous exchange.

Abormality is seen when the gill flicks have very short intervals between them, for an extended period of time. Axies in pain, distress or on the verge of death often display very frequent, almost continuous type of gill flicking pattern (1 or 2 seconds intervals). In those cases, the axies may have compromised respiration and/or are in pain.
 
It's not a sign of distress if your axolotl does not flick its gills. Mine rarely do. It just means the water in your tank is flowing at such a rate that the axolotl does not need to move the water over the gills itself.
 
Very rare gill flicking can be normal.
 
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