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Flicking Gills

Shizzam

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Hey everyone,
my axolotl sometimes flicks his gills back a few times then stops and has bouts of doing this every now and then- do you think this is normal?
Thanks
L xoxo
 
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Darkmaverick

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HI Shizzam,

That is normal and is not a cause for worry. The flicking motion facilitates oxygen exchange.

Cheers.
 

slimer

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i think thats just normal , i see mine doing it sometimes,and it doesn't appear that anythings wrong with them.
 

Jacquie

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Yes, occasional flapping of the gills is normal.

Axolotls are very lazy creatures. Rather than going through the effort of swimming to a part of the tank that has a supply of fresher water and oxygen, the axolotl will instead flap his gills in order to move the fresh water and oxygen past him.
 
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John

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Sometimes very ill axolotls will constantly flick their gills (flick, 1 second break, flick, 1 second break, flick, etc) but occasional flicking is normal as has been said.
 
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