Caudata.org: Newts and Salamanders Portal

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Did you know that registered users see fewer ads? Register today!

He’s floating

Rosie1230

New member
Joined
Jun 9, 2019
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Arizona
My axolotl isn’t moving much and he’s floating. He was fine yesterday. If not a little sluggish. He won’t eat anything. I’ve tried blood worms and krill. They’re his favorite. He literally won’t eat anything else.
 

KumquatSquats

New member
Joined
Apr 17, 2019
Messages
162
Reaction score
1
Location
WA
i see you are in arizona, is it possible that the tank got too hot? over 70f you can see signs of heat stress and over 75f can become an emergency fast
 

Rosie1230

New member
Joined
Jun 9, 2019
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Arizona
The temp is at 65°. I have fans on him and if it gets too hot I can bring him downstairs. I don’t think it’s heat.
 

KumquatSquats

New member
Joined
Apr 17, 2019
Messages
162
Reaction score
1
Location
WA
if hes still little (based on bloodworms and krill as foods) he could have swallowed too much air and not know how to burp it up, does he seem to have trouble swimming down or is he floating by choice? if they seem stuck floating move them to an isolation tub where the water can be low enough to just cover them, this should help them calm down and burp out the air.

if hes over 4 inches long my suggestion is to try other foods, those foods are ok for babies but dont have the nutrition bigger axolotls need. Pellets can be hard to get your 'lotl to switch to at first but are pretty easy overall, earthworms are the best food for them but can be hard to keep in stock so sometimes i freeze them for later.
 

Rosie1230

New member
Joined
Jun 9, 2019
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Arizona
Uh is this normal? He’s turning black. I’ll move him to isolation. But he’s really still.
 

Attachments

  • 9C4ED2E9-923C-4E2E-AE2D-813ABFF725B4.jpg
    9C4ED2E9-923C-4E2E-AE2D-813ABFF725B4.jpg
    291.2 KB · Views: 442

Rosie1230

New member
Joined
Jun 9, 2019
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Arizona
I’m getting scared. He’s in the fridge while I run and get him earthworms. I think he’s really sick
 

Attachments

  • 0081404B-DC74-4B32-B5AD-CCBF87FF24A2.jpg
    0081404B-DC74-4B32-B5AD-CCBF87FF24A2.jpg
    372.6 KB · Views: 402
  • 482E6394-38CE-48B8-89CB-42753AD0B2D5.jpg
    482E6394-38CE-48B8-89CB-42753AD0B2D5.jpg
    413.1 KB · Views: 407

Hayleyy

New member
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
1,240
Reaction score
17
Location
NSW
Oh wow, I haven't seen anything like that before. Do you have pic of him before he started having issues?
 

KumquatSquats

New member
Joined
Apr 17, 2019
Messages
162
Reaction score
1
Location
WA
that looks like internal bleeding or organ problems to me :(
beyond my scope of knowledge unfortunately
 

Locke

New member
Joined
Jun 27, 2019
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
Location
Memphis, Tn
Is there substrate at the bottom? Small gravel? Looks like impaction to me. Fridge them, give them stress coat, and prey.
 

WasabiThumbs

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2019
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Location
Easton, PA
I'm definitely underqualified but I have heard in some places that axolotls don't take kindly to stress coat. Take this with a grain of salt.
 

Locke

New member
Joined
Jun 27, 2019
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
Location
Memphis, Tn
I'm definitely underqualified but I have heard in some places that axolotls don't take kindly to stress coat. Take this with a grain of salt.

Really? Have you had any negative effects? I add stress coat to my water treatment tank, but I don't add it directly to the tank. I had hoped it would improve their slime coat.
 

Hayleyy

New member
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
1,240
Reaction score
17
Location
NSW
How is this one going? I would probably take it to the vet if you can, I really don't know what can cause the colouration issue! It would be helpful to know the tank parameters as well in case that is contributing.
 

Kingfisher

Member
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
81
Reaction score
3
Location
Vancouver Island
I'm not 100% sure but it also looks like his gills are positioned forward, usually meaning he maybe under stress of some sort.
 

honeydew

Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2018
Messages
35
Reaction score
1
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
Is it possible that this is a tiger salamander larvae thats morphing? I’ve never seen this coloration before in an axolotl.

EDIT: Wow sorry, just realized how old this post is! I’d like to know if this was the case though..
 
Last edited:

Kitan

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2019
Messages
101
Reaction score
7
Location
Ontario
To answer the unanswered question (because I too was curious)

https://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?p=493864#post493864

Seem highly likely that Sebastian was not, in fact, an Axolotl XD XD He was obviously stressed from him gills positioning, but I expect what was happening is he was morphing. Turns out Sebastian came from a bait shop and dont expect the shop to have a lot of knowledge on the bait aside from it's relation as effective bait :p

I want to know how this turned out though!! Does OP now have a salamander?
 

Autistic Catholic

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2022
Messages
753
Reaction score
252
Location
Virginia
I know this post is very old, but I'm still curious as to whether the final verdict on what species Sebastian belonged to was ultimately a tiger salamander.
 
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Top