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Illness/Sickness: Unable to keep tail from floating, becoming chronic

Katrinamazing

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PLEASE HELP LUCY! :confused:

Lucy Liu, my Juvenile Leucistic GFP Axolotl has a problem with keeping her tail from floating. This has been happening approximately once a week for about a month now. She gets very stressed while trying to keep her tail down. Every time it happens, I move her to a shallow container so she won't struggle so much. Usually within a few hours she is back to normal and I am able to put her back in her home.

Even though she recovers quickly, she gets very stressed when it happens and I would like to know what I can do to prevent this. I have tried changing from brine shrimp, salmon strips, and bloodworms (all frozen).

Diet:
Now on Omega One frozen whole bloodworms (hand fed)

Environment:
20 gallon long (Currently cycling their new home, a 40 gallon breeder)
Eheim 2213 canister filter
Fine sand substrate
Plenty of hides
3 Marimo moss balls
1 Large Anubias Nana

Water Parameters (API Freshwater Master Test Kit):
PH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 40
Temperature: 65-69 Degrees Fahrenheit (I live in Texas and have not been able to successfully keep the temperature below 65)
Water changes: Goal is 30% daily - Occasionally miss a day due to medical appointments.

Is this normal, or have you experienced the same? Her sister, Dirty Sally, has never had this problem and they eat and live together. They are both juvenile Leucistics, 4 inches long - Lucy is GFP, Sally is a non GFP. Their gender is unknown, but decided to give them female names :eek:

Your advice will be much appreciated!
 

KCKme

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Hello. Not an expert by any means, only can impart based on limited experience this past year- and lots of reading on this site Would suggest moving away from bloodworms for food. They are not very healthy. At 4in, your axie's should be able to take small earthworms or larger ones that are cut up. High quality pellets are okay. This Texas heat has been something this year! Understand how hard it is to keep the water cold; 65-69F is the very outer limit of what axie's can handle. Would highly recommend investing in a chiller. They are expensive, but you will have much happier, less stressed and healthier axie's in the long run. And healthy axie's don't need super expensive trips to the vet ;)

Do a search on this forum for floating. There are lots and lots of discussions on the topic, you should be able to find some expert advise to assist.
 

Katrinamazing

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Thank you so much for your reply, Kasey! I've done tons of reading (this site, Facebook groups, and Google) and have gotten different answers...

Finally, the light-bulb went off, and your message confirmed it... The temp is too high in their home! I knew it was stressful for them, but I didn't know it would cause floating tail syndrome. :eek:

Yes, I am definitely going to invest in a chiller... If I am this stressed, I can't imagine my poor babies!

Thanks again, KCKme!
 

Katrinamazing

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