Axies breathing air???

[NathanF]

My Axies which I have had for a week now seem to be going up and taking gasps of air regularly??? Is this bad? What are they doing?

 

[blackdog]

Define "regularly".

They'll swim up and take a gulp of air once a day or so.

If it's a lot (more than once or twice a day) you might have water quality issues.

Can you post your water parameters and set up?

PH
Ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrate
Temp
Substrate
Tank size
Plants?
tank mates?
Light?
Hides?
Filter?
Air stone?

You've only had them one week? Did you cycle the tank before you got them? Do you know about the nitorgen cycle?

Have you done any water changes in the week you've had them?

More info please

Bren

 

[dragonlady]

Bren brings up some good points here but another thing to consider is the axie's age. Do you know the age of your axolotls?

My younger ones liked to float, swim, and took gulps of air several times a day. So even more than twice a day may not be a time to "panic." I have a couple yearlings who like to hang out in the outflow of my filter, chasing the occasional air bubble that forms in the dispersion.

While it wouldn't be a bad idea to provide the information that Bren has requested just to be safe, even taking gulps more than twice daily may not be anything to worry about. Axolotls are odd little characters and each has a unique personality, so this could be a personality quirk depending on the frequency of the gulps and the information Bren has requested.

Congrats on the new additions!

 

[Kaysie]

Mine gulp air regularly, at least once an hour. Axolotls have rudimentary lungs in addition to their gills, and some exercise them more than others. I only have a small sponge filter in my tank, so the water isn't overly agitated.

 

[NathanF]

I've got one larger mature Axie who is about 7" in length and very well filled out...and then I have 2 younger ones who are about 5" in length. I aquired one from a friend and 2 from a local breeder and introduced them into a new setup at the same time. At first I seperated the young ones from the mature Axie using a piece of clear plastic. My larger mature Axie had previously been housed with about 6 other smaller animals and seemed well adapted enough have tankmates. I've kept an eye on them constantly and they all get along quite well.

I would say the larger Axie takes 2 breaths an hour and that the younger Axies take 4 or 5 breaths an hour. Yes in the week I've had them I have made 2 water changes, changing approx. 30% of the water. Water was left to sit for 30 hours prior.


pH- 7.7
Filter- Fluval U2
Lighting- In basement bedroom with no windows, dark during the day and low artificial light at night
Water temp.- 16C
***not sure how to go about testing the rest of the stuff you asked***

So whats the verdict...is this something to worry about or is this normal behaviour

 

[iChris]

My axolotl is still rather young, but it swims to the surface every so often, takes a gulp of air, then returns to the bottom, and then every so often for the next hour or so, it "burps" or blows a small bubble.

my axolotl is in perfect health, so I think it is normal behavior, as all my water perimeters check out.

 

[dazkeirle]

totally normal behaviour.

One of mine gulps air to aid buoyancy. He'd got it down to an art now so can float whereever he wants.