Axolotl behaving worryingly!

[Letitluce]

One of my axolotls (Paulo), who is about one year old, has been behaving worryingly. A few weeks ago he swallowed some very small stones (I have replaced these with larger pebbles now) and has been passing them regularly. He stopped eating as often as he usually does, but as he still ate every now and then and was not floating I assumed he was not constipated and simply uncomfortable, so I decided to leave him be and let him pass the stones on his own.

What concerns me is the sudden shift in behaviour I have noticed. Yesterday, when offered food, he would seem to startle away before gulping frantically at everything, swimming around the tank, before going to the surface to gulp air.

This is very odd for Paulo - him and his tank mate Ringo haven't gulped air since they were much younger, and he is generally very calm.

Asides from curled forward gills (they have been that way for a while now) he seems to be in fine physical condition. I don't think it is heat stress as I make a great effort to keep the tank below 20 degrees.

First of all, does anybody have any idea what might be wrong with him? I hate to see him so uncomfortable and wish to do what I can to help
Also, I have been considering putting him in another tank - one with no pebbles at all, not only so I can easily monitor what he is passing but also because in his current state I fear him gulping even the large pebbles. Would this be a reasonable thing to do, or will taking him away from Ringo simply stress him out more?

Please help! Much appreciated.

p.s I am not sure of either axolotls' gender, but I have been finding unfertilised eggs in the tank.

 

[auntiejude]

Are you sure you're finding eggs and not spermatophores? And and you sure Paolo is not a Paula and about to lay eggs? Females often go off thier food and act weird when they are laying.

If you're sure Paolo is not gravid do you think he still has gravel inside? If so a few days in the fridge may help him pass them. Tutorial here.

Photos would help in any case - rear end of your axies and the 'eggs' you're finding.

 

[Kaini]

I think isolating him to see what he's passing is a very good idea. They aren't social at all, so removing him from Ringo isn't going to stress him in any way. Keep him in clean, cool water on his own and monitor him.

Are the new pebbles a good deal bigger than the axolotl's head? If not there's still a risk of being swallowed.

 

[Letitluce]

I have attached an image of Paulo (sorry about the quality, he is sitting at an odd angle). I am pretty sure he is a male based from the lump, but I'm not sure. I you notice anything wrong with him in the picture please let me know!

I will put him in a separate tank today and monitor him for a few days - I will try putting him in the fridge after that; I would rather not have to as I've never done it and don't want to make things worse.

There are no eggs in the tank at the moment but they are usually white, almost hairy looking balls which float.

 

[layna]

What are you feeding them?
Rotton food, most often pellets, will get a mould layer around them and float to the top.

As said above, if your new pebbles arent bigger than the axies head, they can still swallow them, have you ever googled an axie yawning?

 

[auntiejude]

Eggs aren't hairy and they don't float.
Keep him isolated for a while and monitor him. That photo isn't showing his bum in thr right way to make a determination on gender though.