Buoyancy Issues :(

[Zorak]

I had to go away for two days on a business trip, and now that I'm back, it seems that at least one of my two juvie axies is having buoyancy issues, having trouble "staying down" as it were.

I did water checks, and there really isn't much difference from when I left other than the hardness is slightly down. It was on the high end of hardness before, now it's on the sorta-hard end of hardness.

Should I knock some rocks around in there to get the hardness up or what? I can't imagine that this isn't stressful for the axie.

 

[flan123]

Hi!

There are plenty of people experiencing floating axies but it could be down to a number of things.

What exactly are your water parameters?

 

[Zorak]

10 Gallon tank, base water used was spring water, untreated. An airstone is used alongside Java Moss for filtration. Substrate is river rock.

Water conditions chemically:
ultra low Nitrate/ Nitrite
PH ~ 7.0-7.5
KH ~ 180
GH ~ 120
Ammonia levels are low

I'm pretty sure its tank related since both Axies seem to be having the problem. I'm going to try in a few hours knocking around the rocks inside and seeing if I can get the hardness back up to what it was; maybe they simply acclimated to the old hardness and so they're having balance issues?

They both fight to swim downwards, and then try to hold down and stick their heads between rocks, or wedge themselves between plants/ rocks and the wall right now. They're not showing any stress signs (gills back and normal, no unusual tail holding)

 

[flan123]

OK.

Is there a chance of Impaction, where a small piece of gravel or rock has become lodged inside the abdomen?

What do the gills and tail look like? If the gills are forward facing and the tail tip is curled this usually indicates clear stress for the animal and would indicate whether the 'floating' is an issue for him or just something he does from time to time.

Also, have you fed him near the surface where he has gulped for his food and taken in excess air?

Can you get a photo up at all?

Thanks

Mike.

 

[flan123]

They both fight to swim downwards, and then try to hold down and stick their heads between rocks, or wedge themselves between plants/ rocks and the wall right now. They're not showing any stress signs (gills back and normal, no unusual tail holding)

Sorry, I either missed this or you added to the post?roud:

 

[Zorak]

OK.

Is there a chance of Impaction, where a small piece of gravel or rock has become lodged inside the abdomen?

What do the gills and tail look like? If the gills are forward facing and the tail tip is curled this usually indicates clear stress for the animal and would indicate whether the 'floating' is an issue for him or just something he does from time to time.

Also, have you fed him near the surface where he has gulped for his food and taken in excess air?

Can you get a photo up at all?

Thanks

Mike.

The rocks are all large river rock, larger than their whole bodies, generally speaking. Impacting is impossible.

The gills are normal, as is the tail. They don't seem to be stressed, though I don't think this whole "having to fight to get to the bottom" thing isn't going to be happy for them.

Actually, there IS a good chance of them consuming excess air: I use an airstone in the tank for filtering, and the Axies really did like swimming through it/ sometimes with their mouth open... Maybe leaving it on while I was gone on my business trip (and not introducing any food during the same time) may have caused this.

I'll see if I can get a photo later.

 

[flan123]

Hi Zorak.

Air consumption is possible but thats as far as my knowledge goes unfortunately. hopefully one of the professionals will pop in with their two cents worth.

Take care.

Mike.

 

[Darkmaverick]

Hi Zorak,

Most of the time, floating is the first sign of temperature related issues. What is the water temperature? Is it stable?

When you mean ultra low and low ammonia etc. levels, do you mean trace amounts or zero. Even trace amounts can make more susceptible axies stressed.

Cheers.

 

[Zorak]

Hi Zorak,

Most of the time, floating is the first sign of temperature related issues. What is the water temperature? Is it stable?

When you mean ultra low and low ammonia etc. levels, do you mean trace amounts or zero. Even trace amounts can make more susceptible axies stressed.

Cheers.

The temp was ~63, and they were zero except for the ammonia, which was trace but treated to be non-toxic.

Regardless, I found out what was wrong (they impacted with oxygen). After turning off the airstone/ introducing food and giving them a night, they eventually worked the bubbles out of their system and are now able to move around like normal!