Coming up for air

[leigh]

Hi, I have had my Axolotls for 3 months now, but recently, they have been coming up to gulp air, a lot. One of my axolotls has been staying at the surface for long periods of time.. are they distressed? should i be concerned?

 

[joan]

How warm is the water? Do you have a filter or an airstone which helps aerate the water? It's natural for axies to gulp air, and they will do so when there isn't a lot of oxygen in the water.

 

[leigh]

water temp varies between 17 and 22 deg.. have got a air stone nd filter, pretty sure water is well airated..one of axolotls has been spending hours at the surface. All 3 have stopped eating, nd today one has developed a fungus on her gills... Not sure what to do
(Message edited by hendo82 on June 13, 2006)

(Message edited by hendo82 on June 13, 2006)

 

[joan]

Did you cycle your aquarium? Can you get it any cooler? For the fungus, you'll need to give salt baths. Have you read through www.axolotl.org yet? It's a good place to start.

 

[leigh]

Yea cycled before adding axies, they have been in the same tank for prob 3 months now. will try to lower water temp.. My PH is in the high 7's nd ammonia 0.25 mg/L, will lowering both help? Have read a little on salt bath's will give it a go

cheers for the advice

 

[lorie]

IF THERE'S WHITE FUNUS ON THE GILLS THEN...
Make a salt bath for them. What youe do is dip the effected animal in sea water for 10 minutes a day for three days in a row OR use table salt and put 2-3 teaspoons of salt per 2 pints of water and bath them twise a day foer 10 mins. NO MORE THAN THAT because you'll damage their skin and gills.

 

[sharn]

ph shouldnt be a prob, ammonia is though. even .25 is still enough to cause irritation, water changes will help get rid of this (perhaps 30% every 2-3 days) but youll need to try work out whats causing it.

did you clean out your filters recently? if so in tank or tap water?
did you recently feed? perhaps something got stuck somewhere and is rotting?
did you recently add more animals to the tank?

 

[leigh]

Fungus on gill's has dissapeared,

Have had axies in the fridge for the past 3 days , they are looking much better + they have eaten a little

yea cleaned filter recently nd i used tap water, thinking that prop wasnt good for the bacteria due the chlorine ha ha, the beauty of high-n-sight.

Have added some fish n snails to tank, but did not quarintine them, not a good idea, I know.

Will do some water changes nd c how it go's..

Thanks again

 

[alex]

yes it would of been from when you cleaned your filter and that would of caused a mini cycle. no need for the fish and snails in the tank because it wont take long till the bacteria are up and running again. glad to hear the fungus is gone.

 

[edward]

Lorie,

Your treatment regimen maybe insufficient to clear fungal infections.
Here is a good article on what is required. http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/salt.shtml

In normal circumstances you do not want to use a volumetric (teaspoon/tablespoon) as the measuring point for salt as depending on the type of salt used there can be large differences between the amount that ends up in the tank. Salt that comes in small granules like tablesalt will allow for more salt per volume that salt that comes in large granules like some kosher salts which is why the article recommends a weight as opposed to volume measurement.

Ed