floating axolotl

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dogan

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Dogan
just before my axie has been floating. i saw her try to swim down, she just floated back up. i moved one of the floating plants she swam back down but her tail and cloaca area is a little bit above the rest of her body. is this normal?

shes been eating her earthworms every second day. she swims around nicely all day. her tank temperature is all good. i change around 20% water everyday.

is it normal for her to float like that? or is it normal for her cloaca region to rise slightly?
 
Sometimes their hind end floats when they need a good poo. Keep an eye on her, and if she's floating for more than a few days, you may have to do something. But I wouldn't worry about it just yet.
 
i had a look just then.. she gets a gulp of air then she floats,
i moved the floating plant from near her then she swam down,
some air bubble came out of her mouth then she stayed on the bottom with her cloaca floating upwards.

it used to happen to some of my fish when they used to get too much oxygen into their bodies, could this be the same thing?

EDIT: she flicked her gills a couple of times and then her rear end went back down.
 
This is as characteristic of female axolotls, Mine has been doing this for absolutely ages. They do like to float around i find it helps to put a few plants in there so they have something to stand on when they gulp air to float around. The tilting can mean she needs a poo, or just that she has gulped some air and is sticking her bum up. Most probably the latter especially if her legs are spread out for balance.
I worried about mine for literally months when she started doing this, then i realised after speaking to somebody who looks after them in a zoo that the girls just tend to do this. Apparently it is more common with albinos
 
Being female and being albino has nothing to do with it.

They float on occasion because of many reasons: gulped air, trapped gas, pending defecation, etc.
 
ohh ok thats great to hear..
my one is a white axolotl with black eyes.. does that mean leucistic?


thanks for all your help!
 
Yes she is leucistic. I agree with Kaysie.
 
Hi Dogan,

I have three axies at present. One likes to float and gulp air, One likes to swim mid tank up and down and the third likes to walk and only swims to get to his food. I put it down to being a "different strokes for different folks" type of thing.

How long have you had your axie? What kind of sustrate are you using and has it ever neen on a gravel or small pebble substrate? It can take months for an axie to clear gravel and pebbles through their system if they have ever eaten any and floating as you describe can sometimes indicate that they need to pooh.

I wouldn't worry if all your water parameters and temp are good and its eating then yay, relax and enjoy.

Good Luck
 
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ive had my axie for about 2 weeks, i bought it off a lady that especially breed these so most likely it hasnt been on gravel or small pebbles etc. right now its got bare bottom.

the thing im worrying about is that it wasnt doing this before..

EDIT: Its gills are bright red, it tries to swim down but it cant, it just floats back up.. i dont think this is something it wants to do, im going to try to feed it soon, i hope it eats...
 
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I wouldn't worry about the gill colour bright red just means oxygenated. When axies are inactive or asleep their gills are pale when they are active they are brighter this is because of the increased oxygen. Its perfectly normal albeit a bit freaky to witness at first.

The floating is something to watch I have a floater and a swimmer and a walker. The floater was a concern but its just what she does on occaision.

Yours sounds like it may have an impaction or just a bit constipated. I would keep an eye on it as you have been and if it din't settle down in a couple of days I would put it in the fridge for a week or so and you will be able to see what it clears out. Fridging slows down there metabolism and helps them to pass obstructions.

Good Luck
 
i gave it a earthworm before but it didnt eat it.

its last meal was 3 days ago, it was a pretty big earthworm.. could that have something to do with its digestion??

EDIT: Well like 4 days ago his tank cracked i dont how but it did
i moved her to a temporary tub were she was until now, i moved her to his permanent tank thing just then.
While i was moving his plants and rocks and stuff she let out a air bubble and went back down to the bottom of the tank.. i think it was trapped air??

also her body is more redder, is this like the gills because of the oxygenation?

EDIT: OK well she just got another gulp of air.... and.... yep you guessed it! she started floating again.. is there anything i can do about it?
 
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If she's gulping air excessively, this could mean you have a water quality issue.

Did you cycle the tank? What is the temperature? Are you running a bubbler?
 
nah shes not gulping excessively, just occasionally. since i moved her to her new home shes been more happier, shes got much much more room to swim plus shes not floating anymore!
 
I have deleted these posts as they did not pertain to the thread, and detracted from Dogan's issue.
 
well today she had her first axolotl pellet !! she had 3 actually!
i held the pellet in my hand, waved it around her head, she slowly rose, i let go of the pellet and wham! she ate the pellets.
Now whenever i put something above the water she rises to the top of the water and snaps at anything in the way :) i feel like ive accomplished something very big today!
 
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Congrats..
I have been trying to tempt my adult to eat pellets but so far no luck, but I haven't tried your method yet. I like to give my gang as varied a diet as possible, he eats most things...just not the pellets. This is really for in case I am unable to feed him/ them for some reason I thought pellets may be easier for some one else to offer.
 
Mine will eat pellets but only so far if they're dropped directly above or slightly in front of his head and he'll snap at them as they descend thru the water. Won't eat them off the bottom however.
 
ye mine doesnt eat from the bottom either, and shes floating again... its gills look slightly more forward than usual aswell.. maybe im just seeing it like that, but for sure her gills are much redder. Its tail is more red aswell...

EDIT: I just tried feeding it, it didnt eat and also ive spotted something on one of the red filaments on its gill stalks, it looks like a white filament, it doesnt look fuzzy, it just looks like a red filament which has lost its colour. It was doing fantastic last night, but when i woke up i saw it floating again... im starting to get concerned again
 
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i had a look at her now, her gill has this cloudy thing that looks like abit of cotton. When she swims roughly or fast they kind of fall off, ill post a pic up soon.
Is this fungus? what can i do to get rid of it?
 
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