floating babies

[dvsgal]

some of my babies are floating upside down, they are alive and moving but when the sit still they flip up and float, is this normal? Im hoping its air :|

 

[salamandra]

arnt they able to control there weight and stuff in the water? that sounds a little bad? somthing must be wrong with the water or somthing or a illness i would have them all in differant little tanks and keep an eye of them all and give them a 20% water change as well

 

[Jake]

Hi Sarah,
It sounds like the babies are just over-due for a feeding. They normally will float like that if they get hungry. It should go away once they have food in them. If it doesn't, then it may be the water quality.

 

[Bellabelloo]

Air bubble perhaps? Mine occasionally would develope a small air bubble in their stomach area when they where quite tiny. I have read it may be because they where left to get a bit too hungry...I suspect its trapped wind as their stomachs are learning to eat different foods . I would seperate mine into a container and leave them some where dark and cool..remember to offer food still, sometimes they would right them selves and occasionally they would die.

 

[dvsgal]

I checked on them this morning and all is fine. I feed them mosquito larvae, i leave the larvae in the containers about 4 per axie, the larvae live about 3 days if have not been eaten. So it wasnt a feeding issue as they always have food in their tummys and on offer. But i did notice them snapping at an air bubble this morning and im guessing that might have been the problem. As for water im using my adults water, and I test the water everyday to be safe.

 

[dvsgal]

I have a pic of the baby with an air bubble, I suppose the good thing, is its still chasing mosquito larvae...only upside down

 

[Jake]

That is a picture of a very hungry axolotl larva. The underside should not indent like that, it should always be plump, full of food. Have you tried newly hatched brine shrimp? Maybe your mosquitoes are too big for it to eat, but it's definitely in need of a good meal.

 

[John]

Jake is right. At that age they swallow air when they aren`t eating food.

 

[dvsgal]

that long black line u see is food. u can see a airbubble in its tummy aswell, i have been watching it eat with my very own eyes, its eaten 3 mozzie larvae this morning and still floating around. all the others a fine, and they get fed the same amounts and everything else. If it was not fed it would have died by now.

 

[John]

When they are satisfactorily fed they have bulging stomachs all the time with no air. Not enough food leads to air in the gut.