floating...

[sharelkaye]

I have three axolots mew, izzy, and gizmo. Gizmo is my wild type axie and i recently put sand in their home, but now gizmo seems to stay at the top and can't stay down. i tried to coax him to the bottom but when he swims down he just floats back up....is something wrong with him? I have a constant temp of 65 because of my chiller and he is still eating well, but what is it and what can i do to help him...:errr:

 

[Bellabelloo]

Keep a close eye on him , but my axolotl do this from time to time, usually prior to depositing a pooh.

 

[sharelkaye]

he is still eating but can't seem to stay down its been about a week and im scared something is wrong....it seems like he is stuck on top and i have tried pushing him down but he just floats back up and the other two are fine.

 

[Jacquie]

Hi Sharelkaye,

It may be the shock of the sand being added, your other axies just may be tougher in enduring change. One of my axies has just 'recovered' from this form of shock .

I would try fridging him. Put him in a tub of dechlorinated fresh water, ensure the water covers him but make sure he can touch the ground of the tub, set the fridge to about 5 degrees (no lower), place a couple of bottles of dechlorinated water in the fridge as well - these will be used for water change that will need to be done daily and keeps his temperature constant while changing water, cover him with a teatowel so he is not disturbed by the fridge light coming on and off.

If you could post your tank parameters so we can eliminate the water conditions as a possible cause, that would be of help.

Cheers Jacq.

 

[sharelkaye]

Last time i check everything was good except my amonia level was a little higher than it is supposed to but i have done a water change since then and cleaned my tank really good right before i put the sand. My tank didn't cloud up from the sand and im so happy for that, but what would cause this floating???

 

[Jacquie]

Last time i check everything was good except my amonia level was a little higher than it is supposed to but i have done a water change since then and cleaned my tank really good right before i put the sand.

Hi Sharelkaye,

How much of a water change did you do for the ammonia?

When you say you 'cleaned my tank really good' what do you mean by this? How did you clean it? Did you clean it using the old water in the tank?

When you put in the sand, did you also put the old water back in or did you do a full water change?

Also, did you let the new tank setup with the sand stand for a few hours (a day is recommended) before putting the axies back in?

My tank didn't cloud up from the sand and im so happy for that, but what would cause this floating???

There are a lot of reasons why an axie will float :happy::

• It could be gas and if so the axie will burp to clear it...this can take a while
• It could be the condition of the water - some axies have a better constitution than others, while your other axies may be fine, the floating axie may be having trouble coping
• It could be stress caused by the changes made to the axies home (ie. putting in new substrate)
• It could be he just wants to poop and is taking his time doing this.
• It could be he is constipated and is trying to clear 'it'.
• It could be he just wants to float...axies can just do this for no reason at all.

Have you tried fridging?

 

[sharelkaye]

i didn't think he need to be put in the fridge because its pretty cold in the tank. I know this might seem bad but it worked and seemed to be okay but i after rinsing it i filled the sad with water and poored the sand in while my axies where in there because i had large rocks in there i was just going ot put the sand on top. It clouded up for a couple hours but that was cause the sand had to sink down. Would this cause the floating though? he does swallow air but usually blows bubbles out when he is eating.... i didn't do a complete water change and by cleaning good i ment i have a gravel vac and it sucks all the debree between the rocks and filter and the back stuff out...what should i be looking for or doing?

 

[Jacquie]

I know this might seem bad but it worked and seemed to be okay but i after rinsing it i filled the sad with water and poored the sand in while my axies where in there because i had large rocks in there i was just going ot put the sand on top.

Ah well. What's done is done. Next time, take the axies out of the tank and transfer them to another container when making such a drastic change to their living space.

It clouded up for a couple hours but that was cause the sand had to sink down. Would this cause the floating though?

If he was in the tank as all these changes were happening then yes I would say he is floating due to stress.

i didn't do a complete water change and by cleaning good i ment i have a gravel vac and it sucks all the debree between the rocks and filter and the back stuff out

That's good. I was concerned you may have refilled with new water and this would have knackered up your 'cycle'.

i didn't think he need to be put in the fridge because its pretty cold in the tank...what should i be looking for or doing?

Fridge temperature is significantly colder than tank water (please refer to my previous post for directions). Fridge temp 41.00 fahrenheit converts to 5.00 degrees celsius. Your tank temp of 65.00 degrees fahrenheit converts to 18.33 degrees celsius. It's a big difference.

If the axie is still floating, I would put him in the fridge for a 'vacation' for a couple of days.

If he is floating due to stress this will calm him down and as you put him in just enough water to completely cover him his feet can touch the ground and this will also aleviate the stress he may be feeling.

If he is constipated or has an obstruction, the cold water will help pass this.

If he is floating just for the fun of it :happy:, the fridge certainly won't hurt him - axies love the cold.

 

[sharelkaye]

im not really sure how to change the temp of my fridge but i put my chiller on 57 to lower the temp a little bit so its not a dramatic change in temp from one pleace to another...he still seems to be eating good and swimming around and biting my finger...haha....and the other day i thought he might have stoped floating but it was only for a bit and its like he filled back up with air and went back to the top....ill keep an eye on him and try to figure out my fridge thanks for all the help..

 

[Jacquie]

Hey, no problem - you're most welcome.

...he still seems to be eating good and swimming around and biting my finger...haha....

Well those are the important parts - eating well, exercise and lots of attitude!

Keep us posted,

Cheers Jacq.