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Gill Flicks

onyx2011

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Just curious, how often do axolotls typically flick their gills? Tabitha flicked his/her gills 19 times in the span of one minute. Sorry if I sound insane, I'm a new axie mommy and I want to make sure any possible issues don't go unnoticed :)

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Donna001

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I'm sure that we've all watched our axies closely for any change in behaviour and wondered what is normal. :happy:
Gill flicking is normal, although mine don't do it so frequently.
I guess all that they are doing is moving water over their gills to help with absorbing oxygen.
What is the temperature of the water in your tank? Warm water doesn't hold as much oxygen, and if your tank is warm your little one may just be needing to move more water over the gills than they usually do. Maybe.
I'm really not sure what is normal for gill flicks per minute, but as long as Tabitha doesn't seem stressed then it's probably not a problem. :happy:
 

onyx2011

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The tank temperature is usually 67°, it stays that temp regularly. I have a bubble wand in there that runs all the time. Not only does it help with breaking the waters surface, Tabitha loves it. Always jumping in the current or sticking his face into the bubbles while balancing on his driftwood. I think I just caught him after an active spurt, because his activity has been attempting to take a schedule. He seems to like exploring most when the lights are off, but he will stop swimming and approach the glass to watch me walk around, and I got curious about Gill flicking because sometimes he is like a squishy statue and other times is flicking his gills like nobody's business...I think he's training up to prepare for his big escape ?

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Felixtacat

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I've noticed that if I come up to the tank to look at my axolotl her gills start to flick pretty frequently, but if I'm far enough away that she doesn't know I'm there her gills are completely still. I think it's because she's anticipating some worms :) If everything else seems fine, I wouldn't worry


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