Help! Curled gills!

[Caileighferg]

Hello, all! I recently got 2 little axies! Yesterday morning, I noticed their gills being very curled and as a new axolotl owner, it concerns me!! So I have them in a 10 gallon aquarium right now. The water temp is 68-70 degrees (I’ve been trying to lower it with a small fan but it only took it down 2 degrees... ) They have an in-tank filter that I’ve tied a bath loofah to and it does a great job of cutting down water flow. I’ve tested the water and the alkalinity is a bit high so I’ll need to get something to bring that down asap. I’ve had them for about 3 days now and they’re eating great!. Please let me know what you think!! I’ve added pictures of the two!

 

[tinasvfx]

If you've only had them for 3 days I wouldn't worry too much, they might just be a little stressed out because of the move. Bop pouted for a few days when I first got her too. I put her in a new tank earlier today and she pouted for about an hour, then went right back to being herself.

But, when in doubt, change the water. - that's always my motto. Especially because it sounds like everything else is good. Their eating, the tail isn't curled, so that's a good sign at least! I would just keep trying to make the temp a bit cooler. The fan is a great idea! I had a tabletop fan for Bop when she was in a 10g during the summer.

Did you cycle the tank before you got them?

 

[Caileighferg]

I didn’t properly cycle it. I used Tetra Safestart and moved some decorations from one of my other cycled aquariums to transfer some good bacteria. My temp has been fluctuating from 66 and 68. How would you recommend me getting it a little cooler?

 

[tinasvfx]

I didn’t properly cycle it. I used Tetra Safestart and moved some decorations from one of my other cycled aquariums to transfer some good bacteria. My temp has been fluctuating from 66 and 68. How would you recommend me getting it a little cooler?

I havent had to cool Bops tank down myself, but if it's consitantly around that temp, try a frozen water bottle. There are a lot of different methods I've seen mentioned on here. This site has been my godsend!

 

[Tye]

I'm not a master, in fact I've only had my two for about a week, however I've been scouring this forum for months now. Just make sure you do daily water tests to make sure there's low to no ammonia and nitrite while the tank is cycling and keep up with water changes.

They might just be stressed from the move, or small enough that the gills fall forward naturally.

For the temp be careful of sudden temp drops. Water bottles can be really good at lowering the temp but you don't want the temp to drop too quickly, you want it to take 40 to 60 mins and lower slowly, or else that could also make them stressed. Water bottles also tend to fluctuate up and down as the ice melts so you have to watch it to keep it steady.
Do you have a glass top? I know you said you had a fan, which is hard to mount on glass.
I noticed my tank was hovering at 70 to 74 the first day I had it, but after changing the glass top out for a mesh and putting a fan on it it dropped to 64.
Just keep feeding them, monitoring water quality and you should see some improvement.

 

[Caileighferg]

I have a plastic top that has a filter section and a feeding hole section. I have the fan angled down through the hole beside the filter. It seems to keep the water much cooler,