Help! Floating

[tellison]

I'm a new axie owner and have read and read and read and still can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. She floats every few days no matter what I do and has been floating for several days in a row now.

I don't know how old my axie is - bought her from someone on craigslist- but I have her in a 10 gallon acquarium with about 6-7 inches of water in it. I have a small filter system, some really big gravel too big for her to eat in 1/2 the aquarium, one large rock she likes to sit on and a fake floating plant for cover. I have a stick-on thermometer on the acquarium to make sure she stays well below 70 degrees (floating frozen bottles as needed) and have tested the water PH which is neutral. Water is well water, not too soft, not clorinated. I feed her shrimp pellets and try earthworms and waxworms but she'll rarely eat these.

Water does stay pretty cloudy and even with trying one of those gravel vacuum things I couldn't get all the stuff out so had to completely dump the aquarium and put fresh water in. I didn't like doing this but I read on another site today though that changing 100% of water was ok.

What else can I do?

 

[ianclick]

Hi Tellison and welcome,

10 gallons is ok for a juvenile but is getting a bit small for an adult. Also your water level is fairly low. I appreciate that you have done a lot of reading but here is some more www.axolotl.org this site has the answers to all your questions.

There are many filters available I use waterfall types with diffusers to reduce the current into the tank. under gravel filters are used successfully by some breeders and keepers but there can be some problems with this form of filtration.

I suggest that you get test kits for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. These are available from most pet shops but I know Petco has them in your country.

Do you know about tank cycling? if not then the site I have given you will help. 100% water changes are ok they will definitely keep ammonia down but they also prevent the growth of beneficial bacteria needed for your tanks health. 20% every 2 or 3 days is a good regime whilst your tank is cycling and you can drop this to weekly when your tank has cycled.

Ok then this is turning into a bit of a book but the last things are how long is your axie? and can you post your water parameters. If you don't have a test kit most pet stores will do a water test if you take them a sample. Just get them to do the test Don't but there remedies until you have posted your results and gotten some feedback.

Finally some axies like to float. Its just part of what they do. Excessive floating however is normally indicating something is wrong. The info on your water parameters will help to narrow the field.

The absolute best advice I can give is do have a look at the site I have given you and keep posting.

Good Luck

 

[oregon newt]

Cloudy water doesn't do any harm to your animal so don't worry about that. Good luck!:happy:

 

[Jennewt]

Cloudy water doesn't do any harm to your animal so don't worry about that. Good luck!:happy:

That's potentially dangerous advice. It depends on why the water is cloudy. If it's cloudy because the crud stuck among the pebbles is decaying, that can be deadly, and it could explain the floating.

I would recommend getting rid of most of the pebbles. Do partial water changes daily and see if the water will stay clear. A turkey baster works well for removing crud from the bottom of the tank daily.

As a tank ages, the water parameters drift. The longer it has been, the more the water has changed from the source water, and the bigger the shock to the animal when you change 100% of the water at once. It is possible to maintain an animal using the "fishbowl method". This entails changing 100% of the water every day or - at most - every 3-4 days. However, this kind of routine is difficult to maintain long-term. Better to read up on cycling and try to achieve a balanced system with partial water changes and crud removal.

Is the axie still eating normally? If so, then I wouldn't worry about occasional floating. You might want to try adding some hiding places at the bottom of the tank, like a cave of some sort.

 

[tellison]

My axie is about 9 or 10 inches long from nose to tip of tail. I will have to get a test kit to check the nitrates/nitrates etc as I don't have that and have also added a turkey baster to my list of stuff to buy. His filter is a waterfall type that has very, very low output so there is not too much water movement. He actually loves his filter and will swim under the uptake tube and sometimes find him trying to squeeze himself between the filter and the wall of the aquarium. I don't know what that's about! He is eating normally, he eats daily though and seemed VERY hungry last night. He ate probably 20 shrimp pellets and even cleaned them up off the bottom of the aquarium.

 

[digger]

If your axie is still floating remove them to the fridge in a container of dechlorinated water, just enough to cover their back.
Cover the pot with something dark to stop light and temp fluctuations.Pop a bottle of dechlorinated water in the fridge also to do water changes.
When you have checked your water post the results here and someone will give you advice on what to do.