Help me please!!

[anonymousaxolol]

Hello Fellow Enthusiasts,
My axolotl has been acting strange for the past few weeks. He has been floating and he does not eat very much yet looks healthy. For water parameters, I will post those when I do my water change this afternoon. Often, I will find him in a corner or in the plants I have in my aquarium. His gills have never been very large and they have never been particularly red so I have nothing to compare them to as they look the same. Any advice?
Thanks,
Anonymous Axolol

 

[Skudo09]

Has he been pooing? Could he be constipated? Can he get to the bottom if he wants to? If so I would not worry too much. Check your water parameters including temperature. Are the gills always red or just after he has been active (they will often become more red if they have been active as more blood supply goes to that area)?

 

[anonymousaxolol]

I have a feeling he is constipated but I am not sure how to check. He is able to sink back to the bottom and I will have water parameters within the next few hours. Is there such thing as an axolotl laxative? He has been eating without expanding width wise.

 

[anonymousaxolol]

My parameters are as such:
Ammonia: 0mg/L
Nitrite: 0mg/L
Nitrate:20mg/L
pH:7.6mg/L
Phosphates: 5mg/L
Could my absurdly high phosphates be the cause of my axolotl's illness?
How would someone go about lowering the phosphates in one's aquarium?
Thanks,

 

[Zobug]

Hmmm I'm also going to tick my vote in the "constipated" category. His cloaca looks swollen to me, which is also a symptom of constipation aside from uncontrollable floating. If your axolotl is an adult, sometimes daily feedings can plug them up because they digest more slowly than younger axolotls. I'm not sure how often you feed your axolotl, but I figured I'd throw that in there too. I'd monitor him for a couple more days, maybe 2-3, and if he's still floating I would fridge him to help pass whatever is plugging him up.