Juvie Axolotl gasping for air frequently (every minute or so)

[Fullmoon]

Hi everyone!

I'm gonna try to give you the most informations possible. I'm worried for Gary he (or she) is 3 months old. I got him from a pet store last Thursday ( 5 days ago), I am new to this, never had an aquarium before and they didn't told me about cycling a tank so the tank is actually cycling with him in it.
Only good size stones on the bottom, two little Anubias and one Java fern, 2 fake plant to hide the sponge filter, 2 spots to hide in a 57L tank but I only put 24L of water

I do a water test everyday with a kit, as I saw that he was gasping air more frequently I did a 25% water change ( I do that every 2 days), yesterday readings were:
-Ammonia 0,25ppm
-Nitrite 0,25ppm
-Nitrate 5ppm
-PH 8

Temperature is always between 18-19° and his tail is still curled.
No direct sun no light in the tank only the room light, I live in the UK so it's grey all the time.
Eating normaly. (frozen Blood worms, living Daphnea, Living worms)

What made me ask for help now is that Gary is going up to gasp for air, he usually go back down and try to stay at the bottom but now he's just going up for air giving up on going down and just float at the surface and slowly sinking down. He does that every minute or so I think it's too much what should I do?

Also his gills looks really pale.




Thank you for your help.

 

[Dolphinlover55]

Usually an axolotl will swim up to the surface and gasp air if there isn't enough oxygen in the water. It seems unusual though that your oxygen levels would be low, especially since your water is being changed every two days and your tank is not overcrowded. It might help to add a few more inches of water to your tank, and if you can, test the oxygen levels. Also, check and make sure your filter is flowing properly. The pale gills are normal though. When an axie's gills get pale it's usually just because they are in a relaxed or calm mode, whereas when an axie's gills get bright red it's because they are in a hunting or active swimming mode. The gill stalks contain blood vessels, which are very visible on the lighter-coloured axolotls. When an axolotl is excited, for example, in front of food, more blood rushes to the gills to ensure greater oxygen takeup.