Keeping head out of water

[kapo]

Our tanks vary from 7.2-7.6 in ph.

Do u use a dechlorinator with tapwater for waterchanges?

To be on safe side do daily or every 2 day testings and if ammonia or nitrite seem higher than your lowest reading then do a 20% waterchange.

If he does appear to be stressed still it might pay to put him back in the bucket and do daily changes. He has been thru a bit of a stressful time with feeder fish nibbling at his gills. Try raw red meat strips as well to see if he will eat. (One of ours didn't eat for weeks when she was sick)

 

[amber]

Ok. Here's a quick deely you can nab.

Get a bit of flat bogwood, some nylon and a strong binder edge, the triangluar ones.

Tie the nylon round the ends of the wood, and onto the binder so you get a swing shape - so: |_|

Then prop the binder edge across the top of your tank (near the side), and adjust so the "hammock" is about two inches under the water.

Your 'lotl will be able to sit on this and stick his head out if he chooses - much less work and much less stressful.

It also works well if you lower it to about 5" below the surface for axies that like to sit on things. Mine is covered with christmas moss, and Spyyk loves it.

www.spyyk.blogspot.com - near the bottom you can see her in action with her toy.

Try it out, it might settle him down, not having to fight to keep up there.

(Message edited by indigobluefish on November 10, 2006)

 

[teesha]

try feeding a tthe evening, they are most likely to eat then, it might entise him. i hope he gets better!! Maybe the white thicker shiney skin or what u were saying, is impairing him from breathing (they breathe through their skin) so he is hanging out the top for more oxygen. I don't really know what causes teh sin thing, i think its tempurature. This is my 2 cents worth anyways!!!

 

[mischa]

Thanks for all of your help. Pickles is still eating (voraciously actually!) and spending more and more time on the bottom of the tank. I think the air rock has made a big difference, and we lowered the water and piled the rocks so he can sit up near the top if he wants to. BUT, his gills still look terrible (they now look like he was in a big fight, all messed up and half missing!) and his tail is still all weird. Hopefully time will heal that. I am just so glad he is still alive!

We do dechlorinate the water when we do water changes. We are doing everything in our power to make life stress-free for him.

I still think he might be morphing though - unless someone knows why tails do that (we don't have any temperature probs)!