Illness/Sickness: Random floating and out of options?

[Sablette]

Sorry in advance for the wall of text.

First time axie owner. Recently got her and all was well the first couple days. She was eating fine, swimming and exploring happily. By day 3 she started going tail up and struggling to get both sets of legs on the ground. And by day 9 sometimes she is found tucking herself between the rocks and plastic plants, Sometimes in her hide with her tail straight up. Not to the point of reaching the surface. Nowhere near. But still concerning. At least two arms are on the tank bottom at all times.

Water params seem fine. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 15 nitrates. (Still early into a cycle) with a temp ranging from 62-68f depending on the day. Ph around 7.2. All water is left for 48 hours and then treated with dechlorinator just to be safe before 15% water changes every other day. No substrate. Low water flow. 20 gallon long (32x12x12)

The thing is that it's inconsistent. She poops a little bit now and again but I expect a bit more given how I was feeding her twice a day. She tends to eat maybe 4-5 small black worms. Poop possibly dissolved? Sometimes she is flat on the ground. And then 15 minutes later she is doing handstands until the morning where she is back on all fours. I tried fridging as a last ditch desperation last night. Pulled her out before work (12 hours in mini fridge at 9c/48f). Eased her back into the tank. Still floating. Came home and she was flat on the ground and hungry for some blood worms. And at 11:30pm she is tail up once more. I woke up this morning around 9 to feed her only to find her still tail up. Not doing handstands this time but still up, laying in her log. Made coffee at 10 to find her back on all fours in the corner. And at 10:30 she was once again struggling to stay down. She is now back in a shallow container with dechlorinated water, a few large smooth pebbles and marimo moss balls. Gave her a few worms and she is eating fine.

I don't get it. Somehow impacted? Gas? No visible signs of stress. Tail is usually straight and gills too. She has what seems to be a small cut on her arm and side but that is probably because of how many times she has tried slamming herself between decorations. Already starting to heal now that I parted them a bit. She even scurries up to the glass to wave at me when she wants a snack so I'm guessing she is a happy axie. I just don't know what to do at this point. I feel like I've tried every bit of advice I got from this place.

Where she is staying right now. Fan is on her::: https://i.imgur.com/jXPQlEv.jpg

 

[Biev]

She is upright because she is grabbing onto the decor to avoid floating. She probably just swallowed air, you need to wait for it to pass. Usually they just need to burp (it happens to my Katla a lot). Sometimes they get the hiccups too, it's freaking adorable. There's also a genetic condition that may cause them to hold their breath for a long time, which also makes them float, but that's rarer.

 

[Sablette]

She is upright because she is grabbing onto the decor to avoid floating. She probably just swallowed air, you need to wait for it to pass. Usually they just need to burp (it happens to my Katla a lot). Sometimes they get the hiccups too, it's freaking adorable. There's also a genetic condition that may cause them to hold their breath for a long time, which also makes them float, but that's rarer.

She pooped twice while she is sitting in the container on my desk so I'm now convinced its not her being impacted. So it probably is just air like you said. If it is just gas/air for her to be getting it what seems like every other hour or so sounds a little much. It's just a little frightening to me as a new parent and it breaks my heart to see her flailing about, crashing into decor and going tail up.

So you'd think it would be safe to put her back in? She looks fine from the pics sent? Again, sorry for the rambling and a million questions.

 

[Sablette]

Sorry for the double post. Unsure whether or not this place has an edit button for updates because I sure as hell can't seem to find it.

I eased her back in the tank and she is still a floaty butt. Its been about 20 minutes and she hasn't stopped pacing back and forth along the tank to find a place to wedge herself. Because of the scrape she gave her side the other day doing the exact same thing I removed the big rocks and scooched the remaining decor away from the wall in fear of her hurting herself. I hope the air passes through soon and she is back on all fours.

A friend of mine who also has two juvies suggested chilling the water a bit to coax it out. Not "Fridging" levels of chilling but I plopped a frozen 2L soda bottle in there. Hope that helps.

 

[Hayleyy]

I'm with Biev, looks like air. A temp drop should help getting it out, just be careful using frozen bottles as it can make the water temp fluctuate. A fan is a better option

 

[Sablette]

Thank you everyone for all of the help. I have a fan on her and a couple cold 1L bottles of water and keeping the temp at about 57f constantly. She has a tiny bit of a bubble butt going on but she is now walking around on all fours.

Examined her a bit more and can now see there is a tiny air bubble in her. Checked on her again today and it seemed to move down more so its safe to say its moving its course. I'm just glad she isn't struggling to stay down anymore. Again, thank you all for the support. I appreciate it immensely.