Sick Axie... Floatin and stuff

[rhys]

Hi guys,
I've been reading your posts over to help me get everything as best as I can for my axies (I didn't realise there was so much wrong) and also about floating.
My axie (Gollum) whom I have had for about 5 years floats around like he needs to fart (he would be so embarrassed of me telling you this) cause his back end is floating. He does it a couple of times a day. He still feeds well and loves to hunt but his tail is starting to bend, snake a bit and I can tell he isn't happy.
For a bit of a back story we had a pretty hot summer here in Melbourne and his tank was on the second level of the house which gets very hot. Seriously the tank was cooking and I tried ice bottles etc to cool it down but nothing really worked great.
His new buddy came in and I think it was all a bit of a shock to her and she got sick quite quickly. This is when I realised something was very wrong. I moved the tank down stairs and now have it at a steady 20 - 22c all the time. I tested the water, pH about 6.8, chlorine 0, alkaline 0.
Something was still bothering me so I bought a water sample to the aquarium shop and the ammonia level was 8!
I clean out all the rubbish once a week and Gollum is a very clean eater (new friend not so much) and takes it all in one go so I was a little puzzled by this. Anyway bought some stuff and did some serious clean outs of the water (over the period of a week / half) and got the ammonia level to .25.
Thing is Gollum is now floating more, his/her (not really sure) tail is snaking and he has this weird thing of keeping his back legs tight to his sides (looks like a snake with 2 arms) and wont use them even when I reckon he should be. The legs seem very healthy though, good size and strong looking. I've done a lot to fix things up lately and was wondering whether is could be all the changes which is stressing him a bit and he just needs time to chill out and get used to it, or is it something more? Understand Gollum is a pretty tough dude and survived many an Aussie summer.
Sorry if I have offended anyone, I must sound like the worse axie parent ever.
Not a great way to introduce myself to the group.
Thanks

Rhys

 

[skylar]

Is he on gravel, sand or large rocks? gravel can get lodged inside their intestines when they eat, causing them to be constipated. Put him in the fridge in a container with a couple inches of water as long as its over 5 degrees and he will probably poo the gravel out and be fine. Do daily water changes (all the water - and dechlorinated of course)

8 is very very high, do you not add water conditioner to the water? the chlorine in the water kills the bacteria needed to complete the nitrogen cycle.. Just because the chlorine level was 0 in the tank doesnt mean the bacteria wasnt killed off as the chlorine dissapates over a period of about 48 hours.

 

[rhys]

Thanks.
He is on gravel but when I hand feed him it is always above his head so he is never biting downwards. He may have swallowed something though so I will try the fridge.
When I change the water I always add water conditioner salts and water ager. And now I've started to add "cycle" which is meant to introduce good bacteria into the water.
Any idea on the back legs?

 

[kapo]

When u place him in the fridge make sure the water is n't too high, enuf for his feet to touch the bottom of container, so he is not floating, but above his top fin. This will stop him stressing. Don't forget to keep a bottle of water in the fridge, of dechlorinated water that you can use for his/her complete daily water changes. Maybe being in the fridge for a few days will destress him and allow his feet to drop back and poss. poo out any obstructions . One of ours occasionally pulls his back legs in tight but only when he's really stressed/scared then he swims madly all over the place - doesn't float tho.

 

[sharn]

cycle should be called poop. it doesnt do anything at all, not sure if it comes out of the factory with bacteria but if it did they would soon die from waste or starvation. you dont need these in a cycled tank and i assume this is your problem. have a read here- http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml that will explain a lot. if indeed your tank isnt cycled (do you empty the whole tank and clean it all the time etc) you will need to be doing daily water changes of 30% or so if your axie is in it still. an axie in a cycling tank is not a good thing and i think these problems would be related to the high ammonia (which would indicate the middle of a cycle).

good luck and keep up the good work, youll get things sorted in no time!

 

[charlie]

Sounds ALOT like what I went through with Pedro a few weeks ago. The legs thing and so on. I noticed pedros tail tissue (not the muscle part, but the skin "flap" part) shrunk (as viewed top to bottle.) he's leuistic as well, and seemed to be red a bit.
Water quality wasn't such an issue (but DEFINITELY would be for you) but the heat just stressed him.
I did a few different things that combined have led to him being a lot happier, healthier, and recovered.
First - put him in the fridge to cool him down, and give you some breathing space while you get the water conditions back in order.
Second - I salt bathed him. May not be necessary for your fella unless you see anything wrong with the skin.
Third - got a WHOLE lot more vigilant about my tank. Kept a regular ice pack routine running to keep the temperature down. Cleaned up any messes in the tank (food or axie rubbish) and made sure I did decent size water changes. Also got more vigilant about making sure pedro got enough food (my other axie is a glutton) Also remember - they don't eat much in the fridge, or for a day or three after.

Took me a week from stop to start, and pedro has gone from a sick looking frail axie into one thats looking healthy and happy. Body has recovered at an alarming rate over the last few weeks.

Also - what is your tank like? gravel or sand as a substrate? what are you feeding them? You've had your axie a while, so sounds like you look after them, but there maybe some things here people can suggest to make it even easier for your axies

 

[rhys]

I am sorry to tell you but Gollum and Kagero passed away on the weekend. I've had Gollum for over 5 years, nearly 6.
I had them out of the tank living in a separate container with a air line in there and did daily water changes of treated water while I was attempting to get the tank cycled properly. The guy at the aquarium shop told me I was nearly there.
Kagero got some fungus on her gills and Gollum started floating. I gave them both a salt bath, rinsed them off and put them in the fridge to relax. The next day they were dead.
I feel really bad about it, particularly since Gollum was such a great and loyal little mate. I'll miss him.
I'm still cycling the tank, maybe when I've got it all going I may get another axie, but I'm not sure.
Thanks to all of you who helped with friendly advice and support.

I think there may have been a problem with Gollum's cloacal and that was why he always had his back legs tight to his body. He was a light wildtype but it had a black mark over it which looked similar to a mole. I was going to take a photo for reference here but wasn't up to it. Has anyone else heard of that? Can axie's get moles?

 

[sharn]

sorry about your loss *hugs*, sorry i cant help you more on your mystery mole