Sick or just having a funny day?

[Mandy6]

It's been getting hot here the last couple of days. I don't have a Chiller and Alex's tank got up to 22c at one stage.

I put some tubs of ice in his tank and made sure the air con was on and it cooled down to 18.3 c.

But since I started cooling the water down Alex has been spending most of his time floating or swimming back and forth just under the surface. He will only seem to go down to the bottom for a few minutes at a time.

The Temp has gone back up to 20.4c now.

I'm afraid I'm not home long enough during most days to keep changing the tubs to keep the temp stable and I know having it go up and down too much will just stress him more. Will it be better to just keep the air con on and hope it doesn't get too high?

If it does get too high should I send him on a fridge holiday until it cools down again? If so how high should I let it get before doing that? I don't want to fridge him if it's not needed.

The rest of the water parameters are fine as far as I can see
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
And sadly I'm unsure of Nitrate as I can't find the right ref sheet but I /think/ its around 20

I haven't offered him food today as he had four medium/large worms yesterday and I don't want to overfeed him =p
I'm still saving for a chiller, this warmer weather hit earlier than I thought

Also he is an albino so has like no colour apart from his gills. Would the white patches from heat stress still be visible? @_@

 

[Greatwtehunter]

Axolotls don't get stressed from heat, usually, until the temp gets above 24'c. If you think your tank could get above that then I would go ahead and put the axolotl in the fridge. Keep in mind that a stable temp is better for an axolotl than one that keeps fluctuating so I would leave the air conditioner on just ot be safe.

 

[hypno monkey]

hi, as long as it doesn't go above 24 at the highest but if you find it keeps spiking then the fridging would be a good idea until the temp settles and remains more constant. Better to be safe than sorry and the constant up and down of the temp may get stressful for your axie. Not an expert but just thought I'd try and help.

Jade

EDIT - haha just noticed Justin posted at the same time

 

[Mandy6]

Awesome thanks guys. It seems to be staying around 20/21c now and he has gone back down into his cave.

 

[Kaysie]

A lot of times, voluntary floating has to do with oxygen absorption. Oxygen levels are higher next to the surface. Warm water holds less oxygen, so as the tank warmed, oxygen levels dropped, so your axolotl saught out areas with higher oxygen, like next to the surface. As the tank cools again, oxygen levels increase.

 

[axigeek]

wow, thanx kaysie, that explains alot of my problems too, as the weather has suddenly gone from cold to nice to omg who turned the sun up hot! Hope it solves your problems too Mandy

 

[iSuzie]

Hmmm is it just me thinking that he extra movements would of been from the temp change from putting ice in... Maybe he was just feeling in the "mood" Lol Even if he has no female to show off to.. sounds like he was showing off to him self! haha
After all ice is what you use to get axolotls in the mood

Also just one more thing.. If needed in the future if needed considering the hot Australian weather.. You might want to think about frozen water bottles not ice, as they change the temp slowly rather than quickly and will keep your tank at a more stable temp for longer, switching over frozen bottles will keep the temp down at a stable rate though out any really hot days! {witch I know we have unexpectedly!}

Good luck

 

[Mandy6]

Thanks guys, the tank seems to be staying around 20c now.

I felt I should clarify, I wasn't using straight ice blocks that were melting into the tank, but food containers filled with water and frozen and then floated in the tank. I couldn't find any bottles that someone wasn't using xD