We've got a floater!!!

C

chris

Guest
After reading every one's comments on on floating Axies. We have come to the conclusion that we need to put our Axie in the fridge.

She has been floating for weeks, the guy at the Aquatic centre said that we should turn the temperature up and feed less. She had now gotten to the point of floating on her side and a complete 180 degree handstand when she does get to the bottom of the tank.

Is there any other advise any one can give aside from 'Fridge' (She's going that way tomorrow)
 
Oh dear! You should never turn the temperature UP with an axolotl. You want to keep it as cool as possible.

Try the fridge for a few days. Cover the axolotl with enough water so it can keep its feet on the ground. Then get the tank as cool as you can sustain. You can use ice bottles, fans, or any combination. A warmer than average tank is better than a tank that goes back and forth from warm to cold. I had luck dropping my temperature in the summer over 5F below ambient with fans.
 
whats the minimum temperature that the axies can go down to in the fridge bearing in mind we live in the uk and its minus 3 outside at the moment.we have dropped the water in her tank to about an inch above her,we also have let the water sit at room temp all night which has produced a large axie number 2 but she still aint all that well (bless her)we are still wanting to fridge her but wanted to know what to set the fridge temp at first .
all advice gratefully recieved
happy.gif

heres a pic of one of our other happy lil axies
50804.jpg
 
around 4-5C is the minimum but id say around 7C is good- not too good for food though! if its minus three outside what is the temp of the tank? i imagine itd be pretty cold. constipation could be a factor, they sometimes float when they need a good poop.
love your axie, he looks like hes just been playing in the mud!
 
thanku for the temp info its a great help to us,our tank always has a heater running that keeps the temp at 18 degrees.because of the british weather its quite easy to sustain a level temperature.we are quite new at axie keeping,we have 10 and this is the first problem we have had,this site is the biggest life line to us as finding info on our lil smiley friends is impossible.i will keep updates on "axels" progress
 
its been close to 4 weeks that axel has been keep at 6-7 degrees on her own in my cloakroom,i did not fridge her as i found in the cloakroom its just as cold as the fridge but with the advantage that she is in a 24x18 inch tank giving her more space than i could of gave her in my fridge..i fed her last night 2 crickets.this morning i put her in another container of cold water so i could change her tank water and for the first time she sat on the bottom of the container with 6 inches of water in as in her main tank i have kept the water level to just enough to cover her as i was recomended to do ..i am hoping she is feeling better but will now add 6 inches to her main medical tank and see how things go,hoping that soon i will be able to return her to one of my main axie tanks
 
sounds good, i will keep my fingers (and toes!!) crossed for ya
 
i have now got about 8 inches of water in the medical tank and have had that in place for 2 days.axel now seems to rear end float again but not as much as in she can get herself to the bottom with a effort but i dont think she can be bothered half the time all i can think of doing now is bringing her slowly back up to a more normal temp and then putting her back in one of the big tanks and see how she does.only other option i can think of is taking her to the vets and explain the situation and let them read up on axies and maybe they could do something ...im out of ideas any help !!!!!
 
Hello Chris & Kirsty...
you are right Chris, they are kinda` cute !!!
hope your `Floater` soon gets better......michelle
 
Help-another floater!!! We have only had our 2 babies for 3 weeks. Our pink "girl" is great and very happy on the bottom, grazing away. Our little dark "boy" has always been at the top swimming around furiously. now he is tilting on his side and swimming is much harder for him. he tried to get to the tank bottom and his tail was pointing upwards- he just couldn't do it- he loves eating and i thought maybe he is gulping air when i feed him. she eats underwater. I don't know how long he can go on- keep thinking he is dead! any sympathy welcome. Don't think we have a fish vet here where i am!
 
im going to take mine to the normal vets,i was recomended to call around and find a young vet as they should be more willing to try to help.where abouts are you as it would be a good idea to get your axie in the fridge or somewhere cold on his own "down to like 5-7 degrees this is where mine has been for a month and is showing improvement.as far as i am aware the main reason they start to float is normaly down to an incorrect diet,which produces digestive gases which makes them float the cold water slows their metabalism down and allows them to digest the food better. i would deffinatly get him in colder water and see how he goes and also lower the level of water just enough to cover him about an inch in total.i only know this through the kind people on this site and a bit of trail and error too..what are you feeding your axies on and how often?
 
yes put him in the fridge, also heat plays a factor in floating sometimes. have a read around this part of the forum for directions on the fridge or just ask and we can give them to ya.
 
gosh i can't bear to put the little guy in the fridge- ours is set at 4 degrees C- i think thats too cold. Thought he had leapt out to his grave today coz i couldn't find him in his sideways floating pose. was frantic, then found him inside a shell- he seemed to love being down low but i frightened him out and up he went to the top poor thing - though he was trying not to! He doesn't get anything different than his "sister"- he has always been at the top but now getting worse. maybe i'll ring the vet too!.
 
yeah it is too cold, can you turn it up a bit? what about a chilly bin with his tank inside? chuck some ice packs round the side and rotate them every couple of hours, should get the tank down a few degrees
 
Hi there again- the pet shop i bought them from recommended feeding him below the water so that he doesn't gulp as much air. I am trying to do this. He is a bit better today but there is often a big lump on one side of his abdomen- i am sure he has probs with his wee intestines.. think he needs the axie equivalent of castor oil!
 
Mary,

Do you have small (ie smaller than axies head) gravel in the tank?
 
hiya, actually i thought of him having swallowed a stone but then thought no way coz he has never been able to get to the bottom- but in fact he was babysat for 2 nights and when i took them home he was near the bottom- what should i do if it is a stuck stone?? ( where in NZ are you- i'm in Upper hutt!)
 
First I would remove the stones as you don't want your other axolotl swallowing any. There might be a way of helping it pass the stone but I am not aware of it. You may just have to wait it out. However, if he does have a stone blocking up his gut I don't think it is the cause of its floating.
 
thanks for your comments Jarred! much appreciated.
happy.gif
We had 2 big axies years ago and no drama. This time around it is soooo stressful!!!!these are babies tho'!( next time i will choose one that is at the bottom of the petshop tank!!
 
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