12yo axolotl off his food, gulping and floating.

[poncho11]

Hello all,

My 12 year old axolotl Manny has been off his food for 5 days, he is floating mostly at the top of the tank, taking huge gulps of air frequently and flicking his gills a lot more than usual. Nothing has changed with his tank and his tank mate who is also a 12yo axie is perfectly fine. No curled gills or tail. We are in Australia where the temperature has been high but as I said his tank mate has been fine. Tough one but does anyone have any suggestions/help?

Thank you!

 

[KayDee]

Hello
Yes the weather certainly has been so up and down these past couple of weeks, hasn't it?

Could you perhaps tub him and see if that helps him a little?

When we had a spell of hot weather during Melbourne Cup week I had an ammonia spike very suddenly, which caused my little bloke to stop eating and he hid away from sight until I tested the water. Needless to say once I saw the test results he came straight out of that tank and has been tubbed ever since.

Can you pop him in a tub and do daily water changes to see if that helps?

I think our weather is going to be very random over the next few days.

 

[poncho11]

Hello
Yes the weather certainly has been so up and down these past couple of weeks, hasn't it?

Could you perhaps tub him and see if that helps him a little?

When we had a spell of hot weather during Melbourne Cup week I had an ammonia spike very suddenly, which caused my little bloke to stop eating and he hid away from sight until I tested the water. Needless to say once I saw the test results he came straight out of that tank and has been tubbed ever since.

Can you pop him in a tub and do daily water changes to see if that helps?

I think our weather is going to be very random over the next few days.

Thanks for the reply, I can remove and tub him for a while, I'm planning on getting a water test kit tomorrow and testing the water. I just figured that if it was a water issue that it would affect both Axolotls? His tankmate is happy as Larry, eating everything that comes his way.

 

[Flamingolid]

Do you have a picture?

 

[MotherofAxolotls]

So some Axolotl’s are more sensitive than others, which could be why it seems that both aren’t affected. water quality is very important & usually causes most of the issues so you always want to check that first & tub as soon as a problem arises. Temperature can also be the issue, do whatever you can to keep it down & steady- fans, frozen water bottles, or investing in a chiller