Illness/Sickness: Axolotl gulping/burping?

[StolleMan]

Only had Marco for 8 days. My girlfriend bought him for my birthday and purchased his whole setup from the pet store.

The ammonia levels are a little high in there, as his aquarium is still cycling, but the pet store owner assures me that the levels will quickly go down as long as I keep up with water changes. The nitrate and nitrite levels are almost non-existant and the ammonia level is around .05ppm. PH is around 7.5

It's a little warm in there, around 21.5 degrees celcius. I've been cooling the water with frozen bottles as it's been fairly warm the last week. The temperature hasn't fluctuated in the aquarium by more than a couple of degrees.

Took him a few days to begin eating, but he seems to enjoy blood worms and has eaten some over the last few days.

After searching on the net I'm now aware that his gravel substrate is inappropriate.

This afternoon after doing a water change I found him franticly gulping with his tale curled and gills forward. he seemed to burp a big bubble of air and continue opening and closing his mouth for a while.

His tail has since straightened but his gills are still forward. He's been making frequent trips to the surface for air and seems to be struggling a bit to swim.

Has he swallowed some gravel? I'm very stressed and don't know what to do

Should I be removing the gravel from his aquarium now? Will removing it interfere with the cycling process and raise the ammonia level?

Help please, I'm very worried about the poor little guy.

 

[Greatwtehunter]

Yes, remove the gravel now. Doesn't sound like your tank has been cycling too long so I doubt you'll notice any effects from removing the gravel. In fact, removing it would probably aid you in getting the ammonia down.

Axolotls gulp air normally so it may be no issue at all. How often does it gulp in a minute? Do you have any kind of air stone in the tank?

 

[StolleMan]

No air stone, but he does have a filter.

He's settled down now, sitting at the bottom of the tank. He's not swimming to the surface as frequently, maybe once every 10 minutes. He seems to have small gills compared to most photos I've seen, but he was like that when I got him... they may have possibly grown a little, hard to say.

I was concerned as it appeared as if he was dry retching before, opening his mouth very wide.

Should I be replacing the substrate with sand or leaving it bare bottomed?

Thanks so much for your interest.

 

[Greatwtehunter]

Once every 10 minutes is OK, so nothing to worry about there.

Gill length is influenced by a number of variables, ranging from genetics to the amount of oxygen in the water. The best you can do is give it optimal conditions and let mother nature take over.

Sand or bare bottom is totally up to you. Each one is an excellent choice so just pick which ever suits you best.

 

[StolleMan]

That's reassuring. Is there any reason he may have been 'dry retching?'. Should I be concerned that he may have swallowed somehting that he shouldn't have?

I'm totally new to amphibians and have never owned anything aquatic other than goldfish and a couple of yabbies (Australian crustacean) which are simple to look after.

I really want Marco to be living in the best conditions possible and welcome all of the help you could give me.

Once again, thank you so much for helping me out by replying so promptly. I was/am stressing pretty hard.

 

[Greatwtehunter]

What was the axolotl's substrate before you got it?

 

[StolleMan]

The Axolotls in the pet store are housed in an aquarium with no substrate. They apparently had a diet of mostly sinking pellets. Marco turns his nose up at them and has only eaten blood worlms so far.

 

[StolleMan]

Have removed the gravel now, it stirred up a bunch of cloudiness, including a few blood worms, I suppose all of that can't have been helping his environment at all.

He seems to have calmed down and his gills have returned to their normal position.

I will be keeping a close eye on him, but I can tentatively say that he's ok.

 

[AkAxolotl]

No air stone, but he does have a filter.

He's settled down now, sitting at the bottom of the tank. He's not swimming to the surface as frequently, maybe once every 10 minutes. He seems to have small gills compared to most photos I've seen, but he was like that when I got him... they may have possibly grown a little, hard to say.

I was concerned as it appeared as if he was dry retching before, opening his mouth very wide.

Should I be replacing the substrate with sand or leaving it bare bottomed?

Thanks so much for your interest.

I had pet smart tell me that any ole thing was fine i ended up telling her what my breeder told me they can swallow gravel and it gives them a bowel blockage pet smart and pet co both said this...funny how they put you through to their special person who knows nothing. I don't listen to pet store employees because breeders usually know best if their animal died their business is done closed and it is over. Good luck. Ours id doing the same thing we are still cycling our tanks and their is nothing in the bottom of the tank it came from or the one that it is in right now.

 

[AkAxolotl]

Yes, remove the gravel now. Doesn't sound like your tank has been cycling too long so I doubt you'll notice any effects from removing the gravel. In fact, removing it would probably aid you in getting the ammonia down.

Axolotls gulp air normally so it may be no issue at all. How often does it gulp in a minute? Do you have any kind of air stone in the tank?

Do they need air stones? We have a foam filter with air lines running to it but anyways mine is doing the exact same thing idk why it started then stopped my sin said it let out an air bubble like a burp idk.

 

[axolotl nerd]

Do they need air stones? We have a foam filter with air lines running to it but anyways mine is doing the exact same thing idk why it started then stopped my sin said it let out an air bubble like a burp idk.

in my experience, axolotls tend to blow bubbles/burp/hiccup whenever they’re stressed, usually after being physically moved or handled (not for fun, solely for tank maintenance or cleaning)