He keeps eating bubbles

[apples08]

Hi, I got 2 little babies back in December, and they've been doing good until about a week ago the albino one (his name is Ghostie) started floating at the top of the tank and not swimming much. I took him out and noticed he had a bubble in his stomach. I left him in some shallow water alone and the next day he was all better. I put him back in the tank and he was swimming happily and normally. Now today when I came home, he had another bubble in his stomach. I noticed him deliberately going towards the filter and trying to eat the bubbles that come out of it. What should I do?

I have a 10 gallon tank and a sponge filter. He's about an inch and a half long right now, still not very big. And no, I don't have sand or gravel, I have smoothed beach glass.

But yea... what should I do to get him to stop this?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Jennewt]

Bubbles are less likely to happen when the axie is getting plenty to eat. Be sure you are feeding them enough. They are big enough to start taking chopped nightcrawlers, and at this size they should be eating every day. Continue to make sure you clean out uneaten food after feeding, as you don't want it to fall down under the substrate and rot.

 

[apples08]

Thanks so much :happy: I feed them blood worms every day, should I bump it to twice a day? Or possible change their food?

 

[apples08]

bump, I still need help.

 

[Skilly]

I would start feeding earth worms. This is the best thing for them to eat and they contain loads of nutrients that are essential for growing axies. You can always give them blood worms as treats.

When he is floating... is he struggling? Is he trying to swim to the bottom or anything that makes him look distressed? Sometimes axolotls like to float around for fun. Mine will deliberately swallow air and float around like a zeppelin. Are you sure this is not the case?

Also how large are the smoothed glass pieces? It may not be gravel or rocks... but are you absolutely sure that the pieces are large enough to not fit in the axies mouth? You would be surprised at the largeness of an object that can fit into an axie.

He might have just eaten some bad blood worms and became gassy. Sometimes this happens when the food is not the freshest. There are always bad worms mixed in with the blood worms. Usually this isn't a problem... but he may have just a build up of them.

If he is struggling put him into a shallow container again. If he doesn't seem to be struggling then don't worry too much, he might just be having fun.

I would get him some tastie earthworms as soon as possible. It is a much better staple for them. :happy:

Also check your water perimeters just to rule out it being ammonia or nitrate that is causing him distress. You do have a water testing kit?

 

[apples08]

Yes, he does struggle. He tries to swim down to the bottom, but just floats back up.

The glass pieces are about 1-1½ inches on either side.

It is possible that it was the food, but the thing is, I have 2 axies and the other one is doing great.

I've had him in a shallow container for a few days and he's doing okay. I'm afraid to try to put him back in the tank though.

I will test the water as soon as possible, and get back to you.

Thanks for all your advice.

 

[Skilly]

Great, test the water and see how that is. :happy:

It may be possible that he swallowed a piece of glass- depending on how big he is. it would explain the floating and also why his buddy is doing just fine.

Can you post a picture or two of him? It might help if I can look at the little axie.

 

[apples08]

Here he is

When I look closely, I can actually see the bubbles in his belly.
You can't really see them in the pictures, but you can see where they bulge.

If you need better pictures, let me know. I hope this helps.
He's only about one and 1/4 of an inch long.

 

[Skilly]

I see you said you feed them every day. How much do you give them?

I'm trying to think of why this little one is getting so much gas. He looks good! Such long fingers and he is very ghostly. :happy: Kind of convenient that you can see through him, it doesn't look like he has swallowed anything that might be upsetting him.

Really the only thing that I can think of that might not be right is if he is getting enough food or if the water chemistry is off.


How did the water test turn out? Are you doing daily water changes if the tank is not cycled?

I'm thinking that it may just be the food. I would try and find some earthworms. They are a little more substantial. You can cut them up if they are too big. You can also try some HBH newt Pellets- they are available in most pet stores and are cheap. I would bump up the feeding and see if that makes a difference. Try once in the morning and again in the evening.

 

[apples08]

I tested the water and everything was good, except the ammonia and pH levels were a tiny bit high. I'm going to fix that and see if that makes him feel any better.

Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it, and I know Ghostie does too.

 

[apples08]

I used ammonia clear and correct pH tablets. The chemistry was all perfect at first but now its cloudy and the nitrite is a little high. I don't know what this means. Honestly, I am new to all of this, I had never had any type of fish before, so I don't know what to do.

Does anyone know?

 

[Skilly]

Ok so we have figured out that your tank is not fully cycled yet. Just a little bit of ammonia can be dangerous to your pets. I wouldn't worry too much about the pH. Axolotls actually like a pH of 7-8.5 or so. This means the water is usually hard- which is good for axies. If it was higher than that, then pH buffer would be ok.

ok so you can cycle your tank with your critters in it, you just have to monitor ammonia and nitrate. Being "cycled" means that there is a sufficient amount of good bacteria to break down waste materials that produce chemicals (ammonia nitrate nitrite).

So what you should do now is a partial water change. When you are dealing with cycling you do not want to do complete water changes... because this will cause the good bacteria levels to crash. What you need to do now is a partial water change to get ammonia and nitrate down. Usually 1/4 or 1/3 of the water should be removed and then replaced. The water that you use to replace must be conditioned to rid it of chemicals such as chlorine, which is put into tap water. Chlorine is very dangerous to axies and also to fish.


So this will be an everyday thing until the water is cycled and the good bacteria levels have reached a number to take care of the ammonia. After it is cycled you can do partial water changed once a week.


So to recap: do partial water changes everyday and test water everyday to make sure ammonia is staying down. When I was going through all of this I think I would test ammonia levels in the morning and again at night and change water depending on the levels.

:happy: good luck

 

[apples08]

Ok thank you so much!

I have well water so I don't usually do anything to it. Is that ok?

 

[Skilly]

It should be ok. I used well water when I wasn't living in the city and my axies loved it. So you shouldn't have to add anything to it.

And you are welcome!

 

[apples08]

Just wanted to let you know I've been cycling the tank like you said, and Ghostie is back in the tank. He's been swimming around happily and he seems to be feeling much, much better. My mom and I were so happy, and I just wanted to say thank you again.

 

[Skilly]

Great!! I am so happy to hear that!

I was wondering how the little cutie was doing. Glad to hear he is feeling more like himself and that the tank cycling is helping. Once it is cycled it will be a breeze.

:happy:

If you ever have any more questions feel free to ask anytime.