Question: I also have a floater (sorry)

[Morrison]

My young albino axie ( I think about 3 or 4 months old) is suddenly floating. I've read a lot of threads about floating axies since the time I'm here on this forum but I actually still don't know what causes it.

Now I did heard that young axies sometimes 'like to float' but this one never floated before and it looks like he isn't very comfortable floating there and he rests on a plant or the filter sometimes (right now he's hanging in a corner....)

I've tested the water parameters:
PH 6.6
No2 0
No3 0-10
Ammonia (yes I'm finally able to test that too) is 0
Temp 19

The tank is 60x30x30 cm (alone)
There's sand on the bottom, no gravel and stuff (I guess if he swallowed a stone he was sinking instead of floating that much...)

Yesterday he was walking around on the bottom of the tank and now he's floating again. It's the second day he's floating.

Last week he didn't want to eat and now he eats normally (small red wigglers) and he's getting a bit fatter (he was pretty thin when I bought him but I think young axies all look pretty thin)

Should I fridge him (with just enough water to cover him?) and see if something comes out?
Did he swallow some air or what is it?
(Yesterday I noticed his back end was floating more than the front, like "air is trying to get out of him from behind". I'm not sure if that has anything to do with that...)
Or is it the sand?

Oh and 2 pictures. (Bad light, sorry, and the glass is (still) a bit dirty somehow)

 

[mroli123]

I've had this problem too, have no idea what caused it but some folks on here informed me it may of eaten some stones and having trouble getting them out, have put mine in the fridge and hopefully it will sort itself out

Would be curious to know if there is any other ideas of what it could be, maybe it ate a cork or something?

 

[Shizeric]

Do you have an entire picture of your tank? Do you have driftwood (bogwood) in your tank? How often do you do water changes?

 

[Morrison]

I recently added a piece of bogwood to the tank.
And I do water changes every week.

I will make a picture.

 

[Morrison]

Here's the picture. (Lame tank set up, I know. I was about to change it after the piece of wood was about to... sink)
As you can see he's on the filter right now.

Oh and I added a new sponge thing to my filter. Is it possible that it somehow made him float?

(Not the best picture, bad light etc. It's night over here right now)

 

[Morrison]

No one who can help me out?
It's still floating sometimes. (He can reach the bottom but he is floating most of the time)

 

[melfly]

Have you tried a water change?

I have one that started floating after I added new sand to his temp tank.
He was having a struggle getting anywhere.

Once back in his proper tank, with the same kind of sand he was ok again. I have no idea what caused it.

Yours looks healthy otherwise.

Mel

 

[daremo]

are you sure he has trouble getting down and he isn't floating because he likes it?
I ask you because mine like to "sit" on floating plants like elodea, they do that a lot

he is eating right??

And about his "back" floating, I noticed my albino used to do that a lot when younger, at about 12-13 cm...

 

[Morrison]

Another thing I noticed about him:
His dorsal fin looks less...'dorsal finny' than it was and compared to my other lotls.
As you can see on the picture below (the first one is how it was when I bought him, the second and third how it is right now) the fin at the beginning (where it has to begin) is almost gone and it somehow doesn't look like another axie chewed it off or something. It also looks red (bloodvessels) on the picture (I also darkened this pic up a little so that the axie is more visible)

(Right now he's on the bottom of the tank and he also doesn't look stressed)

The pics:

 

[daremo]

umm I can see the blood vessels but I think it may be for the lighting, did you fired the flash when taking those pics?... not sure though

he doesn't look stressed... he looks good

 

[Morrison]

Nope, no flash. It's probably because of the lamp on my desk.

 

[daremo]

could be, I think that pale skin shows the blood vessels with the right lighting ...

how's he doing now?

 

[Morrison]

He's still floating but not as much as he did a few days ago. He still eats normally and doesn't look stressed. I'm going to do a water change today.

But I'm still wondering if something is wrong with his dorsal fin.
Maybe I'll make a better picture because I can't really explain it. (My English sucks)

 

[daremo]

I wouldn't worry about the dorsal fin... .I think they are all unique in their morphology!! as long as he eats and act "normally" he's fine...

and for the floating... I would not worry much for now, I would add floating plants and check if he likes standing on them (mine do)

I think that eating is the key to know when an animal is fine ...

 

[Morrison]

Thanks very much. (He's still on the bottom right now so I think he is doing well (if there was something wrong)

And yes, he likes to 'climb' and 'rest' on the (artificial) plants I gave him.

Thanks again

 

[Morrison]

I just want to let you know that my axie isn't floating anymore. He's still eating well, doesn't look stressed.

I tested for ammonia again and it was still 0. (The rest of the water parameters were also axie-proof)

He's still a bit thin but he's getting a little belly already. Pretty cute to see on a small axie. He's not very active though but when I turn on the light in the middle of the night I see him hopping around in his tank like "yay, I'm all alone!"

He also was a bit scared and needed to get used to the whole situation (it's my newest axie) and now he's walking in front of the tank when he sees me.

So. Not bad I think.
(I saw him hanging in the plants just once in the last few days but it didn't look 'floaty' but more like.... having fun climbing it.)

But I'm still wondering what's wrong with the tail.