Is my axolotl ok?

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draftwaffles

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My axolotl has has had forward curled gills and she sometimes swims back and forth and bumps into the glass ever since I bought her about 2 months ago, my water parameters are pretty good and my tank is about 30-35 gal. She also recently ate a live platy so I removed my other fish from the tank for now, but other than that she's been eating fine and pooping 1-2 per week. Is my axolotl ok?

and also is there any cheap way to cool my tank without a cooler?
 
This axolotl ate a platy with ich problems and after methylene blue treatment ?

If your parameters seem good, you can look for other problems :
- high temperature ? (you ask for a cooling method ; an open tank can lower temperature by 2 degrees Celsius)
- some noise, vibrations (filter ?)
 
the platy was already cured for a about a week and the filter doesnt make much vibration
my tank is 22C which i know is a bit high, Im planning on buying a chiller soon
 
She doesnt have any sign of any illness but she seems very stressed, She keeps on swimming back and forth and bumping into the glass. Shes doing it much more frequently now
 
I think the reason that she keeps on swiming is that she sometimes floats and struggles to get down
can anyone tell me why shes floating and how i can fix it?
 
Barring other things are fine, it's your temperature that's the problem. She is suffering heat stress. Also, fish are not good tank mates for axolotls. If you blow air constantly with a computer fan on your tank, you might get the temperature lowered. Other than that, you're going to have to invest in a chiller or rehome the animal.
 
although you say parameters are good what are they? ie.. ph, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, kh, gh.
you temperature is most likely the cause of stress and floating, the high temperature will make the water uncomfortable to be in (imagine being in a hot room), the warmer the water the lower the oxygen saturation causing more surface gulping which in turn increases chance of floating, any gas already in an axolotls gut will expand with the increased temperature.
swimming around in itself isn't worrisome unless it is frantic including trying to get out of the water, bumping on glass isn't an issue (glass is a human creation, most animals don't understand glass and see it as something invisible in their way).
platy's although harmless to axolotls (unless the axolotl is already ill) will be a source of food for the axolotl and cannot happily exist together (axolotls are predators which will eat anything smaller than itself including other axolotls).
 
I tried using the Ac for a few days to cool down my water to abt 18-19C but my axolotl hasnt changed in behavior and she doesnt seem to have any digestion issue because she eats well and she just pooped too. I also cant really just go to a vet because I live in South Korea and there arent any aquatic creature vets in South Korea.

Water parameters:
ammonia: 0
nitrate: 0
nitrite: 10
Gh: 8
kh: 8
ph: 7.6
Cl2: ~0.4

also how many pellets should I feed my ~5inch long axie
pics of her gills below
 
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please test water with liquid tests rather than stick tests due to accuracy.
do you mean nitrates ten not nitrites ten (if it is nitrites she would need removing from tank due to toxicity and given methylene blue baths)
gills look quite normal.
 
yeah mb i got nitrates and nitrites mixed up, ill buy some liquid tests and see if my parameters are ok
 
pics of curled gills and curled tail that are more clear above.

also she used to be in a different tank with decently high nitrates and nitrites abt 2 weeks ago and I never gave her any treatment, so should I give her a methylene blue bath?
 
My axie's gills are obviously curled forward it sometimes even covers her eyes idk maybe the pic was just bad but they are very obviously forward curled
 
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do a full water parameter test using liquid tests to ensure levels are good if any signs of stress are displayed.
for forward facing gills ensure adequate/good levels of water oxygen, make sure that the gills aren't just being affected/moved by water current, low water oxygenation will also cause frequent surface gulping which can lead to floating.
 
I used liquid tests and here are the results:
ammonia: 0.05
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 10
Gh: 9
kh: 9
ph: 7.4
Cl2: ~0.4

I also bought a water bubbler for oxygen because I didnt have one and idk if its useful or not
Also should I buy a chiller yes or no? my water is ~22C
 
22°c is too warm, 15°c-18° are ideal with 15°c being best.
 
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