Please advise

[elsasabo]

t Hi there , i have two axolotles , a wild coloured one and a pink.My wild coloured one is quite big , healthy looking and seems to be fine , hes called cesar ;l, where as the pink one , millan, has always been alot smaller .One of my main concerns is that she seems to struggle getting to the top to breath air , its as if she cant make it, she arches her back and rocks , she eventually gets there but it worries me .Has anyone else experienced this , id be grateful for any advice Carole

 

[Goobs]

Re: Please advice

Have you got gravel on the bottom of the tank???

 

[Shizeric]

Re: Please advice

Can you provide a picture of you tank setup so we can help determine if there are any problems that may causing the symptoms you described?

 

[elsasabo]

Re: Please advice

Hi yes i do have gravel on the bottom of the tank, I cant send a pic of tank set up, but the tank is three foot by one and a half foot, i have it half filled with water , they have plant pots for cover and artificial grass on one side, there a filter which only flows gently , they are fed bloodworm. I was advised not to have a light as it frightens them xx

 

[Kaysie]

Re: Please advice

Have you always fed bloodworms? They're low in calcium. I suggest adding earthworms to their diet so they get some calcium.

Axolotls are inherently lazy. Sometimes they start for the surface, then kind of give up and sink a little, and then give a big push to gulp air.

 

[Goobs]

Re: Please advice

Is the gravel small enough to fit in the axie's mouth? If they're eating bloodworm from the bottom they could be sucking in gravel.

 

[elsasabo]

Thank you for your advice , i wil certainly get some earthworms for them ,, unfortunatly i do think the gravel is to small, i wil clear the tank this weekend and get them some sand x

 

[Kaysie]

Good idea!