My axolotl, Mika, who we thought was a male at first but is probably a female, is staying at the bottom of his tank and not swimming around. Yes, he is alive, I feed him bloodworms twice a week and sometimes pellets so he has a bit of variation. He used to swim sometimes and go up to gulp air but over the past few weeks he has not done this. My water levels are fine, perhaps a bit acidic, which is weird because our water was a bit alkali when we first got Mika (around April 2009). The potassium levels are high but this has never affected him before and I don't know how to change this. I do a 20% water change every week, sometimes with a few days delay because I'm busy. My tank is 95 litre with about 65 litres of water in there.
He likes to get himself stuck in between the filter and the side of the tank. I moved the filter and encouraged him away from it, and I then pressed the filter right up against the glass so he couldn't possibly get in there. Well somehow he did. He seems to be here quite a bit, or in some other weird position. But I rarely see him swimming or moving a lot. But obviously he has moved. He likes to stand by the filter by the running water, which is also odd because I thought flowing water stressed them out.
His gills are slightly forward which I know is a sign of stress.
Anyway, I don't know why he's doing this, he used to be very lively. I do move around his furniture a bit. I wonder if he's bored.
Any suggestions?
He likes to get himself stuck in between the filter and the side of the tank. I moved the filter and encouraged him away from it, and I then pressed the filter right up against the glass so he couldn't possibly get in there. Well somehow he did. He seems to be here quite a bit, or in some other weird position. But I rarely see him swimming or moving a lot. But obviously he has moved. He likes to stand by the filter by the running water, which is also odd because I thought flowing water stressed them out.
His gills are slightly forward which I know is a sign of stress.
Anyway, I don't know why he's doing this, he used to be very lively. I do move around his furniture a bit. I wonder if he's bored.
Any suggestions?