Axolotl Gills.

My axolotls gills are constantly curled, but is quite young. I'm not too sure how old, but ive only had my axolotl for about 4 weeks now. All my water levels are correct and I do water changes every 3/4 days depending on the amount of poo in the tank. The only thing I can think of is I have one very grumpy axolotl or its stressed in some kind of way. But I can tell you I do not hav a constant water temperature. Some days itll be 68 below, highest it gets is 70. I have heard a few people say the juvenile ones tend to have more curled gills but as a worried new parent, I post here quite often!

 

Your little axolotl looks great! Young ones will often have gills that look like that due to how long the gill stalks are compared to the axolotl's body.

If you can, I would try to keep the water temperature no warmer than 68 degrees. 70 occasionally isn't a big deal, but consistently running into that temperature can lead to illnesses like fungus or bacterial infections..

 

Your little axolotl looks great! Young ones will often have gills that look like that due to how long the gill stalks are compared to the axolotl's body.

If you can, I would try to keep the water temperature no warmer than 68 degrees. 70 occasionally isn't a big deal, but consistently running into that temperature can lead to illnesses like fungus or bacterial infections..

Ive definitely been trying. I live in Georgia and it gets pretty hot here during the summer and ive been trying to control the temp without having to purchase a chiller. Those things are so pricey and complicated.

 

Oh, I understand! My female axolotl tank in our main living area absolutely had to have a chiller because that room would get in the mid-80s or higher during the day in the summer... Once it was set up, maintenance has been fairly easy but it was not cheap! Recently I had to replace the pump so that was another $100...

Once of my male tanks is in our bedroom. We have a portable A/C unit we run in the summer to cool that room along with a fan blowing on the surface of the water in the tank. This worked last summer so I am hopeful it will continue to work this year! There were a few days I had to throw a frozen 2-liter in there though.

My other female and male tanks are downstairs which generally stays cooler. I am hoping just fans will be enough to keep the tanks ~68 degrees F, but we will just have to see!

 

Oh, I understand! My female axolotl tank in our main living area absolutely had to have a chiller because that room would get in the mid-80s or higher during the day in the summer... Once it was set up, maintenance has been fairly easy but it was not cheap! Recently I had to replace the pump so that was another $100...

Once of my male tanks is in our bedroom. We have a portable A/C unit we run in the summer to cool that room along with a fan blowing on the surface of the water in the tank. This worked last summer so I am hopeful it will continue to work this year! There were a few days I had to throw a frozen 2-liter in there though.

My other female and male tanks are downstairs which generally stays cooler. I am hoping just fans will be enough to keep the tanks ~68 degrees F, but we will just have to see!

I currently have a fan on my tank, blowing the surface but I have no idea how well it works. My room does stay fairly cooler than my living room area which is why I put my axolotl in there but as of now, my little buddy seems to be doing just fine.