Your axolotl just shot to the surface, gulped something, and went back down. You panic is it drowning? Do you need to lower the water level? Maybe it needs air holes in the tank lid?

Then your friend says axolotls have gills, so they definitely don’t breathe air. But you just watched yours gulp at the surface. What’s actually happening?

The Answer That Confuses Everyone

Yes AND no. Axolotls can breathe air, but they don’t need to breathe air.

This sounds like a contradiction, but stick with me it makes sense once you understand how their triple breathing system works.

The Three-Way Breathing System

Axolotls are biological overachievers. They have THREE different ways to get oxygen:

Method 1: Gills (Primary System)

Those feathery pink or red structures on their head aren’t just for looks. They’re working gills that extract oxygen directly from water.

How it works: Water flows over the gill filaments. Oxygen dissolved in the water passes through the thin gill tissue into the bloodstream. Carbon dioxide exits the same way.

Efficiency level: This is their main oxygen source. If water quality is good and oxygen levels are adequate, gills handle 60-70% of their breathing needs.

What you see: The gills wave gently in the water. When an axolotl is active or stressed, gill movement increases as they work harder to extract oxygen.

Method 2: Skin (Backup System)

Their entire body surface absorbs oxygen directly from the water. This is called cutaneous respiration.

How it works: Oxygen dissolved in water passes through their permeable skin into blood vessels just beneath the surface. The whole body acts like one big breathing organ.

Efficiency level: Accounts for about 20-30% of oxygen intake under normal conditions. More important when gills are damaged or water oxygen is low.

Why this matters: This is why water quality is SO critical for axolotls. Their skin is constantly absorbing whatever’s in the water good or bad.

Method 3: Lungs (Emergency System)

Here’s the surprise: axolotls have lungs. Small, underdeveloped lungs, but functional ones.

How it works: They swim to the surface, open their mouth, and gulp air. The air goes into their lungs where oxygen is absorbed. They can hold this air for a while before releasing it.

Efficiency level: Only provides about 10% of their oxygen needs. These lungs are vestigial leftover from their salamander evolution but not fully developed.

When they use it: Emergency situations when water oxygen is dangerously low, or occasionally just because they can.

Why You See Them Gulp Air

When your axolotl shoots to the surface and gulps, it’s using those backup lungs. But this doesn’t mean it NEEDS air.

Normal Occasional Gulping (No Worry)

What it looks like: Every hour or few hours, your axolotl casually swims up, takes a quick gulp, and goes back to whatever it was doing.

What’s happening: They’re just supplementing their oxygen intake or adjusting their buoyancy. Axolotls use air in their lungs to help control whether they float or sink.

Your response: Nothing. This is completely normal behavior. Healthy axolotls do this occasionally.

Frequent Surface Gulping (Warning Sign)

What it looks like: Your axolotl constantly swims to the surface. Every few minutes it’s up there gulping air. It seems desperate or frantic.

What’s happening: The water doesn’t have enough dissolved oxygen. Your axolotl is compensating by using its lungs more than normal because the gills aren’t getting enough oxygen from the water.

Your response: This is a water quality emergency. Test your water immediately. Increase surface agitation (more oxygen dissolves at the water surface). Check your filter. Do a partial water change.

The Difference Between Casual and Desperate

Casual gulping:

• Once every hour or more
• Calm, relaxed movement to the surface
• Quick gulp, then back to normal activity
• Gills look healthy and full

Desperate gulping:

• Multiple times per hour
• Rushing to the surface
• Staying near the surface longer
• Gills might look pale, shrunken, or curled forward

The “Can They Drown?” Question

This question breaks people’s brains, but here’s the truth:

Axolotls cannot drown in the traditional sense because they primarily breathe through gills and skin underwater.

BUT they can suffocate if water oxygen levels drop too low, even though they’re surrounded by water.

Think of it like this: A human in a room with very low oxygen suffocates even though air surrounds them. An axolotl in oxygen-poor water suffocates even though it’s in water. The oxygen content matters more than the medium.

Can Axolotls Live Out of Water?

Since they CAN breathe air with those lungs, can they survive on land?

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: They can survive for a few minutes to maybe an hour out of water, breathing with their lungs. But several things go wrong fast:

Their skin dries out. Remember, skin breathing provides 20-30% of their oxygen. Dry skin can’t absorb oxygen and gets damaged.

Their gills collapse. Gill filaments are designed to float in water. In air, they stick together and can’t function.

They can’t move properly. Their body structure evolved for water. On land, they just flop helplessly.

They stress severely. Being out of water triggers extreme stress responses that can cause long-term health damage.

Bottom line: Lungs or no lungs, axolotls are fully aquatic. They need to stay in water.

Do You Need Air Holes in the Tank Lid?

This question comes up constantly because of the confusion about air breathing.

The answer: It depends, but not for breathing.

Why you might need air access:

• Prevents pressure buildup in completely sealed tanks
• Allows gas exchange at the water surface (this is how oxygen gets into the water)
• Reduces condensation problems

Why it’s NOT about axolotl breathing: Your axolotl doesn’t need to access air above the water to survive. It breathes primarily through gills and skin from dissolved oxygen IN the water.

Best practice: Leave a small gap between water and lid, or use a mesh lid. This maintains surface gas exchange (keeping water oxygen levels good) without creating escape opportunities.

Surface Agitation: The Real Key

Since axolotls breathe mostly from dissolved oxygen in water, you need oxygen to actually dissolve into the water. This happens at the surface.

How oxygen gets into water: Air touches the water surface. Oxygen from the air dissolves into the water at this boundary. Surface movement increases contact between air and water, dissolving more oxygen.

What creates surface agitation:

• Filter output pointed at the surface
• Air stones or bubblers
• Wave makers (gentle ones)
• Waterfall features

Why this matters more than “air access”: An axolotl in a sealed tank with good surface agitation will thrive. An axolotl in an open tank with stagnant water will struggle. Surface agitation determines dissolved oxygen levels.

Temperature’s Effect on Breathing

Water temperature dramatically affects how axolotls breathe.

Cold water (60-64°F / ideal range):

• Holds more dissolved oxygen
• Axolotl metabolism is slower, needing less oxygen
• Gills work efficiently
• Rare surface gulping

Warm water (68°F and above):

• Holds LESS dissolved oxygen
• Axolotl metabolism speeds up, needing MORE oxygen
• Gills work harder
• Frequent surface gulping
• Stress breathing

The danger zone (72°F+):

• Very low dissolved oxygen
• Very high oxygen demand from overheated metabolism
• Constant surface gulping
• Gills may curl forward (sign of oxygen desperation)
• Risk of death

This is why temperature control is critical. Warm water creates a double problem: less oxygen available, more oxygen needed.

Reading Gill Health Through Breathing

Gills tell you everything about breathing efficiency.

Healthy gills:

• Full and fluffy
• Extend outward from the head
• Vibrant color (pink, red, or dark depending on morph)
• Wave gently in the water
• Even on both sides

Oxygen-starved gills:

• Curled forward toward the mouth
• Pale or whitish color
• Limp or shrunken appearance
• Rapid fluttering movement
• Accompanied by frequent surface gulping

Damaged gills:

• Missing filaments
• Shorter than normal
• Uneven (one side smaller than the other)
• May force more skin and lung breathing to compensate

When Air Gulping Becomes a Problem

Occasional air gulping is normal. Constant air gulping signals problems.

Immediate actions when you see excessive gulping:

1. Test water parameters
   • Ammonia should be 0
   • Nitrite should be 0
   • Nitrate under 20 ppm
   • pH between 6.5-8.0
2. Check water temperature
   • Should be 60-64°F (15-18°C)
   • Anything above 68°F is causing problems
3. Increase surface agitation
   • Adjust filter output to ripple the surface
   • Add an air stone temporarily
   • Point a fan at the water surface (cools AND oxygenates)
4. Do an emergency water change
   • Change 50% of the water with dechlorinated water at proper temperature
   • This immediately improves conditions
5. Check tank mates
   • Other animals might be depleting oxygen
   • Remove fish or other creatures temporarily

The Evolutionary Story

Understanding why axolotls have this triple system helps everything make sense.

Axolotls are neotenic salamanders. They keep their larval (baby) form forever instead of transforming into land-dwelling adults.

Salamander larvae (babies) breathe with gills and skin, living fully in water.

Adult salamanders lose their gills, develop lungs, and live on land (or partly on land).

Axolotls got stuck in the middle. They kept the gills and aquatic lifestyle but retained vestigial lungs from their genetic blueprint for transformation.

The result: A creature with gills AND lungs, designed for water but with a backup air-breathing system it rarely needs. It’s evolutionary insurance that turned axolotls into breathing Swiss Army knives.

Comparing to Fish (They’re NOT Fish)

People sometimes assume axolotls breathe like fish since both live underwater.

Fish:

• Breathe exclusively through gills
• Cannot breathe air (except special species like lungfish or bettas)
• Die almost immediately out of water
• No skin breathing (their scales prevent this)

Axolotls:

• Breathe through gills (primary)
• Breathe through skin (secondary)
• Breathe through lungs (backup)
• Survive briefly out of water (though they shouldn’t)

This difference matters for care. Fish tank setups often work for axolotls, but the reverse isn’t always true. Axolotl water quality needs are stricter because they absorb through their skin.

The Bottom Line

Do axolotls breathe air? Yes, they CAN breathe air using small lungs.

Do axolotls NEED air? No, they need dissolved oxygen in water, which they get primarily through gills and skin.

Should you worry when they gulp air? Only if they do it constantly occasional gulping is normal, frequent gulping means water quality problems.

What they actually need:

• Clean water with good dissolved oxygen levels
• Proper temperature (60-64°F)
• Surface agitation from filters or air stones
• Regular water changes to maintain quality

Don’t overthink the air access. Focus on water quality. Keep the water cold, clean, and well-oxygenated, and your axolotl’s three breathing systems will work together perfectly.

Those occasional surface gulps? That’s just your axolotl showing off its evolutionary backup system. As long as it’s not constant, everything’s working exactly as nature designed.