Ammonia burn causes peeling, gills fell off and wont eat plz help

[blakec1211]

I bought an pink leucitic axolotl about 2 weeks ago and early on i noticed my axolotl was pale so i got the water tested and turns out it had to much ammonia, water was tested before hand but water conditioner didn't get rid of the ammonia, anyways after about 2 days of being in the water, he turned pale i put him in the fridge then added API fresh start to the tank and got it tested. The water is now good ( pH-7.6, Ammonia-0ppm Nitrites-0ppm Nitrates-about 4 to 5 Temp: 64F). The axolotl remained in the fridge for about a week and then returned him to his tank (20 gallons). about 2 days ago i started doing tea baths 2x times a day and tried feeding him while he was in it. (wouldn't eat in tank either), but he is yet to eat, i have tried bloodworms nightcrawlers, and red wigglers. He doesn't seem to even notice the food or care about it even waving Infront of him he wont react. His gills have been falling off for the past few days and I think they are starting to regrow. His tail is also peeling, I'm not sure if its his slime coat or fungus but he is doing tea baths anyways so i dont think i need to do anything differently. I'm just wondering if its normal for them to peel when recovering from ammonia burn and to not eat. I'm just worried because he looks worse then while he was being fridged currently.

Currently: Day before being fridged:

 

[wolfen]

your tank needs to be cycled properly otherwise all you are doing is moving her (looks like a female in the photos) back and forth between tank and tub every time the ammonia levels rise.
she needs to be tubbed in cold water, 100% water changes daily with water that has been dechlorinated before using.
using holtfreters solution will help with healing, keeping the temperature between 15°c - 18°c will allow for healing without causing her to loose her appetite. Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity
if the ingredients for holtfreters can't be accessed straight away then using 2g salt per litre water (marine preferable as it must not contain iodine), this will help against the effects of ammonia toxicity, it will also help protect against fungus.
make sure the tub is oxygenated with an air-stone.
if you are using tea baths make sure that the tea is pure black tea as some have additives for taste added, Tubbing and Safe Meds - Oregon Axolotls

 

[blakec1211]

also the other picture didnt really show this but is this fungus or is it just part of healing from the ammonia burn?

 

[Autistic Catholic]

How frequently are you doing the tea baths and for how long? I'm wondering if maybe you're going overkill on the tea baths and that's what causing the issues. If you took Benadryl every single day, you wouldn't do so good. Tea baths have medicinal effects but too much tea exposure can subject your little one to very dangerous levels of tannins.

 

[blakec1211]

How frequently are you doing the tea baths and for how long? I'm wondering if maybe you're going overkill on the tea baths and that's what causing the issues. If you took Benadryl every single day, you wouldn't do so good. Tea baths have medicinal effects but too much tea exposure can subject your little one to very dangerous levels of tannins.

Half a cup of black tea per gallon 15 mins 2x times a day

 

[blakec1211]

your tank needs to be cycled properly otherwise all you are doing is moving her (looks like a female in the photos) back and forth between tank and tub every time the ammonia levels rise.
she needs to be tubbed in cold water, 100% water changes daily with water that has been dechlorinated before using.
using holtfreters solution will help with healing, keeping the temperature between 15°c - 18°c will allow for healing without causing her to loose her appetite. Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity
if the ingredients for holtfreters can't be accessed straight away then using 2g salt per litre water (marine preferable as it must not contain iodine), this will help against the effects of ammonia toxicity, it will also help protect against fungus.
make sure the tub is oxygenated with an air-stone.
if you are using tea baths make sure that the tea is pure black tea as some have additives for taste added, Tubbing and Safe Meds - Oregon Axolotls

Yes, the tea is 100% black and the tank water is back to axolotl safe levels tank was cycling for about 4 weeks before i got my axolotl but i just used fresh start to fix the ammonia because sales women said she recommended it for high ammonia levels, i also have a water stone and pump temp is about 64

 

[blakec1211]

How frequently are you doing the tea baths and for how long? I'm wondering if maybe you're going overkill on the tea baths and that's what causing the issues. If you took Benadryl every single day, you wouldn't do so good. Tea baths have medicinal effects but too much tea exposure can subject your little one to very dangerous levels of tannins.

He is also not very active, he spends most of his time either in his log or just against the wall

 

[Autistic Catholic]

Half a cup of black tea per gallon 15 mins 2x times a day

Try reducing to one a day. This could be what's causing the shrinking of her gills.

 

[blakec1211]

How frequently are you doing the tea baths and for how long? I'm wondering if maybe you're going overkill on the tea baths and that's what causing the issues. If you took Benadryl every single day, you wouldn't do so good. Tea baths have medicinal effects but too much tea exposure can subject your little one to very dangerous levels of tannins.

Try reducing to one a day. This could be what's causing the shrinking of her gills.

by the way how do you tell their sex? i was told small bumps on underside mean male, my axolotl does have those bumps but im not sure if it is male or female

 

[blakec1211]

Try reducing to one a day. This could be what's causing the shrinking of her gills.

you have any idea if the tail is from the ammonia or fungus? i wouldnt think fungus bc constant tea baths and still recovering from ammonia

 

[Autistic Catholic]

Are you conditioning the water?

IDK how to tell sex. I typically trust wolfen on that. May be the angle?

 

[blakec1211]

Are you conditioning the water?

IDK how to tell sex. I typically trust wolfen on that. May be the angle?

Yes I am conditioning but I'm not sure which I should use, prime and api quick start both seem to work

 

[Autistic Catholic]

Use Seachem Prime. It neutralizes toxic metals which can cause slime coat peeling. Also, I think API has aloe vera in it. It might just be their stress coat product. But overall, Seachem Prime is going to be much better for the little one.

 

[wolfen]

also the other picture didnt really show this but is this fungus or is it just part of healing from the ammonia burn?

the blood flow has been stopped from going into the gills to prevent further toxic absorption, when they start going pink again will be when they start to function again.
your axolotl is also extremely pale, if you can check the kh gh.
there has been damage to skin, feet, tail and gills from what is noticeable in the first photo's
how high was the ammonia and how high was the nitrite level when this happened.
salt is used to treat ammonia but if there was also high nitrites then methyline blue baths would be a good idea.
how was the tank cycled ie.. fish in tank, food waste, ammonia chloride etc..
both male and female have a cloaca but on the male it looks like there is a large bean between the back of the back legs and the start of the lower tail fin, on a well developed male it is quite noticeable as looking similar to genitalia, if in doubt there are numerous photos online showing the differences between the sexes.
because axolotl also absorb oxygen through their skin any slime coat product can interfere with this process, most dechlorinators bind metals as well as removing chlorine.
when it comes to ammonia products there are two types, ones that bind/lock ammonia and ones that remove ammonia, the ones that bind/lock ammonia force the free ammonia (toxic) into ammonium (non-toxic) these will still give the same reading of being ammonia, the ammonia removal types should leave no ammonia readings.
api quick start is a bacteria top up not a dechlorinator.

 

[blakec1211]

the blood flow has been stopped from going into the gills to prevent further toxic absorption, when they start going pink again will be when they start to function again.
your axolotl is also extremely pale, if you can check the kh gh.
there has been damage to skin, feet, tail and gills from what is noticeable in the first photo's
how high was the ammonia and how high was the nitrite level when this happened.
salt is used to treat ammonia but if there was also high nitrites then methyline blue baths would be a good idea.
how was the tank cycled ie.. fish in tank, food waste, ammonia chloride etc..
both male and female have a cloaca but on the male it looks like there is a large bean between the back of the back legs and the start of the lower tail fin, on a well developed male it is quite noticeable as looking similar to genitalia, if in doubt there are numerous photos online showing the differences between the sexes.
because axolotl also absorb oxygen through their skin any slime coat product can interfere with this process, most dechlorinators bind metals as well as removing chlorine.
when it comes to ammonia products there are two types, ones that bind/lock ammonia and ones that remove ammonia, the ones that bind/lock ammonia force the free ammonia (toxic) into ammonium (non-toxic) these will still give the same reading of being ammonia, the ammonia removal types should leave no ammonia readings.
api quick start is a bacteria top up not a dechlorinator.

I'm not sure how high the ammonia was, my local fish store tested it for me before I got a kit they told me to do 20% water change, but not the actual amount, when he was burned, he didn't get red he was just white, also person testing said everything else was good so I assume no nitrites. They have been pink for about a week now but it's very subtle, they aren't bright it's very light.

 

[blakec1211]

the blood flow has been stopped from going into the gills to prevent further toxic absorption, when they start going pink again will be when they start to function again.
your axolotl is also extremely pale, if you can check the kh gh.
there has been damage to skin, feet, tail and gills from what is noticeable in the first photo's
how high was the ammonia and how high was the nitrite level when this happened.
salt is used to treat ammonia but if there was also high nitrites then methyline blue baths would be a good idea.
how was the tank cycled ie.. fish in tank, food waste, ammonia chloride etc..
both male and female have a cloaca but on the male it looks like there is a large bean between the back of the back legs and the start of the lower tail fin, on a well developed male it is quite noticeable as looking similar to genitalia, if in doubt there are numerous photos online showing the differences between the sexes.
because axolotl also absorb oxygen through their skin any slime coat product can interfere with this process, most dechlorinators bind metals as well as removing chlorine.
when it comes to ammonia products there are two types, ones that bind/lock ammonia and ones that remove ammonia, the ones that bind/lock ammonia force the free ammonia (toxic) into ammonium (non-toxic) these will still give the same reading of being ammonia, the ammonia removal types should leave no ammonia readings.
api quick start is a bacteria top up not a dechlorinator.

I think you might have found the issue, i have used api quickstart when doing water changed thinking it was also a dechlorinate, on the back it talked about dechlorinating but i just reread over it and it is talking about api stress coat, not quick start. should i do a full water change, or should i add prime to the tank as is?

 

[Autistic Catholic]

API Quick Start is a dechlorinator but not all dechlorinators are created equal. If you do 100%, be mindful to cycle again. I would tub your axolotl for now and use the Seachem Prime to dechlorinate just in case there are undetected toxic metals in your water source. It will need 100% daily water changes.

 

[blakec1211]

API Quick Start is a dechlorinator but not all dechlorinators are created equal. If you do 100%, be mindful to cycle again. I would tub your axolotl for now and use the Seachem Prime to dechlorinate just in case there are undetected toxic metals in your water source. It will need 100% daily water changes.

ok thanks

 

[wolfen]

DO NOT use API quick start as a dechlorinator, it is not a dechlorinator. it is a bacteria booster.
taken from API website "API® QUICK START nitrifying bacteria allows for the instant addition of fish, as it immediately starts the natural aquarium cycle with beneficial bacteria, which converts toxic ammonia into nitrite, then into harmless nitrate to help prevent fish loss in your tank. Best for use when starting a new aquarium, after water changes and filter changes, and when adding new fish to an existing aquarium. API QUICK START nitrifying bacteria may be used in both fresh and saltwater aquariums"
dechlorinator are chemical not biological.

 

[blakec1211]

DO NOT use API quick start as a dechlorinator, it is not a dechlorinator. it is a bacteria booster.
taken from API website "API® QUICK START nitrifying bacteria allows for the instant addition of fish, as it immediately starts the natural aquarium cycle with beneficial bacteria, which converts toxic ammonia into nitrite, then into harmless nitrate to help prevent fish loss in your tank. Best for use when starting a new aquarium, after water changes and filter changes, and when adding new fish to an existing aquarium. API QUICK START nitrifying bacteria may be used in both fresh and saltwater aquariums"
dechlorinator are chemical not biological.

Update: he is now tubbed with properly treated water (prime and a little quickstart.) Ordered kh and gh test on Amazon, will arrive in about 5 days, I will try feeding him every day and water change tub every day, what amount of nitrates would you say I should have in my main tank to be safe? Currently it's only around 1-2 used to be about a 4 before I added about 2 gallons of chlorinated water. I added prime to my main tank to make sure there is no chlorine, the tub is staying about 63f, which types of food should I use I have red wiggles night crawers and bloodworm cubes?