Illness/Sickness: Axolotl has red spots on his back

[MaskedBebe]

I had my axolotl for about 3 months now and he always been fine. He ate axolotl pellets (Hikari Axolotl Pellets). and normally he took 5 pellets every other day in warmer weather and 15 pellets 1x per week now that it’s colder, as recommended on the package.

http://www.kyorin-net.co.jp/extra/ex07.html

I raise him in a big fish bowl (please see attached photo), no mates in his bowl. I also removed the shelter house because he seems been getting fungus from it. Sorry his living condition is not good, which doesn't meet the minimum space requirement for an axolotl.

His water temperature is always around 10-13 degrees (there is one thermometer in his bowl), and I been changing his water everyday.

On Jan 13th, he took 13 pellets, then on Jan 20th, he took 20 pellets. but on Jan 27th, he only took 5, and by that night I noticed there was some red spots on his back as well as a very small amount of white fungus-looking thing on his head and back and there is also a deep cut on his tail not sure what’s happened, maybe it’s a glass edge cut? (the fish bowl edge is very sharp, we decided to polish it this weekend). However, on the second day (which is Jan 28th, he took another 6 pellets) and the red spots on his back seems going away, but he got a new red spot on his tail:

I think he still has very little fungus on his back now, but I don’t dare to give him a salt bath because of that big cut on his tail. And I am also not sure how salt bath gonna affect the red spots.

Here is a picture from when I got him for reference:

He been pretty active as usually, he sometimes does flips in his bowl.
My current plan is to keep changing his water daily and keep an close eye on his red spots, because I don’t know what else to do.
Can someone here advise me what should I do?

PS: I usually keep the tap water for 24 hours, then I add half drop of Jin Di Germicide & Chlorine Remover. And I use that water to raise the axolotl.

 

[auntiejude]

I
Sorry his living condition is not good, which doesn't meet the minimum space requirement for an axolotl.

Then why keep him in it? Your axie should be in a 50L tank (minimum), preferably with a filter. He may be stressed by the cramped conditions and lack of hiding places - a hide cannot give an axie fungus.
He is also very skinny - you are not feeding him enough. You should be feeding him 3-4 times a week, as much as he will eat in about 10 minutes.
The red spots may be a sign of stress or minor injury. Whichever it is you need to make his housing more acceptable and feed him more, and it may solve the problem.

 

[Kaini]

I'm with auntiejudge, you need to get him into the proper environment (a 50L setup at minimum, with plenty of hides) or re-home him. He's stressed, and very very skinny.

A bowl like that can't be cycled and to keep the water parameters down it would need to be changed almost daily and that can be really stressful to the animal. it's just not a good situation and it looks like he barely has enough room to turn around

 

[Kaysie]

Going to have to disagree with you guys. The Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center keeps their entire collection of axolotls in fish bowls. As long as you can maintain appropriate water quality (in this case, frequent 100% water changes), it's an adequate, if spartan, set up.

This axolotl is far from being dangerously skinny. It is a little thin, but given that it looks like a still-growing juvenile, I'm not surprised. It looks pretty normal. They generally attribute nutrition to growth, rather than storing it as fat.

Anyway, the red spots look like small injuries. These can happen even in a boring fish bowl ("Is that my tail? Bite it anyway!"). Keep an eye out for signs of infection, which include redness and swelling. But they should heal fine without any intervention.

 

[EmbryH]

It needs a larger living space, regardless of who keeps their axolotls in what. The space that axolotl has to live in is no better than putting a human in an 8x8 cell and expecting them to live happily forever. Your space may be limited, but your need to get your axolotl a better container immediately. You might be able to keep it alive like this, but it's not a good existence at all.

The injuries probably come from stress from a few things. First of all, it's obviously cramped; I can easily imagine an axolotl hurting itself because it's in too small of a space. Also it has nothing to hide in, nothing to feel protected it, it's just out in the open. A larger container would let you have a cave or at least a fake plant or something that your poor axolotl can hide behind.

Finally, do you do daily water changes? I see your axolotl's tail is a little veiny, something I've noticed as a sign of ammonia issues in the water. You might not have full fledged burns yet, but it's still a sign that your axolotl is in a stressful living condition.

And yes, do feed your axolotl a little more. As Kaysie said, it's not starving or anything, but it could definitely use a little more nutrition. Try feeding it every two days, three at the least. It should never have to go six days without food.

Otherwise your axolotl is in good condition, and it's obvious that you care about your pet, which is very good. But honestly, really, you need to get a bigger container for it. Even if you can make it physically "healthy" in that bowl, that kind of existence simply is not kind. If you don't have the space to properly keep an axolotl, or any pet, then you shouldn't have one.

I'm sure you love your axolotl, but keeping it in that bowl long term is cruel, and there's no way around it.

 

[auntiejude]

Going to have to disagree with you guys. The Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center keeps their entire collection of axolotls in fish bowls.

But they are scientific breeding centre that supply universities and research facilities. Would you buy a dog and keep it in a tiny cage because thats what they do in labs?
You buy a pet because you want to care for it and give it a comfortable happy home and life.
Round bowls are supposed to be stressful for fish as it disorients them, I don't know if the sames is true for axies.
While the setup here is just about 'adequate', and would be suitable as a temporary measure to cycle a tank or for quaratine, I would not like to see an axie kept like that permanently.

 

[Skudo09]

I have to agree with Auntiejude, Kaini and Embry on this one. Whilst the axolotl may have its basic physical needs met, I can't see how it could have any real quality of life in a bowl that it only has enough space to turn around in. This setup would only really be ok for short term but not long term.

I would recommend a larger setup as the axolotl would be much happier with room to swim and hides to feel more secure. It would also be easier to keep the water quality good as well.

 

[MaskedBebe]

Going to have to disagree with you guys. The Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center keeps their entire collection of axolotls in fish bowls. As long as you can maintain appropriate water quality (in this case, frequent 100% water changes), it's an adequate, if spartan, set up.

This axolotl is far from being dangerously skinny. It is a little thin, but given that it looks like a still-growing juvenile, I'm not surprised. It looks pretty normal. They generally attribute nutrition to growth, rather than storing it as fat.

Anyway, the red spots look like small injuries. These can happen even in a boring fish bowl ("Is that my tail? Bite it anyway!"). Keep an eye out for signs of infection, which include redness and swelling. But they should heal fine without any intervention.

Thank you for your support! I was kinda upset about all those blames I been trying my best to take care of him regardless of the size of his bowl. Yeah, I change his water 100% everyday, and most time his gills are light pink, unless he swim a lot.

Haha glad to hear he is not dangerously skinny. His bally is almost same width as his head, and he weight 61g (around 6.7 inch/17cm long). So he still has potential to grow? I read some articles and they say axolotl can grow up to 12 inches (30cm)!

Also agree with you about those red spots, I was freaking out when they first appear. Now they all go away slowly. My dad also smoothed the rim of the fish bowl for me, so it not as sharp as it used to be. \o/

Can I ask you two questions?

What do you suggest I can do to make him not feel bored? I used to put a big shelter house in his bowl, but I found it's hard to clean, and make him sick (white fungus) more easily, so I took it out. Now I am thinking a floating robber duck. >< The size is big than his head, so don't need to worry about he may swallow it.

What do you think his gender is? I think he is a male, but not sure.

Thank you very much for your reply!

 

[EmbryH]

You could perhaps try a small amount of plants for shelters, though in a container that small I don't know how it would affect your water quality.

I think that Java moss and Anacharis are pretty hardy, but I have very little experience with live plants, so I would ask someone else before using them in a bowl that tiny.

Your axolotl looks like he could be male, but time should see him develop a little more clearly.

I would still strongly, strongly, STRONGLY consider getting a larger container, but I hope these suggestions help.

 

[MaskedBebe]

It needs a larger living space, regardless of who keeps their axolotls in what. The space that axolotl has to live in is no better than putting a human in an 8x8 cell and expecting them to live happily forever. Your space may be limited, but your need to get your axolotl a better container immediately. You might be able to keep it alive like this, but it's not a good existence at all.

The injuries probably come from stress from a few things. First of all, it's obviously cramped; I can easily imagine an axolotl hurting itself because it's in too small of a space. Also it has nothing to hide in, nothing to feel protected it, it's just out in the open. A larger container would let you have a cave or at least a fake plant or something that your poor axolotl can hide behind.

Finally, do you do daily water changes? I see your axolotl's tail is a little veiny, something I've noticed as a sign of ammonia issues in the water. You might not have full fledged burns yet, but it's still a sign that your axolotl is in a stressful living condition.

And yes, do feed your axolotl a little more. As Kaysie said, it's not starving or anything, but it could definitely use a little more nutrition. Try feeding it every two days, three at the least. It should never have to go six days without food.

Otherwise your axolotl is in good condition, and it's obvious that you care about your pet, which is very good. But honestly, really, you need to get a bigger container for it. Even if you can make it physically "healthy" in that bowl, that kind of existence simply is not kind. If you don't have the space to properly keep an axolotl, or any pet, then you shouldn't have one.

I'm sure you love your axolotl, but keeping it in that bowl long term is cruel, and there's no way around it.

Hi thank you for reply. Yes, regard the living condition, I always worried about it, and consider to change him a tank after he grown a little bigger. For the veiny tail, I noticed that too, so it caused by the frequently changed water? I been using treated water all the time. And I have to do daily changes, otherwise he will make the water filthy, sometimes he has a lot of dead skins.

I used to feed it at least twice per week, but now it's winter and I reduce the feeding frequent according to Hikari's advice. But the total amount is almost the same.

 

[Kaysie]

Thank you for your support! I was kinda upset about all those blames

You're welcome, and I apologize that you came seeking help and were berated for issues that aren't even issues. Your axolotl appears to be in excellent shape otherwise, and his forked gills are adorable.

As for excitement, I would get some anachris. It's a floating plant, but he'll be able to hide in it. Moss balls are pretty, too. Like others suggest, with a larger tank, you'll be able to add more decor and hides. While I like live plants, I prefer silk plants. They are much easier to care for!

As for growth, he may still grow a bit, but 7 inches is adult size. Not every axolotl grows to 12 inches.

 

[Petersgirl]

I have a theory about the red spots. I read once axolotls can get red spots from leaning against surfaces with lots of bacteria on them, such as tank bottoms, glass and ornaments - tanks must have bacteria to be healthy, so it's probably a relatively common problem. I think he/she leaned against the glass walls of the bowl for a long period of time, which probably resulted in the spots. They've probably gone because he/she isn't leaning against the sides any more.

 

[xxianxx]

A couple of threads you guys may find interesting and informative regarding the importance of maintaining water quality rather than water volume , you will be rather suprised if you havent seen these threads.
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...e-have-different-way-keep-axolotls-china.html

Some of the posters axys, top of the range and proof that she knows what she is talking about.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...sion/86088-hi-we-china-baidu-bar-axolotl.html