Axolotls gills gone white! HELP!!

[Phippsy]

Hey,

my axolotl has been acting really weird lately. i was told that when his gills turn white it can mean that he is sleeping and i shouldn't worry but his gills have gone completely white and i haven't seen them coloured for ages.

i'm not sure whats going on and it would be great if you could give me some help.

thanks heaps phippsy:happy:

 

[Boo Penguin]

A picture would really help. Also what are the water parametres? Ph etc?

Has he been moving or is he simply sitting still with white gills?

 

[Phippsy]

hey,

he's been swimming fairly normally. he isn't as active as he used to be but he's not bad.

i haven't seen his gills normally colored for a couple of weeks now and i don't want to lose him.

i have little rocks in the bottom of the tank and i know that it's bad for him but when i asked the person at the pet store they said that sand wasn't very good and it clogged up the filter and was a real nuisance. i'm going to change the rocks to big rocks that he can't swallow. i've grabbed them from the creek on our farm. i have scrubbed them, rinsed them in water and then cooked them in the oven to get any bacteria out of them.

everything in the water is perfect (i think) e.g. Ph:7.0 amonia: 0 nitrite: 0 nitrate: 40-80.

if you have any tips this would be great.

Thanks heaps. PHIPPSY

 

[Morrison]

Hm, nitrate looks a little high to me.

Pale gills are often nothing to worry about. When they're not that active they're paler than when they're active as hell.
The gills mostly turn red when you feed your axies.

 

[NooNoo Kz]

My albino axies gills went white when he was shedding skin, so I had to fridge him to stop it. But after that everything seemed fine again. Your water looks ok, do you just use water ager? Morrison is right though they do go paler the less active they are... My albino Dyl was pink one day white the next then pink again haha .

 

[lea]

Could you please post a picture. It is easier to give advice it we can see you axie. What is your ammonia reading??? Are the gill feathers(the red bits that hang of the gills) still there??? Are you using the dip sticks or the drop tests??? It sounds like a water issue....

 

[Phippsy]

hey,

i tried to post some pictures of him but i lost the camera cord so that was a bummer.

i used the drop tests (never heard of the dip sticks).

my nitrate went down to about 30 -40 the last time i tested it and everything else was pretty much perfect again.

one thing that did happen though was that i had little rocks in the tank. i know that that is bad and so i got rid of them and got bigger one from my creek (i was told that sand was really hard to used because it clogged up your filter and was just plain annoying). i fridged him and when i put him back he pooped like 20 out. he looked like"well that's a relief to have that out"

he still has his gill feathers but there not looking to good. he has been fairly active lately bit then i guess whenever he would go for a big sprint around the tank it would look like his gills were a lot redder but then i look back again and there white (weird).

anyway, when i find the cord for the camera i will send you some pics and hopefully they will help.

thanks heaps PHIPPSY

 

[lea]

Im guessing with taking the gravel out there would have been a lot of gunk stirred up and this would upset your water parameters. Keep testing the water daily and doing water changes.
That is the problem is gravel....you are lucky he passed them. Keep an eye on him

 

[Phippsy]

hey,

yeah i realized that he could have been in lots of trouble and so I've been checking him quite frequently to make sure that he's OK. i have also checked my water parameters twice after i changed the water. the first time the Ph was quite high so i put in some Ph 7.0 stuff and then tested it again. the second one showed that the Ph7.0 stuff really does work.

he is a little better now but he is still a little different to when i got him.

quick question. if the amonia is high how do you get it back to normal (just for future reference).

thanks heaps these tips have all helped and i feel that i will be able to look after him a bit better now.
PHIPPSY

 

[lea]

water changes does the trick. smal(20-30%)l and frequent.

 

[Jennistophales]

Just a thought - I've noticed that my leucistic's gills get very pale when the water temps are on the cold side. If your water temperatures are a little chilly, that could be a potential cause for the pale gills.

 

[Phippsy]

hey all,

thanks for all the tips and ideas.

the water temperature is usually only about 18 degrees. i do fridge him a fair bit though and every time he seems to look a little different.

i have a tank vacuum that i use about once every 2 weeks. this does help with the ammonia a fair bit but i was just wondering if there are any other ideas that work well.

i have been trying to hand feed him some earthworms and he really liked them for the first day or 2 and then he just kept swimming away every time i tried to get him to eat it. does this mean that he is going off his food or is it something else???

thanks for all the help PHIPPSY

 

[Aimzs Lotties]

I am having the same problem. Though I sense it is more serious considering I have a Melanoid with gills turning white.. It started a few weeks ago. They went from pure black to black with gold flecks and tonnes of white on them in about a week..

Now though most of the gold is gone and it's just a fair bit of white. Until yesterday I thought it was just a random cool colour change. He is still eating and swimming, even laying his sperm packets as always lol.. but yesterday I caught him ITCHING them!!! Do axies often 'itch' or is he seriously sick?? :O

Please help!

 

[Yamid]

why, he looks like hes rolled in golden glitter!

 

[Morrison]

They sometimes have an itch but if he's scratching too often then it might be a problem. I don't see anything wrong, the gills look fine to me