Desperate advice needed!!!!

K

katrina

Guest
somebody please help my poor axie! my axolotl has a white thing growing on its mouth. I think its fungus and have been treating the water with an anti-fungus but it isnt working! She's had it before as my dad bought it with it on and we got rid of that. This one wont seem to budge. She has also lost the left frilly thing. Im really worried and need some good advice on how to go about it and prevent it from happening again. I have lost my last axie's from this and i dont want it to happen again. I have attached a photo for better analysis. Thank you
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Remove your axolotl from the tank and put it in a smaller container of fresh water that will fit in your fridge.

You will need another container to give salt baths in. Give your axolotl a salt bath twice a day.

Mix 2 liters of water with 2 to 3 teaspoons of salt. Mix the salt until it is completely dissolved then soak the axolotl for 10 min. Time the bath so you do not over soak as salt can burn the gills and skin.

Return the axolotl to the smaller container of clean water and put it in your fridge.

Keep an extra container of water in the fridge so you have it to give salt baths with.

Your water looks greenish what is the name of the medication you are using. A lot of fish medications are toxic to axolotls.

Axolotls in the fridge do not need to eat as often and will slow down. The cooler temp will help the axolotl heal and hinder the growth of the infection.
 
thank you so much!! ok ive given it a salt bath and put it in the fridge. I was just wondering how long i should leave it in the fridge? do i leave it until the infection has gone? do i change the water thats in the fridge regulary? the fungus stuff im using is 'Aquarium Science Fungus & Finrot Remedy'. should i put this in the water thats in the fridge? thank you very much!
 
Stop using the fungus medication, it contains malachite green and is TOXIC to your axolotl.

'Fungus & Finrot Remedy' by Aquarium Science and contains 2.0mg/ml Acriflavine and 0.4mg/ml Malachite Green.


You should leave it in the fridge until it shows marked improvement or even until it is nearly or completely healed. Continue the salt baths twice a day.

Put an extra container of water in the fridge so you have fresh water that is the same temp to use for water changes. I would change its water at least every other day . Do not let it sit in dirty water.

It will slow down and wont want to eat as often but do offer it food once every 2 or 3 days just incase.

(Message edited by cynorita on June 01, 2005)
 
Your a lifesaver!!! Thank you so much! Hopefully when Frenesi (my axie) gets better it will look just as lovely as yours. Thank you again, i really appreciate your help!!
 
Keep us posted on Frenesi's progress. I hope it heals up fast, that is a nasty looking infection.
 
Man that is really bad. Poor guy only has 1gill left, normally they should have 6! Like Cynthia said keep us posted, I hope everything gets better.
 
will axolotls eat while they are in the fridge? or does their metabolism slow down so much they can't?
 
As far as i know, they will eat eventually but not as often as they normally would as yes, their metabolism does slow down.

I was wondering, because the tank i normally have my axolotl in has the fungus cure in it, should i completly clean the whole tank? And when she is ready to go back into the big tank, how would you recommend adjusting her temperature from the cold one to the normal temperature of the tank (usually 14 degrees)? Just so she doesn't get shocked when she is put back in. She is showing improvments, but i don't think she likes being in the colder water. All her veins are showing and her face is all red, is this normal? Is there anything else that you reccommend that be added to her water and tank so she is more comfortable? Thank you again for all your advise, its been great! I also forgot to ask you, she has a bubble over one eye and it looks like it has blood in it. Do you know what it is, how it got there and how to get rid of it? Its just like a clear bubble with a bit of red in it.
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If you put fresh carbon in your filter it should be able to remove the medication from the water in a few days. I would do a 20% water change after the filter has taken all the green tint out of the water.

When the axolotl is ready to go back into the tank, take it out of the fridge and let it sit at room temp until the water in its container is the same temp as the tank water. When I did this it took pretty much all day to reach the right temp. Your milage may vary.

I am not sure about the red dot on her eye.

Mine did not like being in the fridge either. I have never put a white axolotl in the fridge so I am not sure about the veins becoming brighter.

I am glad it is showing improvement and I hope it heals quickly.
 
Wow, she looks rough. Keep on with the fridge. The 5 missing gill stalks should grow back. Make sure you give her well aerated water when she gets out of the fridge, as she only has 1/6 of her working gills.
 
GAHH she now how this fluffy white stuff on her last frilly. i hope its not fungus. is this normal? I've been given her salt baths since monday (its now saturday) and she has seemed to improve a bit, but now she has white stuff on her frilly thing. I've tried to feed her, but she doesn't seem interested. I got some fresh carbon and im about to put it in. Is there a certain amount that is overkill? Like can you put to much in? My tank measures 610cm long, 300cm wide by 380cm deep. Do you recommmend putting plants in? I used to have some kind of weed in there but the all of these snails starting hatching off it and it fell apart, so i took it out. I have some put plants for her to hide in, and she always used to sit under the filter. If there is anything else about the setup i need to change, please let me know. I feed her pieces of ox heart that is frozen, but by the time it gets to her its not. I hand feed her with tweezers. Cynthia, i would really like to thank you for your help and advise!!
 
Just use as much carbon as the filter requires, adding extra won't harm anything unless the filter isn't designed to function properly with extra carbon in it. But there isn't any need to add extra.

I don't think getting fungus while in the fridge and while having salt baths is a good thing. Are you sure it isn't lint or something?

I would try and find it something different to eat, like a night crawler. Beef heart is hard for them to digest.

Putting plants in would depend a lot on your lighting situation. With the heat there you probably don't need the extra heat caused by a light.

I hope she starts perking up for you soon.
 
The veins showing more is normal. Same thing happens with any other light skin toned animal including humans. But remember to make sure that the water is well aerated!! I would say that is extremely important because he is probably mainly relying on the oxygen absorbed through his skin rather than his gills (since he only has 1).
 
While the animal is in the fridge, aeration is not an issue. You will see it gulp more at the surface though.

Keep with the salt baths, twice a day. Make sure you are using the correct concentration of salt (Cynthia can fill you in on this). Try to change the water in the fridge on a daily basis. Make sure the salt bath water is the same temperature as the fridge water.
 
I got a picture of the white stuff on her last frilly. Im pretty sure its fungus and i dont know what to do. My dad says i should put it back in the tank where there is better aeration and she is able to breath a bit better, but still keep up with the salt baths. SHould i do this or not?
37234.jpg
 
Don't put her back in the tank. Definately keep her in the fridge. For 1.) the cold keeps the fungus from spreading. 2.) the cold water holds more oxygen than warm water. Keep on the salt baths. Be diligent! Twice a day, no exceptions! And try not to disturb her in any way between the baths. Just let her sit in the fridge and rest.
 
Ok, well i didnt put her back in the tank. I keeping up with the salt baths, and the only time she gets disturbed in when she needs to be bathed. She has like a white-like moss kinda thing thats stringy and hanging on her body. I was just wondering if anybody knew what this was. Is she shedding her skin due to the salt baths? Like is it burning her skin off? Im not sure, im just really worried because she doesnt look well. Thanks again for the advice guys
happy.gif
 
My guess, since the fluff didn't respond to anti-fungal treatment, is that it's bacterial. Even if the fungal treatment was harming the axolotl, you should have seen it have some effect on the fluff if it was actually a fungal growth.

Did the plants with the snails also have fish in the tank with them, at the store they came from?
When the other axolotl died, did you do anything to clean/disinfect the tank? The plants could have introduced the disease into the tank- it's always a good idea to quarantine new plants just like you would quarantine new animals. Plus then you can pick off the snails you see before they get loose in your main tank and take over
happy.gif


The fungus in the mouth looks to me like a classic case of columnaris infection. Columnaris is a bacteria that likes cold, uncirculating water. It's nasty, spreads quickly and is hard to get rid of. In fish it usually takes hold around the mouth and gills, like on your axie, but some people have also had it on their axies around wounds on the tail or legs. The fact that it's not responding to salt baths or fungal treatments, AND is continuing to spread in cold water makes me think columnaris could be a possibility. It isn't spreading like wildfire though, from what I can see in the pictures, so it could still be something else. If you do a search on this site for "columnaris" you'll find a number of other threads where people have had similar troubles. I'd go down to your store and find some medication SPECIFICALLY made for columnaris and give that a try. I'd also get her into her tank again, somewhere where there's some circulation (take the carbon out of the filter!) The 14 degrees you said her tank was at is a nice temperature for them to live in normally, so should be ok for the bacterial treatment. Putting axies in the fridge salt baths fixes almost all of their problems most times, but the salt and fridge aren't helping here- it's still spreading.

Skin shedding could be a normal response to something like poor water quality. Because toxins like ammonia and nitrite in the water burn their skin, it's normal for some skin to become damaged if they're kept in poor quality water for too long. When those bits of skin die they'll flake off, just like your skin does when you have a blister that heals- the new healthy skin is underneath. Quite often the stores that sell them don't keep their axolotls in optimum conditions, so this could be causing her flaky skin... how long have you had her? It could also be that you're seeing an excess production of mucous. The fungal treatment you used and the salt baths can both irritate their delicate skin, which isn't always bad. Since the mucous coating is a natural protective layer, an irritation that causes a little more mucous to be produced isn't always bad. Sometimes it can help the skin heal. Hard to say what it is without really seeing it first hand!

Frenesi looks pretty sickly though, so the flaky skin could be just another sign of her ill health, it's hard to say. She's really very skinny, and with the fungus in her mouth I doubt she's been feeding much... does she still eat, when not in the fridge? Generally veins showing and redness is a sign of stress, and she's definitely stressed!

I really hope this little girl will get better for you! They're such wonderful animals. Good luck to both of you, I'll keep my fingers crossed!
 
Katrina - In the picture you just posted its face actually looks redder. Is it worse than before? If she is getting worse you perhaps need to try different treatments along with the salt baths.

http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm
says:

One form of potentially deadly bacterium that can be treated quite easily if caught in its early stages is Chondrococcus columnaris (commonly called Columnaris). This is a white fungus-like disease often confused with Saprolegnia, a common water-bourne fungus. Animals tend to lose their appetite and become sluggish, and then become covered in white/grey patches of bacteria. It's easiest and best to treat while still in its early stages. One treatment recommended by Heather Eisthen on the Urodeles newsgroup is to dip the effected animal in sea water for 10 minutes a day for three days in a row).

Holtfreter's solution in higher than normal concentrations is also effective against Columnaris, as is the use of a salt bath. Place the animal in a salt bath for about 10 minutes once or twice a day. A salt bath is prepared using 2-3 teaspoons of salt (table salt, cooking salt, or iodized salt, but not "low" or "low-sodium" salt) per litre/two pints. Don't leave the Axolotl in the salt bath for more than 15 minutes each time, because the salt will start to damage the Axolotl's skin and particularly its gills. Of course, this is all useless if the animal is still under stress when put back in its aquarium (strong-flowing water, high water temperature, bad water quality, etc....).


There is more to read there on medications you can use. You should visit that page and scroll to the heading: Bacterial and Fungal Problems

Also: Mercurochrome is an antiseptic/disinfectant available at pharmacies and can be quite effective when treating bacterial and fungal problems. The Indiana University Axolotl Colony recommends adding just a few drops to tint the water orange, and change the water frequently. 2-4 ppm (parts per million, i.e. 2 to 4 grams per 1000 litres of water) is the dosage recommended by Peter W. Scott.

Leah - are you sure that Columnaris likes cold water? I read that high water temperatures accelerate the progression of the disease; however lowering the water temp will not affect the outcome of the disease.

But in this case keeping the axolotl in the fridge would help the axolotl fight infection better even if it doesn't slow down the disease its self.

I have never had an axolotl with Columnaris so I would really like to know the best way to treat it.
 
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