Gill fungus

[Axolotlsmiles]

Hi everyone. Im an axolotl breeder and I’m having some trouble with my female. She’s always been a bit susceptible to fungus compared to my others and has had small cases before which a good couple salt baths cured in no time but recently she has gotten one that hasn’t shaken despite 5 days of consistent salt baths. One of her gills is just a Nub now and he appetite is smaller but she still eats regularly. I don’t like giving salt baths for more than a week or so and if it doesn’t go away before then I’m not sure what I should do. The male behind the tank divider has never had this issue and I have quarantined her since then. My parameters are 0 ammonia 0 nitrates and temperatures are normal ph is perfect so I am stumped. Any advice is appreciated thank you

 

[AMurry24537]

0 nitrites or 0 nitrates? If you have 0 nitrates (the non-toxic of the two), your tank is either uncycled or really really filled with plants.

To address the fungus issue, I've had a lot of luck using a variation of tea baths (plus frequent water changes, of course) that may help with your situation. Basically, I add black tea directly to the aquarium at a much lower concentration than a real tea bath (which you could also definitely try). I still use 100% black tea, brew it as normal, stick it in the fridge, and when it has cooled, I add about 8 oz. of black tea per 10 gallons of aquarium water. At this low of concentration, you can basically leave the black tea in there as long as you need, but when dealing with a fungus, I usually do 40-50% water changes every 12 hours. Once the water clears, I dose again with black tea. This combination has always worked really well for me and cleaned up any fungus issues within about 2 days.

 

[Axolotlsmiles]

0 nitrites or 0 nitrates? If you have 0 nitrates (the non-toxic of the two), your tank is either uncycled or really really filled with plants.

To address the fungus issue, I've had a lot of luck using a variation of tea baths (plus frequent water changes, of course) that may help with your situation. Basically, I add black tea directly to the aquarium at a much lower concentration than a real tea bath (which you could also definitely try). I still use 100% black tea, brew it as normal, stick it in the fridge, and when it has cooled, I add about 8 oz. of black tea per 10 gallons of aquarium water. At this low of concentration, you can basically leave the black tea in there as long as you need, but when dealing with a fungus, I usually do 40-50% water changes every 12 hours. Once the water clears, I dose again with black tea. This combination has always worked really well for me and cleaned up any fungus issues within about 2 days.

Thank you for your answer Ive only heard of tea baths being mildly helpful I never thought of it. Is there any specific brand I want?

 

[AMurry24537]

Thank you for your answer Ive only heard of tea baths being mildly helpful I never thought of it. Is there any specific brand I want?

Tea baths are definitely less strong than salt baths, but I've found that they're great for long term or regular treatments for exactly that reason. I do really need to emphasize again (for you and for anyone else with similar issues) that upping the water change schedule is the other half to this treatment, and probably the most helpful bit, but I've been pretty impressed with the effects of black tea nevertheless. For the brand, it shouldn't matter, but do check the ingredients to ensure that it is 100% black tea with no additives. I personally use Lipton's organic black tea.