grey film/ grey spots on axie

[PeterTse]

Hey! I'm an owner of a 2 1/2 year old axie. He's not very big but fsr still growing. I recently switched him to a nightcrawler diet and he's been getting nice and big, growing 1-2 inches in the last few months. The main reason for me writing this post is because he has had some grey film and spots developing mainly on his snout, but also some on the gills. I became concerned when his gills got some dark lines on them. I attached a photo. Should I be concerned? I did some research and saw that it could be a fungal infection if it looks like its fuzzy, which I don't think it is. II also saw it could be biofilm from plants and other things. I did have some plants that all died unfortunately so i just took them all out today when I was cleaning his tank. What should I do in this situation?

Thanks!

 

[wolfen]

how long has it taken for the discolouration to develop?
is there any substrate in his tank?, if so what is it?
fungus tends to be fuzzy where as mold infections tend to be like plaque on the skin though.

 

[PeterTse]

It’s been a few months, it started developing more on his body more so this last month. Other than the plants I took out I have a piece of driftwood for the tannins. It did have some dark algae growing on it that I took off this last cleaning. Nothing else other than that. Just some rocks and shelters.

 

[wolfen]

is there any chance of a close up photo (it's harder to concentrate on specific areas with videos)
there is a chance that the markings are colour change (he could be a dirty lucy) although same could be said about it being a skin infection.
the problem is if it is a skin infection one of the best ways to treat would be with potassium permanganate swabs which won't be pleasant using it on his snout/head.
place him in water containing 100% holtfreters + 0.1g/l magnesium sulphate, if it is an infection ie.. fungal or bacterial there should be some change to the patches, after a few days (daily water changes will still be require whilst tubbed or weekly if in tank) if there is change potassium permanganate swabs can be used (skin infections tend to be more hardy than gill fungus which holtfreters will treat on its own) for complete removal.

 

[PeterTse]

Yeah I can try to get photos. Thing is he used to be a muddy brown wild color when I got him as a baby then he slowly lost his color and turned into a “lucy” without the eyes. I haven’t seen any other reported case like this so idk what happened but he’s been fine since. That happened a year ago. Where would I get the things you talked about?

 

[wolfen]

leucistic (lucy) axolotls are pink/white with red gills and black eyes, not to be confused with albino which have pink/red eyes.
dirty leucistic (dirty lucy) are leucistic axolotls have dark patches hence the name dirty lucy.
although not very common the loss of pigmentation isn't unusual.
holtfreters info here.. Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

 

[PeterTse]

 

[wolfen]

on image 1104 it looks like there is swelling on the lower jaw, this could just be the photo giving the illusion of swelling but if there is swelling it would be a sign of infection.

 

[PeterTse]

Ok. Where would I get magnesium sulfate?

 

[wolfen]

magnesium sulphate is commonly known as pure epsom salts which can be brought either from shops pharmacy's or online.

 

[PeterTse]

Ok thank you so much. I will update with any changes in spots and health.