Health concerns.

[majerah1]

I have a larval stage tiger.We got him from a man in the mall.The problems with this little guy though.First off,the container he was in was a small half gallon critter keeper,only half full.He had green and white gravel,which wasnt rinsed(i could tell by the green flakes oh Eragons head)and he had been living in it for awhile without proper water changes.His gill fluff is all gone.Didnt know if maybe it was from the poor care or possibly him changing?But ive noticed,his skin has a bluish white filmy look,as if his slime coat is producing too much(do they have slime coats?Im a fish person,lol)And it kinda bothers me that he may not be feeling good.Ive added guppies to his enclosure,for him to eat and they nibble on him instead.He will eat frozen bloodworms,but it cant be a good staple for him.I cant get him to eat the pellets that came with him.Ive read a tea bath could help the film,but what i wanted to ask,i have indian almond tea,from boiling the leaves(fish stuff again,lol)Could i add it to his water?It soothes the bettas skin and heals wounds,and strengthens the scales.I have aquarium salt too.Any help would be wonderful.He swims fine wanders the bottom fine and acts ok,just not eating his live food and the blue is worrying me.

Heres a couple pics of him.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/majerah1/Tigersalamanderjuvie003.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/majerah1/Tigersalamanderjuvie004.jpg

The gravel is being removed today.he will be in a bare bottomed tank until i get a chance to get either sand or bigger rocks.(ive read about sand impaction and worry about that too,lol.Is it a risk with tigers?)Thanks in advance for advice,tips and comments.

 

[Azhael]

Well, sand doesn´t pose a risk of impaction, so i´d recomend it. I use it with very good results. Just make sure you use a thin layer, less than 3cm deep.

Your ambystoma doesn´t look too bad. It´s obvious it´s been neglected, but if you provide the correct care, i´m sure it will fully recover.
I don´t know if you´ve already read it, but just in case, here is a link to the Ambystoma tigrinum/mavortium caresheet:
Caudata Culture Species Entry - Tiger salamander

Also, remove the fish. Fish cause stress not only by their mere presence, but also with their urine(which is pure ammonia), and of course in this case with the nibbling. You need to avoid all that, so that the larva is as much stress-free as possible. If in the future, you wish to offer fish as part of the diet, you first need to quarantine them cause there is a risk of transmission of patogens. By the way, the best food you can offer to your larva are earthworms, nothing beats them.

 

[majerah1]

Thanks for the reply.yes the fish were quarantined.(they were my daughters pets,lol)I breed bettas,and any new fish to come into my fish room are closely monitored in seperate tanks for thirty days.i had a pretty old head and tail light tetra i put in there today and he ate it.the gupps are in a smaller tank under him,and the one with him will return home.So sand is safe?Good to know.When i go pick up my kid ill ride out to home depot and get a bag.Should i slope it for a land area?I have some rocks piled up so if he wants he can get up.Just the top oh him is out of water on the top one though.Will his gills heal ya think?Even with the airstone he gulps air from the surface.He gets 95%waterchanges twice weekly and i do check the ammonia.Its at zero.The filter was cycled from a growout tank.

 

[Azhael]

If conditions are ideal, the gils will regenerate without problems. That´s ,of course, provided it´s not starting metamorphosis which by the looks of it, is not likely yet.
Water changes should be about 20% of the total water volume. If the tank is fuly cycled, then they can be weekly, or bi-weekly, but if the tank is new, even if the filter is cycled, i would recomend daily partial water changes.

It´s normal for him to gulp air, since it´s an advanced larva.
As i said, i don´t think he is morphing yet, but he could, so keep offering some land area. Not a slope, though, as they take far too much volume from the tank, and trap large amounts of debrish, which can then rot in the anaerobic conditions inside the slope and cause havoc in the water parametres. Remember, to be on the safe side, substrate should be an inch or so at its deepest.

 

[majerah1]

Thanks so much!ill make sure to heed your advice.His land area will stay the large rocks.I guess ill hafta do the daily,since ive got to redo the whole thing.

Oh and another thing.Since i breed bettas for show,i have culls,where they are either not as big as i need,IE runts or belly sliders(all together healthy,just not genetically sound.Could i feed him the culls?It would be easier than an oscar(too messy a fish)since ive already got him.They will be high in vitamins,lol.But i read no goldfish so didnt know if only certain fish would be good for him or not.Dont wanna make the lil dude sick.

 

[majerah1]

Double post,sorry.Just an update on Eragon.I redid his enclosure.I bought him some of the pan worms,and am cutting them in tirds to feed him.He enjoys them quite a bit!Also,instead of the ten he was in i went ahead and moved him to a slightly larger tank.Its not the 20L i want but as it stands i cant find one for a decent price.So hes in my 29tall.Not much more groundspace,but he does have at least twice as much water,so not as much worries on the params.Daily waterchanges until its fully cycled.Still the same filter.I bought some all purpose sand,and sifted through it to ensure no large pieces.He has some plants in there as well, from the pond.They are anchored pretty well,and he enjoys laying on them.I believe they are a type of sagg.(thats what they were sold to me as anyways.)I have noticed he does enjoy walking on the sand more than the bare bottom of the tank.

Any thoughts on feeding him my betta culls?

 

[Jennewt]

I think the baby bettas would be perfectly OK to supplement his diet. However, it's possible that they will be too fast moving for him to catch them.