HELP Axolotl tail has spots and eating less

[GageOtic]

About a week ago my axolotl started eating less. Today I noticed he has weird spots on his tail I didn’t see before. He is like 3-4 months had him like a month. Water parameters are fine and temp is like 64-66 f

 

[tundrabadger]

What does eating less mean in this case?

 

[GageOtic]

What does eating less mean in this case?

He would eat almost half a baby night crawler everyday and is now only eating less than a centimeter worth every 2 days...

 

[Hayleyy]

When you say your water parameters are fine, what are the levels?
From the pics the dorsal along the tail looks to be curled a bit, does it still look like that now? Could be a sign of stress
Is there anything you have done differently? Done a water change and forgot to dechlorinate?

 

[GageOtic]

When you say your water parameters are fine, what are the levels?
From the pics the dorsal along the tail looks to be curled a bit, does it still look like that now? Could be a sign of stress
Is there anything you have done differently? Done a water change and forgot to dechlorinate?

Ammonia is 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate is 35 ppm
It isn’t curled, it was just like that from me shining light on him for the photo. Nothing different, he just started refusing food. He puts it in his mouth but spits it out. He look skinny to me. I always use conditioned water for the tank as well. I’ve tried killing the worms and letting it sit so it doesn’t wiggle in his mouth as I’ve heard some don’t like that. I’ve tried 3 different worm types. Blood worms, red wigglers, and Canadian night crawlers. Just not eating as much. Thought it was nothing till I saw these spots.

 

[Hayleyy]

See if you can get closer/clearer shots of the spots. Are they raised? I don't know what the spots could be but someone who has seen them before may be able to help. In the meantime keep offering food.

 

[GageOtic]

See if you can get closer/clearer shots of the spots. Are they raised? I don't know what the spots could be but someone who has seen them before may be able to help. In the meantime keep offering food.

I can't see if they're raised but they're spreading. they look fuzzy. i cant post another photo for some reason

 

[Petersgirl]

There are two possible causes that I see; iridophores and fungus. Iridophores are the most likely.


Iridiophores are completely harmless, natural spots that appear on axolotls. They are usually on the tail, dorsal fin, sides and head. In a Leucy or Albino axxie they will usually be a faint white or pale gold colour. They will be completely flat.
My way to check is to take a torch and shine the light on the spots. If they reflect back a little (like a reflective jacket would) they're iridophores and completely harmless. The axxie may gain more as they get older and the same trick will work to identify them.

If they don't shine back, you may need to gently touch the axxie's tail and see if anything brushes off. If something does, and it looks a little like wet cotton wool, it might be fungus and will need to be treated with salt baths (followed by tea baths after the salt baths have finished, if you prefer).

I suspect these are iridophores, and completely harmless. As for eating less, axxies typically go through periods of fussy eating as they get older. If he is now a sub-adult he will likely stop eating as often - maybe as little as once every other day. He'll be a sub-adult if he's around 1.5 years old. I usually count 2 years old as being a full adult. I'd only worry if he stops eating completely for four days to a week straight and has other symptoms on top of not eating.

 

[GageOtic]

There are two possible causes that I see; iridophores and fungus. Iridophores are the most likely.


Iridiophores are completely harmless, natural spots that appear on axolotls. They are usually on the tail, dorsal fin, sides and head. In a Leucy or Albino axxie they will usually be a faint white or pale gold colour. They will be completely flat.
My way to check is to take a torch and shine the light on the spots. If they reflect back a little (like a reflective jacket would) they're iridophores and completely harmless. The axxie may gain more as they get older and the same trick will work to identify them.

If they don't shine back, you may need to gently touch the axxie's tail and see if anything brushes off. If something does, and it looks a little like wet cotton wool, it might be fungus and will need to be treated with salt baths (followed by tea baths after the salt baths have finished, if you prefer).

I suspect these are iridophores, and completely harmless. As for eating less, axxies typically go through periods of fussy eating as they get older. If he is now a sub-adult he will likely stop eating as often - maybe as little as once every other day. He'll be a sub-adult if he's around 1.5 years old. I usually count 2 years old as being a full adult. I'd only worry if he stops eating completely for four days to a week straight and has other symptoms on top of not eating.

Thank you, I hope it is, I got a good photo of the stuff as well