Larval Tigers and Mudpuppy killed by.... Fungus?

[Nowicki418]

I'm new to this site and still haven't figured out how to use it as this may be in the wrong section, I posted another thread earlier and can't find it on the website, well maybe my slowspeed internet just isn't getting along.

I had a mudpuppy ( Necturus maculosis ) and two larval tiger salamanders ( Ambystoma tigrinum ). Both were killed by some sort of fungus. I recognized it and immediatly quarentened them in seperat tanks filled with purified water. All of them died and a white fuzz appeared over them hours after death.

I have much more details if needed. I no longer have anything at risk of this pathogen but I may be raising some more tiger salamanders in a couple months. Really need to know how to prevent this and how to cure an infected individual. This thing acts fast, real fast. Symptoms occured in the tigers literaly overnight and they didn't last the day.

Yes I have been researching this on my own, a lot. They died almost a month ago and all I can find is info on fish fungal infections, not amphibians.

 

[Jennewt]

If the fungus didn't appear until after they died, I wouldn't consider this a case of fungal pathogen. It could be anything. We need to know what was going on before they died - temperature, water parameters, etc. In most cases (both fish and amphibians) a fungal infection is secondary to other problems, either health problems or environmental problems.

 

[Nowicki418]

White patches appeared on the skin and in the later stages of the infection ( as in a few hours before death ) they all began gulping air. Something must have been clogging their gills as the tanks were oxygenated. My two adult tiger salamanders haven't had any problems but their habitat is half land and I understand adults have much much thicker skin than larvae or neotenic individuals.

They were kept in the basement in which room temperature is about 70 F. Water temp was a few degrees cooler than that but even on the cooler nights it didn't go lower than 62. however I understand Necturus prefer slightly cooler temps. Tanks had filters but no water heaters. I only had them for a few weeks before this thing struck. During this time the tigers ate ravonously but the muddpuppy was a struggle to keep alive. Refused worms, small fish, and tadpoles. I believed it was stressed from the move however there is a chance it was sick when I got it. It is because the early care for the mudpuppy was a struggle that I was unable to understand that some of the symptoms came from a disease as oppose to just stress. The mudpuppy was getting better. White blotches appeared the day after I finally got it to eat a worm out of my hand.

The attack on the salamanders came a week later. I was keeping an eye on them and didn't see any abnormal behavior. For them, white blotches appeared literaly overnight. Although I immediatly moved them to new tanks with purified water they were dead by the end of the day.

How can I prevent this from happening again? How can I cure an individual who is already infected?

 

[Nowicki418]

I guess you can't tell what it is without taking the sick animal in for tests. I found a vet nearby that would accept salamanders in case something happens again. I still wish there was something I could do to prevent it.

 

[Jennewt]

One way to prevent problems like this in the future is to avoid acquiring wild-caught animals, particularly ones that come from large wholesale dealers and biological supply companies. (You didn't say where it came from, so this may not be relevant to your case.) Also, whenever wild-caught animals are acquired, they should be strictly quarantined from other animals. From your second post, it sounds like this spread from the mudpuppy to the larval tigers.

You are correct that you would need help from a vet to be able to correctly diagnose whatever the problem was. There are bacteria that cause external infections that look like "fungus". And fungal infections are often secondary to other problems - bacteria, viruses, or just ill health.

 

[Nowicki418]

I think your right in that the disease spread from the mudpuppy to the larval tigers. If this is true than the transfer must have occurred about a week before the tigers died. This means that for an entire week they were infected but I was unaware.

Are there any early signs to watch out for? The major symptoms hit the tigers lightning fast, leaving not even a day for me to frantically search for a way to save them.

Of course I'll take extra precautions to avoid another sick animal but I still want to be prepared.

 

[Nowicki418]

I just remembered. As I got it the mudpuppy got bit by a turtle in the same tank. Took a small chunk off the end of the tail. Could this have anything to do with it?