Lump on neck/chin

[OhJayJay]

Hello everyone,

I got my new axolotl a few weeks ago and on the first day, I noticed that his neck/chin area had started swelling, I asked r/axolotl about this, but not much help was given, along with hours of fruitless research. His swelling has gotten better, with him being able to close his mouth now, and the front part of the lump going (as you can see in the attached files of before the swelling, at its worst that day and more recently). The first few days of having him, I put the bacteria balls straight into the aquarium instead of in the filter due to ignorance, the temperature has also been 18-22°C since I had him. I have done regular water changes and all of the other necessary protocols. He has been active and has swam up to the surface occasionally, but his walking is impeded by his chin dragging. I'm not sure if his gills have gotten paler, as some days it seems pale but on others it seems fine, so it could be lighting/paranoia.

If anyone has any help or questions I would be incredibly grateful as I'm scared for his safety.

 

[Autistic Catholic]

Reddit is terrible for getting help because even though it's explicitly against their forum rules, EVERYONE accused people with sick animals of abuse.

Swelling might be a bacterial infection but you would need a vet to properly diagnose and get proper antibiotics.

What are your other water parameters?

In the meanwhile, keep the tank cooler as bacteria does better at warmer temperatures. Target 15-16C range.

 

[OhJayJay]

Reddit is terrible for getting help because even though it's explicitly against their forum rules, EVERYONE accused people with sick animals of abuse.

Swelling might be a bacterial infection but you would need a vet to properly diagnose and get proper antibiotics.

What are your other water parameters?

In the meanwhile, keep the tank cooler as bacteria does better at warmer temperatures. Target 15-16C range.

Thanks for responding, my ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels are next to nothing, and due to a recent heat wave where I live the temperature has been far higher than I would like it to be, but I have been actively cooling it.

Are most vets able to treat axolotls or do I need to go find a specialist somewhere?.

 

[Autistic Catholic]

You would need to consult which vets.

If the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are that low, you are either cycling your tank with the axolotl in it, your cycle crashed, you have a really clean tank, or your test kit is faulty.

Also, what is the hardness and acidity?

18-22C is an okay temperature range for a healthy one (ideally, it should be below 20C), but as stated, if you are dealing with a bacterial infection, it is critical to keep it lower in order to slow the bacterial growth.

Have you invested in a chiller?

 

[OhJayJay]

I have been cycling with my axolotl in it, I only cycle out around 1/3 - 1/2 of the water each time though.

I don't have a water hardness test, but I'm going into the aquatics shop soon so I'll pick one up.

The aquatics people selling the axolotl made me bring in a water sample to do tests on and said that I wouldn't need to do pH tests, but I did one just now and the results were much higher than I would have expected with around 8.2.

The temperature is usually below 20C, but when it's over that I just freeze some 2-litre bottles of water and put them in for a few minutes until they melt, it's a bit archaic but it works to get through the summer.

Can I thank you again for helping me a lot, this is all new to me and I really appreciate your help here.

Edit: I do think that we use a water softener, so I think the water will be quite soft

 

[wolfen]

the symptoms look very much like stomatitis which is a bacterial infection, it's best to see a vet and get swabs done to be sure and also get antibiotics if required.
ph is very important as it can affect not only your axolotl but also how the filtration works.
if your ph is 8.2 then having a kh/gh test may be necessary.
what is the tap ph.
if the tank is cycling then it would be better to have him/her tubbed as this will also make it easier to give any medications etc.. as well.
ideal temperature is 15°c - 18°c.
in the third picture he/she does look anaemic but as you say the lighting is quite bright.
in normal situations and to keep an axolotl healthy using holtfreters solution would be best, but due to the high ph but the possible soft water, until a kh/gh test is done it is unknown whether calcium chloride and bicarbonate of soda should be used, salt/potassium chloride in holfreters solution can be used though as can magnesium sulphate. see here more info Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

 

[OhJayJay]

the symptoms look very much like stomatitis which is a bacterial infection, it's best to see a vet and get swabs done to be sure and also get antibiotics if required.
ph is very important as it can affect not only your axolotl but also how the filtration works.
if your ph is 8.2 then having a kh/gh test may be necessary.
what is the tap ph.
if the tank is cycling then it would be better to have him/her tubbed as this will also make it easier to give any medications etc.. as well.
ideal temperature is 15°c - 18°c.
in the third picture he/she does look anaemic but as you say the lighting is quite bright.
in normal situations and to keep an axolotl healthy using holtfreters solution would be best, but due to the high ph but the possible soft water, until a kh/gh test is done it is unknown whether calcium chloride and bicarbonate of soda should be used, salt/potassium chloride in holfreters solution can be used though as can magnesium sulphate. see here more info Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

I'm working on the pH now, and I'm thinking of adding driftwood or something like that to bring the pH down.
The tap pH is about 7, so I don't know where the extra pH is coming from as the only thing I add to the water is the de-chlorinator.
Are you sure about the ideal temperature because I haven't heard about temperatures as low as 15c before?
I've found a local vet that does axolotls so I'll be looking for help from them, but the website and holtfreters' solution are things that I will bear in mind.

Thank you wolfen for helping me here

 

[wolfen]

for info on parameters Water Quality Explained: How It Can Affect Your Axolotl's Health - WSAVA 2015 Congress - VIN
as for ph what type of sand is in the tank.

 

[OhJayJay]

The sand is Unipac Aquarium Sand

 

[AMurry24537]

Edit: I do think that we use a water softener, so I think the water will be quite soft

I don't think this is the reason for the current issue, but you may want to switch to hard water. When I moved, I started using a soft water tap by accident and it resulted in the dreaded "hook tail," which went away as soon as I switched to our hard water tap

 

[OhJayJay]

I don't think this is the reason for the current issue, but you may want to switch to hard water. When I moved, I started using a soft water tap by accident and it resulted in the dreaded "hook tail," which went away as soon as I switched to our hard water tap

Yeah I will, I'm also taking him to the vets tomorrow