Possible Fungus on Axo's Gills?

[AxoHooman]

Hi all,

I woke up this morning to realise there is something odd on my axolotls gills. It looks like sand, but doesn't come off when he moves. He doesn't look stressed, but he didn't eat when I fed him, though I did feed him a day early. The nitrite test came out blue, but with a purplish tinge, and I'm not sure this is related or not. Is there anything I should do for him?

 

[JM29]

Iridophores ? they usually appear late.
A photo would help a lot.

 

[AxoHooman]

Sorry, axo was not cooperating and hiding behind things. How do you usually treat them? They seem to have gotten smaller today...

 

[JM29]

If these are iridophores, there is no reason to treat them.
Iridophores are normal pigment cells appearing on the gill stalks and the tail first.
If your axolotl is neither melanoid nor leucistic, it may have normally iridophores.

That's why I asked for a photo.

 

[AxoHooman]

Maybe it was nitrite... I checked the tank to see poor guy on his side... may or may not be dead, he is lying on his side. Test recorded high nitrites, but he may have been throwing up as there was food in the tank and I had not fed him.

 

[JM29]

Emergency !!! tub it as soon as possible.
Clean the tank off the uneaten food.
Wait until nitrites fall down to zero before reintroducing the axie (if it survives, of course)

In a previous post, 6 days ago, you said you had a nitrite spike but fixed it.

 

[wolfen]

nitrites can cause the axie to restrict the blood flow (turning them pale or white depending on colouration) to the gills to stop the direct absorption of pollutants (bit like holding your breath). they should go back to normal but a water change probably wouldn't hurt