Citronella
New member
Hi guys, so I need some help. I have a 5 year male old leucistic axolotl who came up in a red mark on his side a while ago, I’m not sure of the exact time frame but he’s had it for a good few months. He has always acted completely normal, active and eating and pooping etc as normal. I was advised it was likely a bruise from a decoration and to see if it clears up, which it didn’t, however it never changed and always stayed the same.
He has never seemed bothered by it but I was always worried it was an infection or something after googling red leg and septicaemia etc. I was giving him 10 minute daily black tea baths for about 5 days for unrelated fungus and noticed that the red mark seemed to lessen very slightly (although I’m unsure of this) so I thought maybe it was an issue with his slime coat that was soothed by the tea bath? Anyway, the fungus cleared up and he was okay, red mark stayed the same after that.
During the heatwave he has recently gotten a little bit of fungus on his gills again so I started tea baths yesterday. I did everything the same as before but when taking him out of the bath this time I noticed he has come up in lots of tiny, red blood like dots on his body that look like a bruise but I’m unsure? I can’t find anything online and have asked on various groups but cannot seem to find an answer. I’m now reluctant to continue his tea baths in case they are irritating him, although again he is acting normal and eating etc.
I last did water parameters last week and all were normal but will do them again now and post those. His tank admittedly was slightly warm over the past week (at 21 degrees maximum) due to the heat but has been well maintained with frozen water bottles, cooling my room down and a tank fan and is now at around 17-19 degrees regularly. I would love to know what the original red mark is but never took him to the vet as he was not bothered by it at all and his behaviour never changed. I am now concerned by the additional red dots showing up immediately after the tea bath that it is septicaemia or an infection, but is it possible for him to have that for months and show no signs of discomfort? Any advice is appreciated, I will attach a photo of the red dots and try to get one of the other red mark too
He has never seemed bothered by it but I was always worried it was an infection or something after googling red leg and septicaemia etc. I was giving him 10 minute daily black tea baths for about 5 days for unrelated fungus and noticed that the red mark seemed to lessen very slightly (although I’m unsure of this) so I thought maybe it was an issue with his slime coat that was soothed by the tea bath? Anyway, the fungus cleared up and he was okay, red mark stayed the same after that.
During the heatwave he has recently gotten a little bit of fungus on his gills again so I started tea baths yesterday. I did everything the same as before but when taking him out of the bath this time I noticed he has come up in lots of tiny, red blood like dots on his body that look like a bruise but I’m unsure? I can’t find anything online and have asked on various groups but cannot seem to find an answer. I’m now reluctant to continue his tea baths in case they are irritating him, although again he is acting normal and eating etc.
I last did water parameters last week and all were normal but will do them again now and post those. His tank admittedly was slightly warm over the past week (at 21 degrees maximum) due to the heat but has been well maintained with frozen water bottles, cooling my room down and a tank fan and is now at around 17-19 degrees regularly. I would love to know what the original red mark is but never took him to the vet as he was not bothered by it at all and his behaviour never changed. I am now concerned by the additional red dots showing up immediately after the tea bath that it is septicaemia or an infection, but is it possible for him to have that for months and show no signs of discomfort? Any advice is appreciated, I will attach a photo of the red dots and try to get one of the other red mark too