Red Gill Tips, Looks to be Receding and/or Stunting New Growth

[CrazyForLotls]

I've been treating my little guy with the Furan since March 25th and his gills don't look like they're improving. The patient is acting fine, but his gills on one side just don't look right. I'm not sure what to do at this point, as he can't stay medicated forever. S/He has been eating fine and is pretty active. It likes to swim around and is getting more comfortable taking food from my fingers, etc. I don't think it's a good idea to put any more medicine than recommended in the water, correct? I don't want to overdose him. Attached is a photo I took April 13th. Nothing has changed since then I believe. I have posted before about this issue and have followed the instructions I was given but nobody replied to my update/ask for further guidance. My apologies if I should not have started another thread! I'm still new to Caudata, but know that you guys don't appreciate when people post new threads on the same thing, mainly to get a different answer because they didn't like what they were told the first time. I'm not trying to do that- I need to know what to do next for this little guy since nobody responded to my other post/thread. Thanks for all your help and my apologies again if I should have just waited longer for a response instead of starting a new thread.

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

I've been treating my little guy with the Furan since March 25th and his gills don't look like they're improving. The patient is acting fine, but his gills on one side just don't look right. I'm not sure what to do at this point, as he can't stay medicated forever. S/He has been eating fine and is pretty active. It likes to swim around and is getting more comfortable taking food from my fingers, etc. I don't think it's a good idea to put any more medicine than recommended in the water, correct? I don't want to overdose him. Attached is a photo I took April 13th. Nothing has changed since then I believe. I have posted before about this issue and have followed the instructions I was given but nobody replied to my update/ask for further guidance. My apologies if I should not have started another thread! I'm still new to Caudata, but know that you guys don't appreciate when people post new threads on the same thing, mainly to get a different answer because they didn't like what they were told the first time. I'm not trying to do that- I need to know what to do next for this little guy since nobody responded to my other post/thread. Thanks for all your help and my apologies again if I should have just waited longer for a response instead of starting a new thread.

Hey sorry i didnt see your last update, I've been out of town for the last 10 days or so.

If the furan hasn't made a difference, we should consider changing our approach.
Have you been maintaining the daily water changes and everything? Have you noticed any other changes in his behavior at all?

 

[CrazyForLotls]

Hey sorry i didnt see your last update, I've been out of town for the last 10 days or so.

If the furan hasn't made a difference, we should consider changing our approach.
Have you been maintaining the daily water changes and everything? Have you noticed any other changes in his behavior at all?

It's okay. Welcome back!

Yes, I have been maintaining the daily water changes. I use put in one tenth of a packet of furan since a packet treats 10 gallons and the patient is in one gallon of water. I use Weco Instant Dechlor for both of my axolotls.

His behavior is great. S/he's always very aware of his surroundings and swims to the surface of the water when I look through the top. I have noticed him come up to gulp air more than my subadult axolotl but he isn't floating or anything. Usually s/he is swimming back and forth, bumps into a corner, sits on his hind legs, and swims up to take a 'bite' at the surface of the water. Or he just gets excited when I'm feeding him and is too impatient for the pellet to sink. After gulping the, he then sinks back down and chills on the bottom while giving me the "feed me more please" face. He gets 4-6 small salmon pellets on one day and a red wiggler cut into four pieces the next day.

The Furan seems to just be keeping whatever this is from getting much worse. It definitely doesn't look good, but it isn't the worst thing I've seen I guess. It's just concerning how the top gill is twice as long on one side compared to the other. He seems kind of off balance and tips to one side when he swims. He doesn't look bothered or stressed at all though.

I now have the API liquid test kit. Would you like me to test my tap water? I keep the temperature of the patient's water in the upper fifties to lower sixties with a fan.

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

It's okay. Welcome back!

Yes, I have been maintaining the daily water changes. I use put in one tenth of a packet of furan since a packet treats 10 gallons and the patient is in one gallon of water. I use Weco Instant Dechlor for both of my axolotls.

His behavior is great. S/he's always very aware of his surroundings and swims to the surface of the water when I look through the top. I have noticed him come up to gulp air more than my subadult axolotl but he isn't floating or anything. Usually s/he is swimming back and forth, bumps into a corner, sits on his hind legs, and swims up to take a 'bite' at the surface of the water. Or he just gets excited when I'm feeding him and is too impatient for the pellet to sink. After gulping the, he then sinks back down and chills on the bottom while giving me the "feed me more please" face. He gets 4-6 small salmon pellets on one day and a red wiggler cut into four pieces the next day.

The Furan seems to just be keeping whatever this is from getting much worse. It definitely doesn't look good, but it isn't the worst thing I've seen I guess. It's just concerning how the top gill is twice as long on one side compared to the other. He seems kind of off balance and tips to one side when he swims. He doesn't look bothered or stressed at all though.

I now have the API liquid test kit. Would you like me to test my tap water? I keep the temperature of the patient's water in the upper fifties to lower sixties with a fan.

I'm not familiar with that dechlorinator. Prime by Seachem is kind of the gold standard when it comes to dechlorinators, but it should be ok as long as it doesn't contain aloe or any "slime coat" additives.

The gill being slightly shorter isn't surprising and honestly isn't a big deal as long as we can figure out whats causing the redness. Go ahead and stop the Furan for now.

Since he doesn't appear to be getting worse, that's good but if you do have a good, reputable exotic vet near you, it may be time to have him tested as more advanced medication (ie not available otc) may be required. In the meantime, tea baths like we did before wouldn't hurt.

 

[CrazyForLotls]

I'm not familiar with that dechlorinator. Prime by Seachem is kind of the gold standard when it comes to dechlorinators, but it should be ok as long as it doesn't contain aloe or any "slime coat" additives.

The gill being slightly shorter isn't surprising and honestly isn't a big deal as long as we can figure out whats causing the redness. Go ahead and stop the Furan for now.

Since he doesn't appear to be getting worse, that's good but if you do have a good, reputable exotic vet near you, it may be time to have him tested as more advanced medication (ie not available otc) may be required. In the meantime, tea baths like we did before wouldn't hurt.

The dechlorinator is just a little blue bottle with orange fish on it. It doesn't say anything about additives on the back. Just the recommended drops per gallon.

Okay, thanks. I am not allowed to take this little guy to the vet though. I will stop the Furan when I do his water change tomorrow morning. Hopefully his gills don't get any worse without it. I'm worried that the redness will spread to the other side and eat them away as well.

For the tea baths, how many hours do you think I should do them for? Overnight was too much when I did that, as instructed. The poor little guy was NOT happy in the morning. Lol

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

The dechlorinator is just a little blue bottle with orange fish on it. It doesn't say anything about additives on the back. Just the recommended drops per gallon.

Okay, thanks. I am not allowed to take this little guy to the vet though. I will stop the Furan when I do his water change tomorrow morning. Hopefully his gills don't get any worse without it. I'm worried that the redness will spread to the other side and eat them away as well.

For the tea baths, how many hours do you think I should do them for? Overnight was too much when I did that, as instructed. The poor little guy was NOT happy in the morning. Lol

You could try diluting it a bit more if it seems to stress him, though it shouldn't. A few hours every day should be plenty though.

The problem with continuing the furan (when he's not really improving with it) is that it can mess with his natural microbiome which can cause digestive issues, ect.

 

[CrazyForLotls]

You could try diluting it a bit more if it seems to stress him, though it shouldn't. A few hours every day should be plenty though.

The problem with continuing the furan (when he's not really improving with it) is that it can mess with his natural microbiome which can cause digestive issues, ect.

Alright, thank you. Will do!

That makes sense. Thanks for letting me know. He has regular dechlorinated water today. I think I'll do a tea bath tomorrow.

 

[CrazyForLotls]

So far I've done one tea bath overnight, and it just seems to upset this little guy. His appetite decreases for the next few days after the bath and he just looks upset and grumpy. I believe the redness has spread to the lowest gill on the other side of his head, and it's not getting any better on the originally affected side. I don't know what to do anymore. He obviously doesn't like tea baths, but his gills are just getting worse when he's in regular water. The Furan wasn't helping, but it seemed to hold things off from getting worse. I don't think it's a good idea to put him back in medicated water, right? Or if I do, I shouldn't use more medicine/less water than directed so that I don't overdose him, correct? I'm just afraid if I let whatever this is get worse it'll spread to all three stalks on the other side and make those gills short too. Eventually all his filaments will be gone I think. I'm not sure what to do anymore.. Has anyone else had problems like this? I looked through old forums and most were just scratches that healed or new growth; not something eating away the gills.

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

So far I've done one tea bath overnight, and it just seems to upset this little guy. His appetite decreases for the next few days after the bath and he just looks upset and grumpy. I believe the redness has spread to the lowest gill on the other side of his head, and it's not getting any better on the originally affected side. I don't know what to do anymore. He obviously doesn't like tea baths, but his gills are just getting worse when he's in regular water. The Furan wasn't helping, but it seemed to hold things off from getting worse. I don't think it's a good idea to put him back in medicated water, right? Or if I do, I shouldn't use more medicine/less water than directed so that I don't overdose him, correct? I'm just afraid if I let whatever this is get worse it'll spread to all three stalks on the other side and make those gills short too. Eventually all his filaments will be gone I think. I'm not sure what to do anymore.. Has anyone else had problems like this? I looked through old forums and most were just scratches that healed or new growth; not something eating away the gills.

Generally, this type of presentation is related to a bacterial infection. Without testing by a vet though, its impossible to narrow down exactly what type of infection he has. Furan 2 is a broad spectrum treatment and is effective a lot of the time, which is why I recommend it, continuing to treat with it at this point isn't going to do much good because it may just not be an effective antibiotic for this type of infection. There are other otc antibiotics, like API E.M. Erythromycin, on the market. You do, however, risk causing more problems than you'll solve if you continue to treat with the wrong medication.

 

[CrazyForLotls]

Generally, this type of presentation is related to a bacterial infection. Without testing by a vet though, its impossible to narrow down exactly what type of infection he has. Furan 2 is a broad spectrum treatment and is effective a lot of the time, which is why I recommend it, continuing to treat with it at this point isn't going to do much good because it may just not be an effective antibiotic for this type of infection. There are other otc antibiotics, like API E.M. Erythromycin, on the market. You do, however, risk causing more problems than you'll solve if you continue to treat with the wrong medication.

Alright, thank you. I won't use any more Furan 2. What do you think I should do next? I found the medicine at two different stores near me, so should I try it?

 

[GulfCoastAxolotls]

Alright, thank you. I won't use any more Furan 2. What do you think I should do next? I found the medicine at two different stores near me, so should I try it?

My recommendation is that you find a vet that can test him. If you choose to try another otc medication, an erythromycin based antibiotic is probably your best bet, but as I said, I would not recommend it without the guidance of a vet opinion.

 

[CrazyForLotls]

My recommendation is that you find a vet that can test him. If you choose to try another otc medication, an erythromycin based antibiotic is probably your best bet, but as I said, I would not recommend it without the guidance of a vet opinion.

Okay. Thank you. I don't think I will be able to go to a vet due to my family, but I will try.

 

[AMurry24537]

Since your axolotl dislikes tea baths, I can recommend one thing that I've done which worked pretty well. I kept my axolotl in his tank to diminish stress and simply added the chilled black tea directly in there, but at a low concentration (about 8 oz per gallon of water). I did 40% water changes twice a day and, when the water started to run clear, added more tea. Please be sure to check that the black tea is 100% tea and does not have any additives. As was mentioned above, I would also highly recommend Seachem products, including Prime as a dechlorinator. If you could also let us know the results of the water tests, that would be helpful. I would be careful buying most medicines from pet stores unless recommended by an exotic vet who knows axoltotls: those medications are designed and safe for fish, but not necessarily axolotls.

 

[CrazyForLotls]

Since your axolotl dislikes tea baths, I can recommend one thing that I've done which worked pretty well. I kept my axolotl in his tank to diminish stress and simply added the chilled black tea directly in there, but at a low concentration (about 8 oz per gallon of water). I did 40% water changes twice a day and, when the water started to run clear, added more tea. Please be sure to check that the black tea is 100% tea and does not have any additives. As was mentioned above, I would also highly recommend Seachem products, including Prime as a dechlorinator. If you could also let us know the results of the water tests, that would be helpful. I would be careful buying most medicines from pet stores unless recommended by an exotic vet who knows axoltotls: those medications are designed and safe for fish, but not necessarily axolotls.

I got the baby in February and it has been in a container while it grows to be large enough to go into the tank. The gill issue started in mid-March. It has never been in the aquarium yet, because I'm waiting for whatever is going on with his gills to clear up so that my larger axolotl doesn't catch anything. There is a divider so that the baby doesn't become a snack. I do daily water changes with the baby's container, but I can test my tap water if you would like me to. The water is always dechlorinated.

When I tried doing tea baths, I used Lipton Black Tea. The only two ingredients are black tea. I could try doing another bath and diluting it even more, along with doing it for a shorter duration if you think it'd be beneficial.

I am aware most medicines that are safe for fish are not safe for axolotls. Furan 2 is widely used without negative effects (usually) with axolotls though, so I believe it is deemed safe for them.

Thanks for your input I need all the advice I can get right now.