Tail going redish purple

S

sharn

Guest
my axies tail has gone a redish purple colour in the last week or so.... i thought it might go away but it hasnt... he was sick not that long ago with his gill feathers nerly all disapearing.i just put new sand in his tank, washed it all first of course and put him in a day after... whats wrong with my baby! id take him out and put him in his temp bowl with new water but i dont want to stress him out any more than he already is. he seems to be okay but hes a bit more withdrawn during the day now... hmmph
 
sorry as i have no camera!!! its not a dark reddy purple more a light colour but certanly noticable it stops around 4mm from the tip an starts at the base of its tail. i salt bath him everday (not wanting to do it twice cuz itll stress him out more cuz he doesnt like to be handled)im very worried about his gills too. theres not heaps of movement in the water but they still bend fowards from half way up.ill test the water tomorrow for ph etc... if any of theses are high what can i do. theyre all sposed to be at 0 aye?
 
pH should not be zero, it would ideally be between 6.2 and 8.

The ammonia and nitrite should be zero.

I read somewhere(possibly on this site) that a red/pinkish tail can be caused by sudden change in water temperature.

If that is true, could you be causing the red tail by moving the axolotl from salt bath water that is a much different temp than the tank water?
 
hmmmm maybe but i use his water for the salt baths then add some more water after to his tank... it seems to have cleared up a bit now.... can hardly notice it now... thanks so much for your help cynthia... much apreciated
 
Sharn - If you are using this tank water then that shouldn't be what was causing the red tail.

Did you test your water? Was everything ok?
 
i tested it just then (Ph) it was 7... i havent got the other testers yet bad i no, but axolotls costa fair bit to set up... hopefully ill be able to buy some more tomrow as i have to travel quite far to the better pet shop and mum isnt to happy about it hehe.just had another look before and theres lots of little veins on the fin part.. he doesnt seem too unhappy tho, was out and about this morning...will keep you posted
 
AHHHHHH just had another look at his tail. seems even worse than ever... its been really hot here for about the last week and his tank gets up to around 22-23 degrees. i have the fan on but it doesnt help at all and im to scared to use water bottles for fear of making him worse. he seems to be acting fine and eating well... im not salt bathing him as he hates to be handled and i find he gets really stressed out. he seems fine so should i just leave it alone?
 
You could always pop him in the fridge? I have a small air conditioner in my room and even with that it hasn't been enough some days. My two have spent the last week in the fridge here- I only just took them out tonight because it's finally cooled off. It's a last resort kind of thing to do, but I felt better knowing they were in the fridge and will put them in again if I ever need, rather than have them suffer through hot water!

See if you can have a sample of your water tested at your local fish store, most will do this for you. Make sure they test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. If everything checks out with the tests, temperature is probably the cause of your axie's stress. Once you know for sure, you'll know better how to deal with the problem.
 
For ***** Sake!!!!!! now it looks like he has a popped blood vessel on his poor wee tail. it looks like the human ones people get on them (those teeny weeny veins) he doesnt seem to be all upset or anything.just his tails STILL red!!!i was thinkin of salt bathing him but its not really his skin.its under it.his tail looks inflammed...ahhh help me!

(Message edited by Ed on February 05, 2005)
 
It sounds like hemorhagic septicemia.
 
Sharn,
Even with the addition of the asterix in the middle of the word, that form of expression is not allowed on the board. I edited your post.

Ed
 
oh ok woops sorry ed. michael- whats hemorhagic bla bla...? its only teeny weeny and doesnt seem to be upsetting him at all.but i just dont want it there lol it looks funny on his pretty white body!!
 
Hi Sharn,
H. septicemia is a disease where tiny blood vessels are infected and break or leak. It starts with redish looking tails. As it progresses more of the animal has red splotches or streaks in it. It can be complicated with fungal infections. Treatment usually includes using salt or Hoftretters solution in the set up and treating for gram negative and gram positive bacteria. If you follow my posts you probably know I use a little rock salt in the normal set up and treat with Furan 2 for most axolotl problems. It is sort of the one cure treats all approach.
Pink or purple tail can also indicate poor water quality. Hi levels of ammonia can cause this. I guess the first treatment would be a 50% or greater water change. Assess your filter potential. Be certain you have adequate biological filtration without to much turbulence. Add a little rock salt. I do about a teaspoon for 10 gallons but that's probably on the light side. My water is already hard. If you are raising axolotls in soft water you should look into this. They do not do well in soft water.
It seems like a lot. Just watch the water quality and temp. If the axolotl seems to get worse treat more aggressively.
 
so should i give him salt baths? i have a 15 gallon tank so ill put a ts and a half in.ill do a 50% water change today.my filter doesnt put out much water flow.thanks heaps.will keep you posted his tail seems to get less red then flairs up again.what could this be? thanks again
 
My guess is ammonia. Most axolotl problems are caused by water temperature and water quality.
 
damn it!so how do i get rid of this?i haven't been able to get a ammonia kit as yet cuz the pet shops charge like 30$ for them and im a bit skimped after buyin him his tank and all the bits and pieces to go with it.the PH is 7 is this ok? haha and now im breeding mozzies it seems.i wake up everyday with about 5 more bites. the little blighters have been laying eggs in his tank!!! so i sit there for about a hour a day sucking them up with a turkey baster haha. ahhh the endless effort to try make my little man happy... oh and the red thing on his tail seems to be sorta clearing up.tomrrows payday so ill try whip upto the shop and get a ammonia tester. thanks heaps michael, your a legend
 
Like I said before: take a sample of your water to the pet store and have them test it for you. Get them to test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Have them tell you what the EXACT readings are- don't settle for an answer like "it's fine." We need to know the numbers. Write them down if you think you'll forget, then post them here. Getting the ammonia kit is a great start, but knowing the nitrite and nitrate levels could be just as important in figuring this out! A pH of 7 is wonderful for your axolotl, so we can rule that out as a cause of the redness.

I've got mosquitos in my tank too! Actually, in both the frog and axolotl tanks, though I think the frogs have eaten all the little buggers. I also had what looked like dragonfly larvae in the axolotl tank, but never saw the final product. I was wondering why I had so many bites too!
 
got the ammonia tester today. its not quite enough to be 0.5-1 its inbetween that and 0... they didnt have nitrite/nitrate tester kits but i no of a place that sells them so ill get them when i get some more money. this probably doesnt help much but he (who looks like a she) doesnt seem to mind at all... happy as ever playing on his/her bell. thanks guys!!
 
i had mozzies in my tank cause i took the glass off to let the fan blow the top so my husband cut some fly screen slightly bigger and then cut some garden hose to fit all 4 sides then split it to fit over the top of the tank to hold the fly screen in place. He is slowly making a timber frame with a the fly screen nailed to the top lip for easier access but the first option will do the trick. i have had no mozzie problems since and i can still let the fan blow the top of the water.
 
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