White "stuff" over head

[gabriela]

Hi everyone, I'm new here...and maybe someone can help me with something. My axie has not been eating well the last few days, and I noticed yesterday that a bit of its tail is missing and there's a white "cloud" I would say, kind of fuzzy over his head. Im worried it could be a fungus infection, but I don't know how it looks like. Does anyone think it's something to worry about?

 

[celia]

Can't explain the tail Gabriela but I do know that I've just gone through (and am still dealing with) a similar problem in mine. I have been recommended some harsh treatments but if caught early on I believe the salt baths seem to be working on the others. The temperature has been a problem.

The others (the experts) will get you to look at your temperature, water flow, PH, and get you to do a nitrate test etc so gather all that info for the experts here to give you better advice.

There is info on salt baths on this site.

Good luck.

 

[gabriela]

Thanks celia.
I took a photograph, maybe it's clear now if this is really a fungus infection or not. It's very subtle and not spread through his body, so I'm not sure. The salt bath would be good? How many times a week?

 

[john]

I'm betting your temperature is 26-28 degrees C. I've seen exactly that before. Take that animal out and keep it in a small tank with a little salt in the water (half a teaspoon per litre) - NOT a salt bath. That should take care of it in 24-48 hours. If the axolotl is still eating well 48 hours from now, it'll be fine.

You've noticed this quite early - well done. I wish more people supplied photos like that with their questions.

You need to remove the stress cause though (I'm betting on temperature), or it will get sick again.

 

[gabriela]

Thanks! I'll do that today. I'll later let you know if it worked out. I try to keep the temperature down, but here in Brazil the heat is unbelievable this time of the year. I'll check out the discussions about temp.problems
As for the tail, it will regenerate itself, right?

 

[mik]

I've seen this too, only on wildtype though. It was difficult to keep temp down in my last house, tank often rose to 24C during in daytime.

I think it's a yeast bloom on the slime layer(still a type of fungus for most part). The salt will help get rid. Try not to touch them.

Can't see tail end but it's not uncommon to lose tip or damage it. It will most likely regrow and again salt won't harm.

Try a desk fan blowing over water surface it will make a big difference. You'll notice but you'll have to keep topping up water level due to increased evapouration.

 

[gabriela]

Hi. I put my axie in the water with salt, as suggested and it seemed to have gotten better. The problem, though, is that he still will not eat (it's been about four days that he hasn't eaten well). I'm managing to keep the temperature more stable, so I don't know why he's still weird with the food.

 

[john]

I would give him a bit more time to recover - as long as the temperature is down, he should get over this. How is he today? 4 days is not long for a well fed axolotl to go without food (and yours appears to be quite well fed).