Help! I think bobo is really sick!

Hi all! I hope someone is on their computors today! My adult axolotl, now dad to 100 babies looked fine and happy yesterday, I came out this morning and he had his head out of the water, his skin looks raw splotchy and old, his tali is red, my boyfriend is getting the water tested now. I have put him in a bowl with some fresh water with stress coat, but he swims around with his head out of the water, I'm scared he is going to leap out. I put a small plate under him and he pushed off it to put his head out!! ahh!! help!? this happened to anyone!? I don't want him to die! what did I do wrong!? sorry to panic it's just horrible. here are some photos, they are the best we could get .

the big spots on his back are reflection, the small ones he has always had (the above photo.

omg that looks bad. i suggest you give him a salt bath and put him in the fridge it looks like a fungus or sumthing to me. i dont know why hes swimming with his head out the water though iv neva encountered that. maybe not enough oxygen in the water not to sure though. what were the results for the water test your b/f did?. it might be high amonia that sometimes makes skin peal and go all flacky like that. i also suggest that you give the tank a really good clean incase other axies in the tank get the same thing.

they sadi the water was fine! nothing to worry about! I've tryed salt baths, do you really think he should be put in the fridge? what does this do? thank you so much, feeling less alone on this oxo

putting him in the fridge will help prevent and stop growth of bad bacteria such a fungus. fungus grows its best in warm temperatures like 20 degress around there so if you just keep him in a fridge of around 5 degress overnight and see what hes like in the morning. thats just my opinion on what to sure im not sure if fungus is what it is. is the tip of the tail and gills looking nasty i cant really make it out in those photos. did u test the water for ph, nitrate and amonia? is he/she still eating ok? is he/she still trying to keep his head out of the water? are there other axies in the tank with him? if so do they have the same problem because often something like that will spread around very fast. what have you been feeding him?. is the water oxyginated well?.

water has been around 19 c, he eats earth worms and is feeding fine, water fine, they have both been flaking a little bit so I have been salt bathing. have just put a fan onto the water and its down to 17c is that better? should I keep it at this? over night seems very long and my fridge is not doing to good, it's old and is freezing things, don't want that to happen to them! he he, do you think the temp change might help? yep they tested everything, they gave be some good bacteria because the ammonia was bordering on high so I've put that in. anything else I can do? I put them in the fridge for about an hour then but it's getting colder than you suggested so I took them out. thank you so much for this. bobo is looking better already. he has natural spots all over him so it is hard but his colour is settling down, still really worried though. I did a water change two days ago and really gave it a scrub so I don't know what I've done wrong

no problem just here to help and learn of others!. i have just found this link that sounds and has a picture that looks exactly like whats happening to ur cute axie http://www.caudata.org/forum/cgi-bin/show.cgi?793/793 . check it out it might help. though the person in this kept there axie in the fridge for a whole month!! can u believe that!they say now its going healthy as ever! wow!. if he looks like hes getting better than maybe it will just go away overnight? maybe the worms you feed him were contaiminated?? i really am not sure ay. did u add anything to the tank after you cleaned it also did u cycle it? that is very important. if i were you id probly just give him one more salt bath be4 i went to bed tonight and check him out in the morning but keep the temperature cool like you are.

wtf the link aint working? just go into gallery and scroll down a bit untill it says axie keeps nostrels out of water. ok.

i had this happen to a wildtype ages ago, but he put his head out of the water when i was giving him salt baths. my opinion is hes trying to escape the water because hes being burnt by ammonia. take him out and put him in a container, changing the water every day. place the container (covered) in the coolest place possible like a basement, outside shed etc.

thanks so much! I got the good bacteria into the tank (while I had them in their containers) to knock out that bit of ammonia, once the tank got to 17c we put him back in, he is at the bottom and his colour has returned to normal,poor things, I think I'll have to get my own test kit because the pet shop keeps giving me really bad advice they sent michael back saying the water was fine then when his condition didn't change I called them and they said the ammonia was a small problem,what! how does that work, of course it's a problem! I get my water tested their every two weeks, I'm so worried they have been saying this all along. huf.sorry guys, very angry poor little things. I feel so bad.

tahnk you so much you guys, I think I'll stick to the forum from now on. oxoxoxox life savers you are!
p.s Sharn> if I put him in my garage in a container changing the water everyday (if this is still a prob tmoz) do I need to put an air stone in with him? or do the daily water changes do the trick? sorry to squeez all the info out of you

to be honest it doesnt look like he has fungus to me. all of the white on his skin are the irridiphores in the skin (i think thats right.lol.)
carry on putting the stress coat in with him...some people reccommend putting double the amount in. put him in the fridge too just to prevent any infections and if there are any grazed areas of the skin then id give salt baths once or twice a day. you dont really need to put an airstone in with your axie but you can if you want to.

im not sure what could be happening with the going to the surface of the water.maybe put him in shallow enough water to cover him but not too shallow so his body can easily get over the surface of the water.

Keep us posted.

mel - You need to purchase a test kit so you can test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph. I would suggest a kit that uses drops (liquid) rather than dip strips.

I don't think you can fix their water in one day by adding bacteria. If the ammonia, nitrite or nitrate was too high before its probably too high now.

How long has your tank been set up? Did you allow time for it to cycle? Have you been doing regular maintenance?

It was my axie that was sick Alex Dainty

She looked really similar to Mel's and yes she did stay almost a month in the fridge, which meant she didn't really eat for that long either. She was very red, like Bobo, and permanently had her head fully out of the water.



She got worse before she got better, and I thought I was going to lose her, but then she suddenly started to perk up. I kept her in the fridge a full week after this just to make sure.

Whilst in the fridge she lost half the length of all her gills, her colour brightened and she just appeared healthier, no other way to describe it.

I was so glad I found this site to tell me what I was doing wrong cause my pet shop sure as hell didn't know! Whilst she was recovering I had to change a lot of things in her tank, the main one being temperature control, as I was never told that they needed cold water, the most likely cause of her illness

Everything is fine now though and her gills never grew back, so I assume the new temperature in her tank is perfect for her Its around 17 C -> I put three frozen 2litre coke bottles floating on the water surface at the start of the day. They keep it below 20C until the night time, when I do a switch with the spare three freezing in the freezer which keeps it the same over night.

She's smiling anyway!





*apologies to those who have seen these pics loads of times lol*

Thanks everyone! yep I have had the water tested again (watched over them this time he he. and it was perect, bobo's colour is pretty much back to normal. I did leave him in the fridge and he was much better. I have the water temp down to 17 now as it was at 20 before.
Yep I got the new tank quite a while ago, I cycled it for four weeks and do a 50% water change every two weeks. I clean out the filter (in tank water every four weeks.) I also try and take as much waste out of the tank with a turkey baster as I can. is this correct? they get fed every second day with one earth worm (live) or half a 3cm frozen whole fish. he is looking much better but that is to my untrained eye, I will post a new picture as soon as possible.
set up = three ft tank, under gravel filter (big river pebble on small gavel), two power heads and a bubble wallalong the back.
thanks for this I'll try everyones suggestions the fridge it is!
I wonder why the water is fine now?

gravel will probably get swollowed. best to change it to sand if you can. 50% is a fair bit, i do a 20% every week, which usually ends up being a top up in the summer months. make sure you clean your filter in tank water as cleaning it with tap water will kill the good bacteria. the water could have spiked due to insufficient bacteria from over cleaning.

Mel - if you haven't got a test kit yet - I bought one that tests everything from Pets Wonderland Aquarium in Chapel st, i think on the corner of High st. It was about $58, which worked out cheaper than buying separate ones.

I test my water every week. Also, has your temperature been rising lately with the weather getting warmer?

How are your babies?