Poorly Wild type girl, and poorly Norman

[patiencepending]

Unfortunately, when I was sold my axies I was given A LOT of misinformation 1) I was told they would be happy living with fish 2) I was told they like temperatures between 20 and 26 degrees c plus several other misdemeanours.

As a result, my axies were starting to look a bit slow, I've now done a lot of research and have been quite upset by how my poor little ones must have been stressed out by ME!!!

Norman, my leustic is larger and healthier than the wild type but the end of his gills have turned white. I have put him in the fridge and been salt bathing him once a day as per the tutorials on here. any ideas what the white bits are?

Jewl, my wild axie is also not looking good. Her feet have curled slightly and her gills havealso curled. I should imagine she was stressed by the heat. I have also been fridging and salt bathing her.

Is there anything else I can do? I am also buying a longer and larger tank for them which will be set up MUCH better than the last one. Now I have disregarded all advice given to me by silly, ill trained pet shop owners.

Thank you PP

[patiencepending]

I have spoken to a coupld of people 'in the pond' and the verdict is it's probably ammonia burns on Norman from the tank water so is it best to continue baths and fridge changes as I have been? Also, the wild type looks thin - best way to fatten up whilst fridging? Have been feeding small amounts of blood worm just before I change thir water.

[Sam77]

I am fairly new to axies, so I'm sure that someone else can advise you better, but unless your axies have fungus, you should not be salt bathing them. Salt baths are good for getting rid of fungus etc. but are NOT good for your axies, and only should be done when absolutely necessary. Are the white bits on the end of the gills fluffy like cotton wool? If not, it does not sound like fungus, and salt bathing them is probably stressing them out even more.

Why are you fridging them? Can you get the tank temperature down to a sensible temperature for them? If so, they will probably be happier left in their tank. I have a small fan on my tank which is keeping the temperature low enough at the moment despite all this hot weather.

Also, if you are fridging them, they will not want to eat, as their metabolism will slow down. What are you feeding them? Bloodworms on their own are not enough for them, i save them as an occasional treat, to keep mine busy every now and again. The best thing to fatten them up would be lots of nice juicy worms, or even pellets, just take care to clean the tank out well, as it sounds as if your tank is not cycled if they may have ammonia burns? How large is your tank? The more water, the more stable the temp, which will help them too, as they don't like temp. fluctuations.

Good luck, it sounds as if you care about looking after them properly, and so they should be fine in your care.

[Sam77]

Meant to add, if you can post a pic of the white bits, it might be easier for someone to help diagnose what is wrong.

[patiencepending]

The gills seem to have ammonia burns, and they were being salt bathed because there was white fungus on the wild. I know it's not good for them.

They need to be fridged because the tank parameters are no good adn the temp of the tank will never maintain between 5 and 8 degrees that's best for recouperation.

Thanks for your advice Sam - it's really appreciated :)

[jane1187]

I am afraid I have to disagree with Sam on the point of salt baths. I understand the concern over salt bathing a 'burn' or similar open wound because of pain but the salt baths do MASSIVELY improve the healing capabilities of the axolotl. I would like to draw on the example of diseases such as white spot. Salt baths have no effect on killing white spot parasite but do help the axolotl fight off the infection. The same will apply here. I agree that putting salt in the tank itself (which is an option to aid healing) would be inappropriate in this case but the salt baths of 10 to 15 minutes will prevent the wounds from becoming infected with bacteria and fungus, and far outweight the concerns about momentary pain. The last thing you want is a bacterial or fungal infection. If you are concerned about pain then try speaking to one of the vets on the forum or an actual vet near where you live.

At least perform the salt baths until you can see healing occuring. After this the salt baths would simply be a precautionary measure and a healing axolotl in a healthy tank set up (such as the one you are trying to create) should do very well without the salt baths.

Good luck patiencepending. Keep us posted with pictures if possible.

[patiencepending]

Thank you for your advice Jane, the salt baths have made a big difference to them already. I have just read up on a few things about tea baths... could this be a good idea as I'm not treating a fungal infection I am simply trying to help them heal from their previous bad water (I'm sorry little ones!!!!) conditions?

Not sure..

[jane1187]

I'm afraid I'll have to leave that question to someone else as I'm unfamiliar with the widespread use of tea baths, I only know they can be good for some skin complaints. As long as he starts healing you can stop the salt baths.

Good luck