Fungus and not eating

[Abbs1982]

My axolotl has had what I believe are fungal growths (white cotton like) on his gills since a couple days after bringing him home a month ago. Water was cycled and I’ve been monitoring it. Ammonia is 0 but I’ve struggled with nitrite. Been using seachem prime which seems to have been bringing it down.
As per suggestions I have bathed him in methyl blue at half conc but after working for a bit the growth is now back worse than ever. He has not eaten for a week now and I’m getting really worried.
Have an axo specific treatment coming in post tomorrow which is formaldehyde based, mainly for parasite treatment but hoping it will also work on the growths.
Any suggestions welcome!!

 

[wolfen]

for fungus add 3.5g/l non-iodised salt to the water, once fungus is removed use 2g/l non-iodised salt in any water that will contain your axolotl, this is to prevent recurrence.
due to nitrite levels he would be better to be tubbed with daily methylene blue baths, unlike ammonia nitrites affect the blood reducing it's ability to transport oxygen methylene blue helps to treat this issue, salt will also offer some protection.
as to the removal of nitrites make sure you have plenty of bio-media in your filter and that the water is adequately oxygenated.

 

[Abbs1982]

for fungus add 3.5g/l non-iodised salt to the water, once fungus is removed use 2g/l non-iodised salt in any water that will contain your axolotl, this is to prevent recurrence.
due to nitrite levels he would be better to be tubbed with daily methylene blue baths, unlike ammonia nitrites affect the blood reducing it's ability to transport oxygen methylene blue helps to treat this issue, salt will also offer some protection.
as to the removal of nitrites make sure you have plenty of bio-media in your filter and that the water is adequately oxygenated.

Thank you. Have a sponge filter and sand substrate so that should do it. What conc methyl blue do you recommend? I see so much conflicting advice on this. Also, having not eaten for a week, when do I really need to worry? He’s a big boy and abdomen similar width to head still. Sorry to batter you with questions but advice from someone who knows what they are talking about makes such a difference!

 

[wolfen]

sponge filters are more of a mechanical filter rather than a biological filter (good for catching debris but not a large surface area for bacteria) ensure that the filter is for double tank size at the minimum.
sand is fine as a substrate provided your axolotl is over five inches and that the sand it turned over on a regular basis to release any debris and gases.
because some axolotls can be sensitive to methylene blue at full dose it is best to dose at half fish dose for 10-15 mins daily (different manufacturers use different concentrations, use half dose as directed on bottle, water should be same colour as 0ppm nitrite test)