Gill fungus? Ammonia burn?

[MorganMK]

HI all,

I recently placed my axie Anya into her newly cycled tank about five days ago. We've transitioned from a bare bottom 20 gallon to a sand bottom. Today, I woke up and noticed there were these white tissue ends to her gill filaments. They are not cotton ball fuzzy like a fungal infection normally is but they are fairly prominent. I also feel as though there is a slight opaque film on her eyes (not covering them entirely, just a little bit). I also can't tell if her skin appears pinkish? It's always had a very faint pink hue but im concerned this could be ammonia. Her head appears to start twitching on occasion ( ive seen her do it twice now).

I removed her from tank today and tubbed her. Water parameters for tank were:
PH: 7.2
Ammonia: 0-0.25
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 10-20
Temp: 67

I have two canister filters running (i didnt think one could handle the bio load so i added a filter i wasn't using) as well as an air stone, plants, and some hides.

I did a partial water change (maybe 10%) due to the slight ammonia increase, but I'm feeling super defeated as I have spent such a long time trying to cycle this tank and I'm concerned it still isn't cycled.

My questions: What is on her gills? Is there a treatment for her that i should be doing or is tubbing enough with water changes every 24 hours? Is my tank not cycled?

I've included a video of her with a close up of her gills. Thank you in advance!

 

[wolfen]

the free ammonia level is very low at 0.0015ppm so unlikely to be harmful.
the white strings in the gills are gill filaments that have reduced blood flow making them white/transparent, the bobbling at the ends look like blastema and are part of the regenerative system.
it isn't unusual to find traces of ammonia in a cycled tank, this can be because of trapped waste/food being broken down and can even be due to chloramines in tap water being broken down by dechlorinator (which is why water is never tested until after 24hrs from a water change)
what is the tap water ph.
always remember the % of water removed is the % of nitrates removed so if the nitrates are 40ppm then a 10% water change will only reduce them to 36ppm.
read up and use holtfreters solution in the water or a modified variant this will improve the water chemistry which I think is the issue that you have.
follow the amounts and chemicals that the author uses, as I don't think your axolotl requires 100% but 50% should give improvement, see here.. Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

 

[MorganMK]

the free ammonia level is very low at 0.0015ppm so unlikely to be harmful.
the white strings in the gills are gill filaments that have reduced blood flow making them white/transparent, the bobbling at the ends look like blastema and are part of the regenerative system.
it isn't unusual to find traces of ammonia in a cycled tank, this can be because of trapped waste/food being broken down and can even be due to chloramines in tap water being broken down by dechlorinator (which is why water is never tested until after 24hrs from a water change)
what is the tap water ph.
always remember the % of water removed is the % of nitrates removed so if the nitrates are 40ppm then a 10% water change will only reduce them to 36ppm.
read up and use holtfreters solution in the water or a modified variant this will improve the water chemistry which I think is the issue that you have.
follow the amounts and chemicals that the author uses, as I don't think your axolotl requires 100% but 50% should give improvement, see here.. Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity

wolfen thank u so much! you've made me feel relieved!! i'll do that!

 

[MorganMK]

Hi again!

Since posting yesterday I noticed that my axie's one eye is slightly cloudy? It doesnt appear to be fungus. She hasnt seemed to have much of an appetite (ate a worm this morning which she spat out; shes gone a few days before without eating and it usually resolves itself) but other than that she doesnt show signs of stress. She's moving around, gills are back or outstretched, etc... Should I be tubbing her or can she remain in her tank? I'm in the middle of a bacterial bloom which i read is normal when you've introduced ur axie to a newly cycled tank but I wasnt sure if this could make her eye worse? Is there a treatment or will this resolve itself while tubbed? Water parameters are still in the clear.

I've attached pictures and a video but i feel its hard to see. Her gills are slightly curled as i had just tubbed her. They are no longer curled now that shes settled

 

[wolfen]

how was the tank cycled? if it was cycled using 4ppm ammonium chloride there shouldn't be a sudden bloom caused by the introduction of your axolotl,
was the sand boiled/cleaned before adding?
keep an eye on water parameters whilst the water is cloudy.
holtfreters will deal with fungus issues etc.., until you are able to get all the chemicals together use 3g per litre salt (marine preferable, has to have no added iodine in it) in what ever water your axolotl is in as this will help with the fungus issue.

 

[MorganMK]

how was the tank cycled? if it was cycled using 4ppm ammonium chloride there shouldn't be a sudden bloom caused by the introduction of your axolotl,
was the sand boiled/cleaned before adding?
keep an eye on water parameters whilst the water is cloudy.
holtfreters will deal with fungus issues etc.., until you are able to get all the chemicals together use 3g per litre salt (marine preferable, has to have no added iodine in it) in what ever water your axolotl is in as this will help with the fungus issue.

yes it was cycled at 4ppm so im not sure why there is a bloom either but everywhere i checked said that was normal. water parameters are still normal and yea the substrate was rinsed before placing it in the tank and left to dry after rinsing.

 

[wolfen]

check the ph at tap as well as in the tank, if you can get a kh/gh liquid drop test.
I've a feeling that your water might be on the soft side, did you have difficulty cycling the tank and need to increase ph at any time?
the bloom can be caused by solid waste being broken down but should settle once the bacteria has settled, make sure to clean the filter every month.

 

[MorganMK]

check the ph at tap as well as in the tank, if you can get a kh/gh liquid drop test.
I've a feeling that your water might be on the soft side, did you have difficulty cycling the tank and need to increase ph at any time?
the bloom can be caused by solid waste being broken down but should settle once the bacteria has settled, make sure to clean the filter every month.

so ive checked twice and it keeps coming to 8.2...which i find hard to believe because i also thought it was soft. ph in tank is 7.8. i never had to adjust ph while cycling tho! can i still use holtfretters? ik it's better in soft water.

i cleaned my filter media in old tank water a few days before putting her. there was a good bit of brown gunk

 

[wolfen]

would definitely be a good idea to test the kh
holtfreters can still be used but don't add calcium chloride or bicarbonate of soda if the water is hard as it will already contain calcium carbonate (limescale).
it's a bit strange for the tap ph to be 8.2 but the tank 7.8
the idea behind holfreters is to provide the basic required salts and minerals which is why it is also common to add magnesium sulphate to holtfreters

 

[MorganMK]

I added a picture of my pH. left is tank and right is untreated tap water....ive only had my test kit about two months so i dont think its faulty. I rinsed the tubes pretty thoroughly prior to testing as well.

I only have strips for kH which i know isnt as accurate but that tests as 40 right now, so slightly lower than ideal.

With regards To holtfreters, i see there's an alternative which used epsom salt, baking soda and non iodized salt. This is a lot more acccessible to me right now...would this have the same effect as the holtfretters? If its more Beneficial to do holtfretters ill order the materials on amazon and wait for their arrival.

also should i be treating ur recommendation of adding salt to my axie's water as a salt bath where i only leave her in there for ten mins? Or can she just remain in this water until her water change?

 

[wolfen]

a salt bath is normally done with a higher concentration of salt ie.. 10 - 15 grams per litre, where as salt can be used in the aquarium to help prevent issues and also as a medication.
3 grams per litre is for medicative use because of the fungul issue, once it is dealt with it is easy to reduce to half as a preventative by doing a fifty percent water change then at the next water change add 1.5 grams salt per litre.
holtfreters at 100% + 0.2 gram per litre magnesium sulphate is a medicative, 50% + 0.1 grams magnesium sulphate is a preventative and balance, steinburgs at 100% is a medicative, johns at 100% is a preventative and balance.
the only issue to using salt is that a lot of plants don't tolerate slight brackish water.