Caudata.org: Newts and Salamanders Portal

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Did you know that registered users see fewer ads? Register today!

Sick Axolotls, gill fungus?

ksparks519

New member
Joined
Jul 21, 2014
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
Illinois
Picture: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxZM0mG5THtHb1AzXzg0OGFacDQ/view?usp=sharing

Our 2 axolotls are having a lot of trouble with a gill infection. The picture above is Achiote, our leucistic female, who has the worse infection by far. Tomatl, the wild type, has always been healthier and hungrier than Achiote, but the infection has just spread to him this morning.

Symptoms have been very similar to this thread:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...-very-aggressive-gill-fungus-please-help.html

Little bits of fluff started showing up on Achiote about 3 days ago, and now about 2/3 of her gills are gone. We started salt baths two days ago, but it has only gotten worse. We moved both axolotls into separate containers in the fridge this morning. We went to the good lfs in town and tried to find some sort of medicine for fungus and/or bacteria listed as safe on this page:
Axolotls - Health & Diseases

They only carried methylene blue, furan 2, and melafix. We picked up some methylene blue and I've added 1 drop to each container (the package said 10 drops per 1 gallon, and they are both in about half a liter).

When we checked on them this evening, it looks like they are sloughing off hunks of mucous all over their bodies. Is this a normal immune response in axolotls? It's hard to tell if their gills are any better or worse, but one of Tomatl's gills has begun to shrink (maybe some old damage just fell off?).

I think this has to do with a recent spike in tank bioload. The tank is usually around 70/72 F (21/22 C), which is the best we've been able to do without ice cubes. We keep feeder fish (cloud mountain minnows and guppies, usually between 5 and a dozen, depending on how fast they get eaten) and ramshorn snail in the tank with them. The snail population exploded over the holidays while we were traveling, so I removed as many as I could and added an assassin snail to try to control them. They were originally there to be food for our pea puffers in another tank, but I'd be happy to get rid of them at this point. The tank is a 10 gallon with a sponge filter and lots of hides. I added a HOB filter, which will eventually replace the sponge filter, to try to cycle ammonia faster in the future. I think the flow from the filter is pretty well dissipated by the slate caves in the tank.

Sorry about the short essay, we're just very worried about our little guys.

TLDR
Axolotls sick with gill fungus/infection
Infection progressed quickly despite salt baths
Seems to be contagious
Axolotls hanging out in fridge
Treating with methylene blue

Questions:
1. Any advice at all would be great (ok, not a question).
2. Is the methylene blue a good idea?
3. Should I treat for an hour or two and then change water, or should I let them hang out in it all day?
4. Is my dosage too high?
5. Is there a better medicine or treatment for this problem?
6. Should I treat their tank with something? If so, what could I put in there that won't hurt fish or plants?

Thanks so much!
-Kyle & Michelle
 

Bette

New member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
975
Reaction score
18
Location
Massachusetts, USA
So, this is my advice:
I suspect that you perhaps are not doing frequent enough water changes. Poop and debris can get under the slate hides, so these should be moved during water changes. Your axolotls would benefit from a larger tank. Definitely remove the ramshorn snails and even the assassin snail because they could be eaten and cause a blockage. If this means redoing the tank, just lightly rinse filter media and reuse all media so the tank's cycle won't crash.
A little goes a long way with meth blue. I would only use 1 or 2 drops per gallon maximum for axolotls. Keep in mind that this medicine can disrupt the tank's cycle.
The mucus might be sloughing off because of the medication.
Have you checked the ammonia levels in the tank? I am not convinced that the issue is fungus. It could perhaps be ammonia poisoning.
Is there any white, furry fungus on their bodies?
 

Bette

New member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
975
Reaction score
18
Location
Massachusetts, USA
It looks more bacterial to me, but it is hard to tell. You could try having a vet take a look at them. Furan-2 is a good antibiotic, and I've used it before successfully.
I'm undecided whether you should try the antibiotic or stick with cool, plain water. You wouldn't want to use the meth blue for more than 3 days anyway.
Again, if you can afford to get a vet's opinion, I do recommend that. These types of illnesses take a toll on axolotls, and oftentimes they cannot recover. I hope yours will pull through.
Are they still eating?
 
E

Elise

Guest
How certain are you that it's a fungal infection? It's difficult to tell from the image but the gills may be necrotic. Including more pictures of both your axolotls, their environment, and additional pictures of their gills would be helpful.

There are certainly some husbandry issues with your current setup. Multiple adults in a 10 gallon is not recommended as the water quality will deteriorate quickly. Not to mention, you are further increasing the bio-load by adding feeder fish. The water quality would need to be monitored frequently, with water changes performed as often as needed. A common solution is simply moving the axolotls to a larger volume aquarium. Only replacing your filter with a larger model would do little in this situation but increase water flow in the tank.
Further reading related to husbandry of axolotls can be found here: Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity
Also, an article on understanding the nitrogen cycle:Caudata Culture Articles - Water Quality

The temperatures of your aquarium are currently too warm. Some examples of long term cooling solutions can be found in this article: Caudata Culture Articles - Cooling.
 

Bette

New member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
975
Reaction score
18
Location
Massachusetts, USA
Btw, I wouldn't treat the main tank. Just do a thorough cleaning. And I recommend removing the axies from the fridge. I do not believe that fridging is going to help the current issue. The extreme cold will also suppress their appetite.
 

ksparks519

New member
Joined
Jul 21, 2014
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
Illinois
Thanks for the responses! Just to clarify a couple of things:

I suspect that you perhaps are not doing frequent enough water changes. Poop and debris can get under the slate hides, so these should be moved during water changes.
I do weekly 50% water changes and remove all of the slate in the tank before siphoning, so I think I'm getting the majority of it. We also remove poop as soon as we see it. I tested the water a couple days ago, ammonia was between 0 and .25ppm, but nitrite and nitrate were both 0. We've had the axolotls for 5 months and this has been the first problem we've run into, and it happened right after I added a few new feeders. I'm not trying to be defensive, but infection from feeder fish seems a lot more plausible to me.

Is there any white, furry fungus on their bodies?
The leucistic had white chunks all over her gills and one foot before we fridged them, and the wildtype was getting little white chunks on some of her gills. The chunks were clearly on top of the gills and not just gill filaments turned white. It also spread from one axolotl to the other, which again makes me think infection. The gill deterioration seems to have stopped since we fridged them, so I am not going to put them back into the tank just yet. I'll get a few more pictures in a little bit.

The mucus might be sloughing off because of the medication.
They began sloughing off mucus before we treated with methylene blue.

Again, if you can afford to get a vet's opinion, I do recommend that. These types of illnesses take a toll on axolotls, and oftentimes they cannot recover. I hope yours will pull through.
Are they still eating?
Unfortunately the nearest herp vet I could find is a good 45 minutes away. Achiote was accepting a few pellets here and there, and Tomatl was eating as voraciously as ever until we fridged them.

We might try to get a 20-gallon long tank to replace the 10 gallon tank this afternoon, otherwise we're going to keep fridging them until tomorrow at least. Thanks for the help!
 

ksparks519

New member
Joined
Jul 21, 2014
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
Illinois
Here are some more pictures. Sorry, can't seem to be able to imbed them into the post from google drive.

Tank set up:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxZM0mG5THtHZlRMVTNXQ1duWUE/view?usp=sharing

Tomatl's gills:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxZM0mG5THtHMzRuV0dpa3REc00/view?usp=sharing
ventral most gills have the most damage, but its kind of hard to see.

Achiote's gills and foot:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxZM0mG5THtHOUN1bmtvQ20tNFU/view?usp=sharing
Her right food has some yellowish splotches on it and there was a wound on her forearm that seems to be closing up.
 

Bette

New member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
975
Reaction score
18
Location
Massachusetts, USA
Here are some more pictures. Sorry, can't seem to be able to imbed them into the post from google drive.

Tank set up:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxZM0mG5THtHZlRMVTNXQ1duWUE/view?usp=sharing

Tomatl's gills:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxZM0mG5THtHMzRuV0dpa3REc00/view?usp=sharing
ventral most gills have the most damage, but its kind of hard to see.

Achiote's gills and foot:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxZM0mG5THtHOUN1bmtvQ20tNFU/view?usp=sharing
Her right food has some yellowish splotches on it and there was a wound on her forearm that seems to be closing up.

Thanks for the responses and for clarifying on those points.
Okay, so it sounds like your tank is still cycling. I'm happy to hear that you are monitoring the water parameters.
It is possible that they were infected by something the feeder fish were carrying. Perhaps just wait a few days and see if there is some improvement to your leucistic's gills. It's really your call.
Your axies are very cute by the way :happy:
 

Leansgirl

New member
Joined
Jan 16, 2015
Messages
57
Reaction score
0
Location
Oregon
You can do salt dips or refrigerate your axolotl for a little to help heal it. Water quality should be checked fir sure. Remove snails. They will eat protective slim off axolotl body and may be lunch that clogs axolotl digestive track
 

ksparks519

New member
Joined
Jul 21, 2014
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
Illinois
Update:

Their gills have stopped deteriorating. They're still hanging out in the fridge for now. Still treating with methylene blue for 1 hour a day.

We went a little nuts (petsmart serendipitously had a sale on aquariums) and replaced the 10 gallon with a 20 gallon long. New set up here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxZM0mG5THtHN04zOTdURDZFd0E/view?usp=sharing

I removed as many snails as I could. The assassin snail will stay in there to clean up any stragglers for a while. We will put the axolotls back once they show some signs of healing and we're sure the new tank is stable.

Thanks again everybody!
 
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Top