Illness/Sickness: Badly treated axolotl rescued, advice appreciated!

Hi all,

Last week I was in a local pet store and noticed that they had an Axolotl for sale. As an Axolotl owner I can tell you they are not very common here in Ireland, so I was really excited to have a look! I just love those little guys! I was delighted even more when I saw that he was a leucistic (white non albino) as my little guy is a wild type.

But my joy was short lived it turns out he was being housed (in a small tank) with two plectostomus ( I'm not sure of the type of fish but it was those "sucker fish" lol) probably in an attempt to keep the tank clean. As I was there one of the plectostomus was fully attached to his gills. I spoke to the guy working at there and he separated them, which obviously was a short term solution!! Either way the axie wasn't in bad shape so I thought no more about it.

Today I went back into the store, and the poor axolotl had almost no "hairs" on his gills!!! I bought him there and then and spoke to the girl about housing the axolotls. She didn't seem concerned in the least!!

Anyway I guess I wanted to highlight how some pet stores treat the animals, and also ask you guys some advice as I only have my first axolotl a few months and he has never had these kinds of problems.

1. Is there anything I can do to treat him? Or boost the regrowth?

2. I'm a little concerned about housing him myself as he has too share his tank with my first axolotl. Their tank is a little over 100 litres (26.4 US gallons). Is this ok?

EDIT: They are both adult males, my first axolotl "Axel" is approx' 8 inches long, and my new guy "Sergio" is approx' 7 inches long.

Hi Breathnach! First, Congrats

So I've also only had one (5 actually) a few months. But I researched these for a couple years before deciding to take on the responsibility I finally took the plunge
Anyway, from what I understand. You never want to put a new Axi in with an old one. You should really do a quarantine period. From a fish store, I'd say a thirty day quarantine.

As for the new guy, what about housing him in a plastic bin and do water changes. I'm pretty sure the gills will grow back. Just make sure he is eating well and gets fresh water



_________________________________________________________
When asked: Why?
Because I couldn't stop at just one dammit!!!

Btw, I should clarify. You'll be able to put them both together after the thirty day quarantine. I've also read all over the place that they only need ten gallons per critter. Your 25gal will be fine.


_________________________________________________________
When asked: Why?
Because I couldn't stop at just one dammit!!!

Hi BabySinclair,
Thanks for your quick response! I knew that housing them together could be a problem but I couldn't leave him there! I guess I'll quarantine him for now as you suggested. About regrowth? Let nature take its course?

I agree with what was said above. Keep them separated, and fresh dechlorinated water everyday should do the trick along with nutritious meals.

Also for a recuperating Axxie I really appreciate a bare floor. I did a 10gal rehab tank for my small Axxie who wouldn't grow & started regurgitating all of his food and he is now smaller than my other Axxie but also healthier and thriving. All of his frilly gills were gone, I was sure he was dying. But nope, with fresh water and good axolotl pellets they all grew back with time. He does fabulous on the bare bottom. My other Axxie is on sand and he digs and plays in the sand all the time.

Good luck! And I'm glad you rescued the poor thing but I hope they don't replace him with another to be attacked by the plecos again...

blushed said:

Good luck! And I'm glad you rescued the poor thing but I hope they don't replace him with another to be attacked by the plecos again...

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It's a petstore that sees that the animal is selling, they most likely will tbh

Hi Jessica,
Thanks for your reply, yeah I'm gonna keep them separated for month long quarantine!

How did the lack of sand/substrate help in your opinion? I may adopt this tactic too. Better safe than sorry!

I agree that the shop may replace him and I hope that's not the case!! Hopefully their rarity here will result in them not getting anymore!

Breathnach said:

Hi Jessica,
Thanks for your reply, yeah I'm gonna keep them separated for month long quarantine!

How did the lack of sand/substrate help in your opinion? I may adopt this tactic too. Better safe than sorry!

I agree that the shop may replace him and I hope that's not the case!! Hopefully their rarity here will result in them not getting anymore!

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When an Axi is injured, the most important thing is clean dechlorinated water. Having a bare bottom makes it Uber easy to keep it clean. From what I've read, and like suggested above. It is the easiest and safest way to rehab an injured or sick Axi.

When I first got mine, I did that for a month, but then noticed they had a hard time getting traction so I added large rocks and then sand when they hit 5 inches.

I personally would put her in a bin, feed her well, do daily water changes with conditioned water. Do no substrait, but do a few large rocks (2x larger than her head). Just something for her to get some traction on, and not to many. You have to be able to get all the poop out
Make sure to give her a place to hide, maybe some floating plants to help keep the stress low.

Also, I don't like using dechlorinators. I don't like the idea of adding photo developing chemicals to any aquarium, and that's what most dechlorinators are. I keep three gallon jugs that I age my water in for a few days. Unscented plastic kitty little containers are great for this. I keep an air stone in each container as it's aging to keep the water oxygenated and not stagnant. Aeration also help evaporate the chloramines. I won't drink photo developer, I can't expect my axis to......
However people use it without any ill affect at all. For me it's just personal preference.

Such a poor cutie. Breathnach, even though I really understand why you bought him, please don't "rescue" axolotls from pet shops again. It's better to report the store to the official veterinarian. I did this once, and the veterinarian showed up the next day and caused them trouble. They never offered axolotls again.

As it was said before, please keep Sergio under quarantine. Four weeks is the absolute minimum. You can use a food safe staple box (about 40 liters will do) and do 100% water changes daily. It's time-consuming, but necessary. This is my quarantine set-up:



I would also send a fecal sample and a pap test to a lab to be sure he carries no parasites or other nasties.

I'm looking forward to see pictures of Sergio with regrown and fluffy gills! :happy:

qannp said:

Such a poor cutie. Breathnach, even though I really understand why you bought him, please don't "rescue" axolotls from pet shops again. It's better to report the store to the official veterinarian. I did this once, and the veterinarian showed up the next day and caused them trouble. They never offered axolotls again.

As it was said before, please keep Sergio under quarantine. Four weeks is the absolute minimum. You can use a food safe staple box (about 40 liters will do) and do 100% water changes daily. It's time-consuming, but necessary. This is my quarantine set-up:

I would also send a fecal sample and a pap test to a lab to be sure he carries no parasites or other nasties.

I'm looking forward to see pictures of Sergio with regrown and fluffy gills! :happy:

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A little off topic, but I'm kinda stunned. What is an "official Veterinarian? Something tells me we need one in Washington State so I can report Petsmart.... And our Lfs...
Sadly, without paying insane shipping, petsmart or petco are the only places to get frozen blood worm
In the USA It all boils down to money and politics... In the end, no one gives a two ***** but the hobbyist/naturist :evil:

Btw, I understand your point. I just didn't want to be the one to say it :lol: I fully understand both sides. Im a sucker for a cute face, and would have fallen in love instantly. I understand feeling obligated to rescue such a cute, innocent and defenseless face.
Sadly, yes, the Lfs will probably get more

My Lfs is great with fish, but knows nothing about axolotls. I quit going to the Lfs because of the temptation to "rescue" (and will always "find" room for another tank lol). I ended waiting 6 months to get 5, and I got them from a member on this site. I used to love the fish store, Not so much any more.... I get seriously p*ssed about how they keep the Fire belly newts, Fb toads and the lotls. I want an Official Veterinarian!!!

Breathnach said:

Hi Jessica,
Thanks for your reply, yeah I'm gonna keep them separated for month long quarantine!

How did the lack of sand/substrate help in your opinion? I may adopt this tactic too. Better safe than sorry!

I agree that the shop may replace him and I hope that's not the case!! Hopefully their rarity here will result in them not getting anymore!

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The bare bottom was much easier for feeding, cleaning, and monitoring poop! Just all around better for rehab IMO !


^This is happy little Slender. His home looks like it's going to stay the 10gal since he hasn't grown in months! Just rounded out

BabySinclair said:

A little off topic, but I'm kinda stunned. What is an "official Veterinarian? Something tells me we need one in Washington State so I can report Petsmart.... And our Lfs...

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It's 05:56 and I'm too lazy and tired to work out a definition all by myself - so I stole it from wikipedia.

"Some vets also undertake the training to become Official Veterinarians, (OVs), which authorises them to carry out tasks on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, such as testing cattle for tuberculosis or issuing of documentation for the export of animals and animal products."

They also are responsible for monitoring and enforce the regulations of the Animal Welfare Act where it applies to pet shops and even private keepers.

(I'm not happy with my translation, I hope you get the idea anyway :uhoh

The OVs in Vienna are really dedicated. When I reported the store they apologized for not being able to visit them the same day (it was about 16:00) and promised to go there the next day.
Two days later a friend of mine went shopping in the mall where the store is. I had told her that I reported the store and she was curious if the OV had been really there. She asked for axolotls and was told: "We don't have axolotls anymore. They cause too much trouble."
Obviously the OV confirmed that I was not overreacting and confiscated all five or six axie babies.

BabySinclair said:

Btw, I understand your point. I just didn't want to be the one to say it :lol:

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I didn't want to say it either and felt bad when I wrote it.

Well done with reporting them. In NZ we have the R.S.P.C.A (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)... They are pretty brutal with people like that. That shop would have been shut down, their License revoked and the owner would have been prosecuted...

I applaud you for your concern and initiative.

Thank you!

Hi Breathnach. I was given an unwanted axolotol years ago that had been kept in a goldfish bowl or tiny fish tank for a year or two until its owner became bored with it. They were a lot scarcer in Ireland then and i was glad to take it. Due to infrequent water changes and no filtration or oxygenation of its tank, its gills had receded to little more than stumps and it was seemingly gulping air from the surface at times. I can only assume it was beginning to metamorphose into a land dwelling salamander due to its poor living conditions. I wasn't sure if i could halt this, but as it turned out, a few months in a three foot aquarium with decent filtration and oxygenation from an internal canister filter and its gills recovered to a healthy looking state. I hope yours has done likewise, atb

If the fish in question were indeed a species of pleco they are unlikely to have done much harm. They are generally peaceful algae eaters. If they were doing damage rather than just resting on the axolotl, they were more likely to have been Indian 'algae eater' aka Indian 'sucking loach'. These are known to not always stick to algae and tend to attack other fish scraping at their skin and slime. Other than that, perhaps poor conditions during a protracted import procedure could be the fault of his poor condition?