Fungus eating away the gills? Help!!!

grets66 · Aug 30, 2015

One of my albino axolotls has almost no gills left, also I have noticed the other albino has some small white spots on his gills. I think it is somekind of fungus but how do I get it off and how do I make them feel better. I also have 1 black and 2 golden axolotls living together with them and I am very scared that they all will get it.
The water temperature is atm around 21 C and we are building a fan system to get it down but it is quite difficult because it is the end of summer.
I also tried to make some photos but the white spots are so small that they are barely visible. But you can see compared to the other albino how small the gills have gotten.
I have read about putting them into fridge or doing salt baths but I am not sure about neither of these options. They seem too risky. And also in Estonia where I live we do not have any vets who can help with these animals since they are pretty rare.
Is it possible that when we get the temperature down the fungus will die? Will the gills grow back? We just did cleaning of the tank and everything. What else can we do???

Skudo09 · Aug 30, 2015

one of them looks quite veiny and red. The one with no gill filaments also has an odd shaped head. Have you checked the parameters for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and PH? If so, what were the readings? Do the white spots appear like cotton wool? Could you get a photo from above? I am wondering if the one with no gill filaments is a little bloated?

charleybambino · Aug 30, 2015

I can only suggest water issues......both have strange heads....or perhaps just the photos!
I had a similar issue once with redness and shrinking gill filaments when the ammonia level spiked...it's harder to spot this problem on a darker creature.

blushed · Aug 30, 2015

Oh wow, the axolotls with the red gills looks... Quite possibly sick. The redness in the legs is an indication.

The one without gills lost its gills because of 1, the fungus you described, and 2 probably poor water quality (answer to why both look sickly IMO).

I am sorry you are having trouble with your axxies, though.

Do you have a liquid water test kit?
What are the parameters in PPM for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrAte?
Also what size tank is this?

All of those questions will help us help your axolotls.

Also was your redder axolotl attacked as a baby? Both of its front arms are very odd, not that it matters, but it basically has an arm growing out of its arm... Actually both axolotls have odd arms.

Are these some strange hybrid? I've never seen an axolotl with bright blue eyes like that before...

grets66 · Aug 31, 2015

Their heads are normal looking. Always have been like this

No change there. And I dont know if they had their front feet bitten off but probably, this is why they have these mutations because they have grown back like this. Also they have had these growing like that since I got them. Our tank is 315L so pretty big. Atm I am not home so I can not make any tests or new photos and also I only have this simple strip test that I can make. The proper water kits are very expensive and I dont even know if they sell them in my City.
The white spots are like really small and on the tops of the gills. Some of them, not on all the gilss.
Yes what is also weird is that the one who has almost no gills left does not seem stressed and the other one is all red and looks stressed. I am very worried. I dont want them to die. I have had them for 5 years and just 4months ago we went through all the trouble by getting them a bigger tank and also built a cupboard for it ect..
We just made a 30% water change and cleaning of the tank so I hope this helped with reducing the ammonia level if it is up.
I do not know what else to do. Try to get the kit to measure the water temp but what until then?
What happens if the gills go too short??

Skudo09 · Aug 31, 2015

The head shape is odd but if it has always been like that then it is probably not a huge concern. I suspect that there may be some sort of water quality issue going on. It may be worth keeping them in a clean tub of fresh, dechlorinated water and do 100% water changes daily in the tub for now. If you can get a liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH it would be worth the cost as these are important indicators of water quality. It may be worth offering a mild treatment such as a black tea bath or Indian almond leaves. Keep in mind the Indian almond leaves can reduce the PH.

Skudo09 · Sep 12, 2015

How are they going? Any better or worse?

grets66 · Oct 10, 2015

One of the axies is doing better but the other albino has gotten worse
He is really red all the time amd I see more of the fungus on the gills. We have remobed her from the tank and I dont know what to do next?! Just let her be and do water changes and hope he will get better on its own or try this salt bath? I am a little scared of this salt bath thing since I have no experience with it. Or buy this unchlorofied water and put him in that?
Does anybody have any suggestions. The tank water was fine and 15 degrees so this could not have caused it.
I am so scared that he will die or that all of my axies have this issue :-S :'(

Charlotl · Oct 10, 2015

Salt baths do help with fungus. It shouldn't be too difficult to do. Based off the guild http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-beginner-newt-salamander-axolotl-help-topics/f48-axolotls-ambystoma-mexicanum/f58-sick-axolotl/72698-salt-bath-picture-tutorial.htmlThe salt bath is 2-3 teaspoons of salt per liter of water. Make sure the water is the same temperature as the water you are taking your axolotl out of. Once the salt water is mixed put the axolotl in there for 10-15 minutes and then put it back in your tank like normal. The guide says some people fridge the axolotl but to keep it simple for you and easier on the already sick axolotl I would not do that.

In regards to the water question you asked: Do you use a dechlorinator on you water before adding it to the tank? If not you NEED to. Chlorine and chloramine are often in tap water (depending on where you live) and if there is enough essentially burn the skin of the axolotl. Can you post updated pictures?

Skudo09 · Oct 10, 2015

Could you post a current picture of the worse one? With the redness, it sounds like possibly a bacterial infection. However photos will help give more of an indication.

Were you able to find a liquid test kit?

grets66 · Oct 11, 2015

Yes we put things in the water to help make the tap water better. I did not get the kit, since they dont have it at the moment but the small test looks okei and we have just made a cleaning of the tank a week ago. I tried to make some photos but I can not get a good one. On the photos you can not see it but her gills have small white funguslike things on it. It is quite difficult to keep a proper eye on things because we have moved and our aquarium is still at my grandmothers place since it is 315L and we can not move it yet and we go check on it twice a week and now since I was so affraid we took the sick one with us but I am starting to think that maybe we should have kept it in there in the tank since the water temp was 14,9 degrees of Celsius and the colder the better and maybe the fungus would have gone away? Do I go and take him back? And before try to give him a saltbath?

Charlotl · Oct 12, 2015

What is the name of the stuff you put in the water? What is the temperature of the water it is in now? Another thing to consider is how much the temperature changes and how much you move him around. Transport can stress the little guys out and smaller amounts of water can change temperature quicker than large tanks.

The pictures look pretty good to me but I don't see any fungus at all. If this is a bacterial infection I don't know if you can do anything but take it to a veterinarian. Maybe someone else will have another idea.

grets66 · Oct 18, 2015

Hei, everybody!
We took 3 of our axolotls away from the aquarium, gave them salt baths and now they are in clear water we bought from the shop, will continue with the salt baths. One of them has almost no gills left,the black one has started to have the same problem as the others. I am also worried about the other two who stayed in the tank. The strip water measurement was okei but something is off. I dont know if it is something with the water or the deasese is just spreading between them. Is it okei to give the three of them a salt bath in the same water? Also at the moment two of them are in one big bucket and another on is alone in a bowl. Or do they need to be all in a separate place? It is just that all if them are really big and long and it is very difficult to find something to keep them in and then also where to do these salt baths.
Please some advice? Also is it possible to order this water test kit from eBay maybe?

Charlotl · Oct 18, 2015

Yes, I would look into Amazon or Ebay for the testing kit. I am still confused by your buying water from a store and suspect that it might not be ideal. I have also never heard of stores selling anything except salt water. Sometimes pet stores have no idea what they are really doing or just try to make money selling whatever they can so I'm kinda distrustful of them. I don't see why your couldn't do salt baths all at once but again, I don't see any fungus in your pictures that would require a salt bath.

Skudo09 · Oct 18, 2015

I don't see any fungus either. Salt baths are irritating to the skin so I would be hesitant to recommend continuing them without seeing any signs of fungus. The photos don't quite look like a bacterial infection is there but perhaps skin irritation is a possibility to the reddish veiny appearance. You could offer them a black tea bath which may help soothe the skin and it does have some mild antibacterial and antifungal properties also.

I would try to keep them separate but if that is not possible then they will be ok together. However you need to be changing 100% of the water in the buckets daily using fresh dechlorinated water. I have never heard of buying aquarium water either but I would probably avoid it.

Yes, purchase a liquid test kit on eBay.

grets66 · Oct 19, 2015

I did not buy any aquarium water I meant that we bought this regular clean water from the shop so we dont use tapwater. Sorry for the confusion. The photos dont show it but tuey all have fungus and it is pretty bad...one of them has almost no gills left and yes we make daily water changes and a salt bath 1 a day. It is hard to make a good photos when they are in this buckets. How long can we continue with these salt baths? Will they become dangerous at some point? And yes in petshops they no nothing about anything so we have not even asked anything from them.

grets66 · Oct 19, 2015

Tried to make more photos. On of them is made with a flash and it looks really bad :-(

Charlotl · Oct 19, 2015

Fungus is a very fluffy cotton ball like growth and there is none on your axolotls. Stop doing the salt baths. No water is clean for an axolotl unless it has been treated with a declorinating agent such as AquaSafe Plus Tetra® AquaSafe Plus Aquarium Dechlorinator Water Conditioner | Dechlorinators | PetSmart or another brand of it that you find online. If you use something like that on tap water before adding it to the tank the tap water should be OK to use.

Skudo09 · Oct 19, 2015

There is no fungus present and continuing salt baths will be irritating their skin needlessly and making things worse. At this stage I would keep them in the tubs and continue water changes and consider black tea baths.

As Charlotl has said above, tap water should be fine as long as you use a dechlorinator before adding to their tank or their tubs to remove the chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals.

grets66 · Oct 20, 2015

Okei, if it is not a fungus then what is it? Whats eating away their gills? Does the fungus always have to be a big thing. The ends of the gills are white and looks like a fungus like thing and the gills are getting smaller and getting into a worse condition. Usually we always put these things in the tanks to make the water better I have not put them in this water we bought from the shop but I will get some and do it. How does this tea bath work and how do you make it?

Fungus eating away the gills? Help!!!

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