Axolotl eye - fungus? Infection?

Hello all,
Well, I feel bad - I left my Axolotl a few days and came back to discover she's got a white misty patch of something on her eye!

I'm assuming and hoping that it's an injury that's suffered opportunistic fungal attack. It looks odd and almost like the lens is pointed? Or raised?

She's reacting, eating and curious like normal.

I tested water and the nitrate looked a touch high. Temperature pretty stable around 11C.

For the last 4 days (ie since) I've changed the water by ~25% each day and gave her a salt bath for 15min. The white mist seems to be lessening, but I still think there's a point or raised level to the lens.

Any ideas on what I should do next? Any thoughts on what it is??

Atm I'm only able to do salt baths once a day.
Thank you for reading!

I wouldn't do the salt baths anymore since its highly irritating to the skin. Try bathing in indian almond leaves, or try black tea baths, this will sooth the skin and they hold mild antifungal properties.

Caudata Culture Articles - Illness Part 2

'Tea bath for axolotls
Contributed by Daniel Weiner, August 2007.

I mainly use teabaths for minor skin problems. It may also be used for fungal problems, but in those cases I prefer salt baths. Tea has a slight antifungal and antibacterial effects (resulting from tannins) and additionally it closes the pores in the skin a little bit (mainly resulting from tannin and caffeine). The skin tightens and gets some kind of protective layer, making it harder for fungi and bacteria to intrude on the body. On the other hand, it makes it harder for salt or medicine to reach pathogens that are already inside the body - that is the reason I do not use it on fungal infections, although some people do recommend a tea bath as a cure for fungal infections.

The procedure is preferably done in a quarantine tank, not the animal's regular setup. I take one bag of unflavored black tea for every 10 litres (2.5 gallons) of water. It is important to use black tea because this kind of tea is fermented, so it has tannins. This tea gets covered with boiling water in a small bowl - I leave it there for at least 10 to 15 minutes, so the tannins are dissolved into the water. After the tea cools down, it is added to the quarantine water. After a week I do a large water change (60% at least), and the rest of the tea is removed over time by normal water changes. If you have to make water changes sooner (i.e., you are using a very small bowl or tank) the tea concentration can be replenished during water changes. As far as I know, there are no negative effects, even for long term treatment.'

So we reckon I can class this as semi-minor?

I've been using the lowest dilution recommended for salt baths, and relatively low frequency (ie it's often suggested to do it 2-3 times a day!). Thank you for the instructions link - had her about 10 months now..I think I'm still new!

And I was thinking to next try a tea soak too, because of the same reason you mentioned about irritation.

So with the normal home tank, I should just treat normal and do water changes once a week? With the filter running?

Yes this looks like the last remnants of fungal infection.

The tea bath or Indian almond leaves should suffice.

You do the baths once or twice a day then let your Axolotl stay in its usual tank. Be sure to keep the water you do the baths in at the same temp as your tank so not to cause stress.

Your main tank should have water changes when your Nitrates reach around 40ppm, or if the water becomes particularly dirty. 25% changes every week is okay. Always keep your filter running.

Are you aware of the nitrogen cycle? and do you test your water for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and PH?

Just so your aware, you posted this thread in the 'General Discussion & News from Members' part of the forum.

For anything Axolotl related look at the different areas to post within the Axolotl area of the forum: Beginner Newt, Salamander, Axolotl & Help Topics - Axolotls (<i>Ambystoma mexicanum</i>) at Caudata.org Newt and Salamander Portal

Oh right! I admit I've been having navigation difficulties with this site on my phone.
So no, I wasn't aware that i was on the general forum - explains why replies and views seem quiet!
Thank you for the pointer.

On the Nitrogen cycle - yes I do know about it, and suspect that I upset the balance by not doing a thorough enough food clear up before I went away, and may have missed a water change at the same time, because I had done one a few days prior.
I typically carry out 25% changes once a week, maybe I'm actually misjudging it.

I do test my parameters every month now it's established or whenever I think it looks merky or suspect. When I tested the water when I discovered her eye issue - it was
Ammonia -0 (with a slight hint of going green!)
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 40
Ph - 7.4
Temp ~11

Plus, I think she may have injured herself in the interim. So opportunities everywhere for fungus!

Thank you again for the pointers - she seems to be healing further still, and have a tea tank prepped for her

Hi, I began a different post on the sick Axolotl page, which apparently this same post is now on? Anyway.. She left a massive amount of mess after 20hrs in a tea tank and I may have shed a bit of mucus surface layer too and went all limp and lethargic.
She's out now and been in her fresh home tank, she's eating ravenous again within 15hours, so ss ok. But I don't understand what happened - I used 2 tea steeped tea bags worth for 20l of water? Maybe she didn't like the merky dark