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Illness/Sickness: Leucistic axie very red and losing skin

Bekka82

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Hi everyone,
This is our axie Squirt. This evening I got home and found him looking like this. He looked fine this morning and I have checked the water and it all seems fine too. He is very red and it looks as though this skin is shedding.
If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please let me know.
 

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auntiejude

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Re: Leucistic axie very red and loosing skin

That looks like chemical burns, possibly ammonia - get your axie into a tub of fresh clean water ASAP and try a tea bath.
 

Skudo09

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Re: Leucistic axie very red and loosing skin

Could you post the parameter readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH? It looks like his slime coat is shedding and skin is very sore and irritated and does appear consistent with chemical burn. I second the advice given to remove him from the tank and place him into a tub of fresh dechlorinated water and change 100% of the water in the tub daily. A black tea bath will help soothe the skin and contains some mild antibacterial and antifungal properties.
 
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Elise

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Going forward, without a protective slime coat, your axolotl is much more prone to infection. Keeping him in a separate container with daily water changes for multiple weeks will likely be necessary. If you can't keep your water temperature below 20C, then just let him recover in the fridge.

Not to be over critical, however his condition and lack of a dorsal crest lends me to believe that his environment has been less than ideal for some time. Review some general husbandry information in hopes to correct any present issues with his aquarium. Guide to Axolotl Husbandry
 

Bekka82

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Thank you all for the advice.
First thing I checked was the pH, nitrite, nitrate. However here are the readings this morning: pH: 7.0, nitrite: 0.5 and nitrate: 40. Ammonia I'm not sure about. I haven't been able to get a test kit from our local produce store as they are out of stock and as we are a bit rural not sure when the next stock will be in. I do however add the recommended doseage of Ammonia and Chlorine neutraliser every water change. His last water change about 2 weeks ago.

I've given him a quick salt bath and now have him in the fridge.

Elise: Thank you for your thoughts. We've had Squirt for about 6 months now and he is usually very happy and healthy in his tank. This happened extremely quickly. Like I said he was fine yesterday morning (always greets us as the side of the tank when we walk in the room etc) and like this when I came home from work last night. He does have his dorsal crest to. It must have just been the way he was in the pic at the time. This is a pic of Squirt about 4 or 5 weeks ago.
 

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LSuzuki

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If the nitrites are that high, most-likely something crashed the biofilter. Ammonia was probably sky-high. Ammonia neutralizers can't neutralize super high values. Hence, the chemical burns.

I believe salt baths are the wrong thing right now. Salt on a burn - ouch. I've read that tea baths sooth, but I have not used them myself.

Is the water you have him in fresh, dechlorinated water? I recommend following Elise's directions below.

Meanwhile, the tank ... Something went seriously wrong, and while your axie is recovering, you will need to figure out what.

Before typing a dissertation you might not need, do you understand "the cycle" in your tank? Also, what kind of filter do you have?
 

Bekka82

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I'm now thinking ammonia chemical burn too. I'm wondering if I'd accidently missed adding the neutraliser last water change (a little angry at myself if I have). I've managed to get my hands on an ammonia test kit now too.
Ive had a quick peek at him in the fridge and he seems to be a bit happier. Still a little pink but not as bad as before and he's moving around a little more too.
After his salt bath I started thinking the same thing about salt and burns LSuzuki. Will try the tea bath and follow Elise's suggestion about the container. Hopefully it will give him some relief quickly and he'll be back to himself soon.
His filter (have no idea what it's called) but it sits above the water inside the tank under the lid. Water is sucked up one side of the tank, goes through the wool, bags of black chip things (I think it's charcoal) and ceramic rings then out the other side of the tank (this side is facing the wall of the tank to slow the water flow). I usually give the filter a good clean out every couple of weeks or so. I did notice that the filter was not on the other day (plug at the power point had come out a little). Not thinking anything of it I just plugged it back in. The filter is very quiet when its running so I'm wondering now how long it had ben off for and if maybe stagnant water has just been pumped back into the tank and thrown the whole tank out of whack. Maybe not but just a thought.
For the moment Squirt is chillin in the fresh water in the fridge. I'm going to completely empty his tank, scrub it all out and start again. He wont be going back into his tank until the conditions are perfect again. I have bought a small tank today too that I was thinking of using as his 'sick bay' tank and using for the tea bath. What would you guys suggest I keep him in until he has recovered and his tank is set up again. The container in the fridge or the recovery tank?
p.s. Just wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions and help too. I truly appreciate it. :)
 

LSuzuki

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A "sick bay" tank is an excellent idea. You should change all of the water once or twice a day, depending how much water is in the container.

What I have done is keep a 10 gal tank with dechlorinated water for the water changes, since that way the water has a change to get to the same temperature. I use a silicone colander to scoop the axie up, then dump out the old water, put in the new water, and then put the axie back in. Be very slow the first few time you scoop the axie out, because they can panic and thrash. Usually, once you've done it a few times, it doesn't panic them.

Most likely the unplugged filter is the problem, but if you forgot the dechlorinator, that could have caused the problem also. There are a lot of nasty chemical compounds that build up in a filter without flow (anearobic bacteria - don't ask me for the details, I can't remember.) A big water change with chlorinated water can kill a biofilter. Chloramine (if you have that) is even worse, since it is more stable in water. And if you are rinsing the filter in chlorinated water, that will kill much of your biofilter.

Once you clean the tank, you will need to provide a source of ammonia to get the filter reestablished. Read up on "fishless cycling" - you can used plain household ammonia. Follow the "fishless cycling" direction concerning the ammonia levels - too much ammonia will interfere with the beneficial bacteria. Hopefully, the bio-filter is just stunned, and will bounce back quickly.

Good luck!
 

Skudo09

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Here are a couple of links on aquarium cycling and fishless cycling. It is best to gain a full understanding of the cycling process and how to maintain the cycle rather than relying on chemical products to neutralise ammonia and nitrite and nitrate. It may be better to order a liquid test kit for ammonia online if you cannot get it locally.


Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling

The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community
Definitely no more salt baths as this treatment is quite harsh and for the treatment of fungus. Salt baths will only irritate his already sore and irritated skin further and won't help. I don't think keeping him in the fridge is necessary but just somewhere cool. Make sure you change the water in the tub every day using dechlorinated water the same temperature.

Here is a link on a guide on how to provide a tea bath.

Caudata Culture Articles - Illness Part 2
 
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