Fungus???

Today is my 17th birthday! My family took me out to Arby's, and then my dad took me to PetSmart to get more stuff for my Axolotl! Pretty good way to spend my birthday if you ask me. (I got an Anubis Nana, and learned how to anchor it to a rock, and then got a dozen shrimp)

As I was releasing the shrimp into the tank, I noticed a small little white cloud hanging onto the tip of one of Tabi's gill stumps. I didn't see it this morning before I left for school, but that was at 5:30 AM so I may have been too tired. I definitely didn't see it last night, because I like to watch him walk around for a few minutes before getting ready for bed. So this either developed over night or I'm the twelve hours I was busy. I did a 10% water change last night, as I have been sticking to weekly water changes, so I don't see how water parameters could be bad. I flung some water at his gills with the pipette I use to clean his tank, and it didn't detach. I shown a light at it, and it didn't reflect, so it can't be an iridiphore, right?

What exactly is going on? If it's a fungus, is it possible to let it be and it will go on its own, or does it need to be treated to go away? I've only owned Tabi for two months, so I'm not 100% sure about these things. One thing I am sure about is that it's annoying to try and catch him, so I don't really want to have to catch him for a salt or tea bath if I don't have to.

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Fungus commonly appears when water quality/temperature is poor, on a wound, or when the Axolotl is ill with a low immune system.
http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm

There are in my opinion 3 very important factors to keeping an Axolotl:

1. The Nitrogen Cycle
2. Temperature
3. Nutritious Food

To avoid fungus or worse you must monitor your Nitrogen Cycle, temperature, and provide nutritious food.

Nitrogen Cycle -
Caudata Culture Articles - Water Quality
Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling
http://www.oscarfishlover.com/how-to-cycle-your-aquarium

Temperature -
Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity
Caudata Culture Articles - Cooling

Food -
Caudata Culture Articles - Worms

Sorry to hear about your baby. I have dealt with small bits of fungus on my little ones gills recently as well. I used the tea bath method, as it is less stressful for the axolotl in general than salt.

My little ones were having a hard time with their slime coat when I first got them, and it was thickening for some unknown reason. If you don't want to bother with removing him from the tank for a tea bath, you can add the tea directly to the tank in a low dose and it will eventually be removed via water changes. If you go this route I would do a very low dose. Maybe 1 cup of brewed cooled tea.

**Remember to use ONLY BLACK TEA, ex: Ingredients: Black tea (NOTHING ELSE LISTED)**

Tea is a great remedy and preventative measure for fungus and bacteria. It has a slight anti-fungal and anti-bacterial property, much like Indian Almond Leaves or dried oak leaves due to the tannins present in the water.

There is ALSO the chance the fungus will go away on its own with cleaner cooler water. I don't know what your water parameters are, so if they are off it may clear up within a day or so of being corrected.

Thanks... Also, what are the symptoms of being overfed? I can only find 5 of the ghost shrimp from last night. I checked in all my plants and the spots that shrimp like to hide. I didn't think a 4.5 inch axolotl could pound them like that when hes never seen shrimp before! They couldn't have jumped out, the screen is covered...

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He will eat all the shrimp.....it's kind of a death sentence for them being in an axolotl tank.

Also, they can get sucked up the filter.

I'm cool with him eating them, I was just shocked he did it so fast when there's so many hiding spots he can't reach! Maybe the reason he's been refusing worms the past few days is because he heard me telling my dad i was getting shrimp XD

Filter hasn't been running for a few days because it got unplugged and ive been too busy to move the entire dresser to plug it back in. I have time this after noon

Also, his fungus cleared up over night!

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