Sick Axolotl. Green ooze like poo from anus, Refusal to eat.

8 month old axolotl. I've had him for a month. He is a Albino Lucy I believe, I may be wrong on that but hes not Gold like his mate.. He stopped eating. It has been a week of no food now. (was eating night crawlers + occasional bloodworm cube/brine shrimp cube when he didn't want worms. he also ate one ghost shrimp two and a half weeks ago from my husbands fish tank as a treat. Unsure if this may have caused issue but his mate also ate one and no issues. Unsure if maybe shrimp could have been carrying a parasite or ich? Can ghost shrimp get ich? I also tried feeding him frozen cooked shrimp last night, he has no interest in any food)

I was following cycling with fish guide( https://www.aquasprouts.com/…/ev…/41488388-cycling-with-fish) as it was suggested to me on reddit when I got the axolotl last month..

I'll admit, Parameters were not perfect when he stopped eating, though were far worse weeks prior and he had no problem eating then. His mate(golden lucy) is in a separate tank with same cycling process and similar parameters, not having issues at all, shes still pigging out. Doing 25% daily water changes to keep numbers down as well as it continues to cycle for her tank. Treating tap water with prime as conditioner and also stability. Was originally using RO water but didnt realize I had to remineralize, switched back to tap water when issue presented itself as PH was severely low..
(Parameters when issue started: ammo: .25 Nitrate: 40ppm Nitrite: 2ppm pH 7.6 Temp: 64-65 degrees.)

No curled gills, No visible signs of stress, injury or fungus.
He was liking to float when still in tank but unsure if that was just him playing or an actual issue since he was able to go back to bottom of tank.

5 days ago he was tubbed as suggested from the mean facebook group I was on (they literally just blamed cycling and continue to blame cycling even though he has been tubbed for days with same issue). He also spent one day of those 4 in fridge in case it was gas/him being backed up. I have not gotten any poos out of the short fridging trip.. He is still tubbed now with 100% water changes daily. He is "pooing" a BRIGHT green ooze like substance once a day, this has not happened in the past two days now though. Not much of it either. (shown in pictures attached, ignore worms in picture, that was the sad attempt at trying to feed him bloodworms, he didnt eat them) and still refuses to eat by avoiding tongs or pushing them away from him. I put a earthworm in his tub tonight. He is avoiding earthworm by hiding at other side of tub entirely. Almost like hes scared of it. He has still been very active even when in tub. He is not lethargic, there is no excess mucus on him that I can tell anyway.

Last week, the day before he stopped eating, I introduced sand substrate to his environment. White sand from petco. I dont believe he ate any. His mate has same setup in her tank and has had no problems with the sand. He also had fake plastic plants in his tank. Unsure if this may be cause of the bright green "poo like" issue.
All fake plants have been removed from both tanks just as a reference point.

I desperately would like any suggestions on what I should do next, medications I could get or something to help with this issue.

I have been suggested to try Prazipro if it may be a parasite
And have been suggested to try furan2 as one person on facebook had a similar issue with the bright green poo and it was an infection.

Does anyone have any similar experience?
Suggested dosage? Or what I should try first? And how long I should wait before trying a new treatment?

I am NOT in the position financially or physically to make a trip to an exotics vet. I am due to go into labor any day now and the closest exotics vet that may have any knowledge is a 4 hour drive. Any insight would be appreciated as I feel right now if I pick one of these treatments, and pick the wrong one, I signed his death certificate.

(also yes I know the tank needs to cycle. I am working on that. As I said he is tubbed right now with a bubbler, and has been for days and is STILL not eating. Today he is extremely pale)

pictures below. ignore red worms, that was attempt at feeding blood worm cube to him that failed.
https://imgur.com/a/afftG

Well, either he ate something green, or it’s pus. If he ate something green that made him feel bad, it will pass now that it’s out of his system, so if you can keep him safe from ammonia and nitrites until the cycle is done, he should heal on his own.

If it’s pus, there’s infection somewhere inside his digestive system. It’s likely painful, so of course he doesn’t feel like eating. There could be many different causes. Instead of trying antibiotics and parasites treatments at random, I would just try to give him very clean water and keep offering him healthy food. His immune system will hopefully do the rest (pus is a sign that it is trying).

You should also know that if you are fridging, he won’t feel like eating due to the slowing of his metabolism.

Finally, in defense of the mean group: while I’m sure they could have said it with more tact, they are probably right about the incomplete cycle being the main cause. Axolotls are very very sensitive to ammonia and nitrites, so he won’t be feeling well for a while and is more susceptible to other diseases during that time. Even ammonia neutralized by Prime (ammonium) makes them queasy get queasy, so it’s normal for them to refuse to eat or to regurgitate. He likely got some ammonia burns before you started using conditioner and doing daily water changes, and his mouth probably feels tender so he will not be able to eat earthworm pieces as big as he usually does - try cutting them really small.

At the moment you’re in the nitrite phase of the cycle. The recommended dose of Prime only neutralizes 0.5 ppm of nitrites for 24h but there’s 2 ppm in the water, so to neutralize it all you need to use 4 times the recommended dose (don’t go above 4x, it’s the maximum safe dose). This will help him heal better.

Cycling a tank and trying to treat s sick animal is a lot of work, I hope you have someone around to help you with it when the baby comes! Congratulations, btw : )

Thank you for your reply. If it is an infection, what is the proper course of treatment? Just letting him be? Hes kinda getting pale the past two days and I've noticed his toe tips are suddenly blackish now? Thats not how it was before he got sick the week prior. His toe tips used to be the same color as his skin

https://imgur.com/a/hmZbo

Could this be a better indication of what is wrong? Or a hint in the right direction?
Trust me I don't want to try things at random, hence why I posted on here. Figured I may get better ideas or solutions to this as so far I was told to try furan2 or prazipro. I was suggested the furan2 by a breeder on facebook who has had same issue of the "pus" or "ooze" and same symptoms. Though No one really gave me a recommended dosage for the prazipro so I'm EXTREMELY leary at the idea of even trying that one. But I did order both in case. Only thing I've done the past day or so is black tea. Was recommended as a way to calm him and keep him stress free to help him heal. (unsure if this could be the reason his toes went black too. Would make sense but unsure if its possible to dye a axolotl?)

Hes tubbed still, I have tried cut up earth worms, he seems almost angry when I offer pieces or any food at all. I also try blood worms too. Hes still extremely active in the tub too. So hes not lethargic. So I'm assuming thats good. though he almost seems like hes getting thinner now too. + a week of not eating.

Also I wasnt just treating with Prime to control the ammonia (using as a water conditioner to dechlorinate as well) , I am also doing daily water changes as well to keep numbers down.

hi msscottja,
I know it's been 3 years. haha. but I am having the same issue with my axie. Got him as a gift before the tank was cycled, never ate and is for a week tubbed with 100% water changes daily.
Pooping green gunk. "Scared" of food. but acting normally. Hw did yours go? even with a new baby at home