Is he Morphing?

L

lauren

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My axolotl had columnaris last week, and after a course of furan-2 and salt baths, it went away and he returned to normal (eating, swimming, etc...). Yesterday was the last day of Furan. Today I woke up and he looks like he had a total relapse and worse. He's holding his gills against the sides of his heads stiff as rods, and they seem to be shedding and shrinking. His skin is also flaky and I think his tail fin shrunk too. He hasn't flicked his gills at all, instead he keeps gulping air, and putting himself in positions (holding on to plants or gulping air to float) where his nose is near the top of the water, or body parts are actually out. He was doing that the last 2 days, but I was already using salt and medicine - so I thought it was that. He started refusing food as well.

What do I do?
 
How much salt do you put in the tank? Too much salt can hurt their gills and make it shed (I think?) and bleed. Just asking because you mentioned that you're putting salt into the tank.
 
Not that much (that usual amount that's always been in there - maybe a tablespoon). I woke up today and he was in this condition. I had been doing the salt baths in a separate container. This was also a day after undergoing 8 days of Furan-2 and water changes for a different problem. If he's not morphing, I'm not sure what I can do.

Could the loss of Furan-2 have irritated him? Or the dosage over time? I did water changes every 2 days as directed.
 
Um... I'm not sure what's the Furan-2 is. Uh a tablespoon of salt? I can't be too sure what's too much for an axolotl. An axolotl that is morphing would've allowed their gills to recede so... if the gill's not receding (shrinking), it's not morphing.
 
From what I know axolotls very very very RARELY morph... so it's probably not that. We don't get Furan-2 in Aust but like all aquarium treatments they are usually a bit harsh for the axies, have you done a water change at the end of the course of Furan, I know you have to with the treatments we get here for such things, it's possible that it's too higher a concentration for the little fellow now and he can't hack it. Maybe try the water change, ensure the temperature is good, test the nitrates, nitrite, ammonia and PH (do you have those kits?) if these are all good then I'm not sure what the answer is. However, I do imagine that there might be too much Furan 2 going on there, killing the good bacteria as well unfortunately. Not sure if this is any help but I'd suggest taking out some of the old water and putting in some fresh treated water, this will put more oxygen into the tank anyway. See what that does.
 
I have brought furan in WA for my goldfish fungal outbreak it was great stuff. Is furan not legal in aus?
 
The 3 things I would look at are water quality, temperature, and turbulence. The tank should have a good biological filter. You should have added charcoal or carbon to your filter when doing a partial water change after using the Furan 2. Ammonia level should be low and the water should not move to fast.
 
Michael - Actually, I did add back my carbon, but this was after the behavior started (on the last day of Furan), so it may have been too late to stop the his reaction. He's been living in the same tank for 6 months, and this was the first time anything had happened. The temperature of the water has been about 65-68 since he's been in there (I keep my house at 65 just for him!).

I put him in the fridge after this happened. He's been in there about half a week already and is moving his gills ago - so it wasn't morphing. It just seems so weird that the fungus/bacteria would become systemic after a full treatment that had made it disappear. There were even bits of fuzz floating in the tank.
 
Hi Lauren,
It's a tough call. Some axys are sickly. I have one that always seems lethargic. I've treated it several times for recurrent slime and fungus problems. It's been o.k. for about 6 months but has never been a fast mover or enthusiastic eater. It's in a tank of its' own. It wouldn't surprise me if it dropped dead tomorrow or lived a long life. You just do the best you can.
 
My axolotl appears to have velvet disease so I have just started giving him salt baths. I just gave him another bath and whilst I was remove the fungus from his gills a couple of his gills fell off. Will he grow them back or is my baby doomed?<font face="courier new,courier"></font>
 
Axolotls can grow back anything Wendy if they are in optimal conditions, i.e the water is clean, temperature stable, water flow not too strong, pH balanced, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia all good too... I'm not actually sure what velvet disease is though but I can say that if he's not sick anymore and in prime conditions things should start growing back. Good luck...
 
He just came out of the fridge today. He's no longer shedding but the ends of his gills are dead and he still wont eat. Is there anyway to force feed him?
 
sorry gonna steal this from someone elses post - you can use a sringe minus the needle like wat u use to worm cats and dogs with the stuff you shoot into its mouth...use a lil bit of some like brine shrimp and aim towarsd the side of its mouth not directly down the throat as he may choke on it!!!

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Before you force feed him, how long has he been off his food? A few days without food is normal for axies, they don't have to eat every day. But if you think he needs the food and hasn't been eating for awhile, then you might consider it.
 
He hasn't eaten in over two weeks, since before the original furan treatment and the refrigeration. Luckily, he was fat before this, but he's gotten a lot thinner.
 
If he just came out of the fridge give him a day or two to adjust to the temperature, he may be interested in eating then.

If you try to force feed him make sure your finger nails are cut short and are smooth. He may struggle and you don't want to cut him with your nails.
 
I would suggest patience force feeding is a stressful activity and shouldn't be undertaken unless absolutely neccessary. Please try all alternatives: as many different types of food as u can get and allow some time. I have had a whole batch of adults that didn't eat for a month but then all started again within one or two days of each other. They can be fickle some times. Best of luck with him.
 
I believe the force feeding post was stolen from one of my threads so on a more detailed note I only resorted to this after my baby had not eaten in about 2 months. He was so skinny I could see all his bones and I didn't have to force him to open his mouth as he was so thin it would kind of hang open, that's the last resort force feeding stage I think. I believe it's very traumatic for them to be picked up and handled and then have a small syringe poked in their faces. I tried every single food that was available (even some of the naughty ones) and before I did the force feeding I put the little fella in a feeding tub with that baby fish food (liquifry or something like that) and he would get some of it in his system. So yeah, I would suggest trying every single other option available before the force feedings.

Cheers
Squealie
 
Force feeding didn't work, it just got brine shrimp on his face (he wont open his mouth for anything!). Luckily he ate a pellet yesterday! First one in three weeks! He threw up the one I fed him today, and let another escape his mouth - but he's snapping again - which is a huge improvement!
 
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