Salt Baths

Whenever i read through the sick axie post i see a lot of recommendations for salt baths, What exactly will this do? and how exactly do you do one?
thankyou to anyone who can answer my tarded questions, im so dense!

lol Hi Heather, salt baths are very easy.

Check on http://axolotl.caudata.org/page_4.html for the quantitys of NaCl (common salt) to use for 100% solution of Holtfreters i.e 3.5g per 1L or water. So if you were to use a 5L bowl or tub you would add 17.5g of salt. I use aquarium salt don't use table salt. In this strength solution plonk your axie for about 10 mins and then return to normal tank.

If you were to use a 40% solution you could leave them in as long as you like. Some labs keep their axies in 40% solutions permanently. So in my 5L bowl example you would add 7g of salt.

The salt helps to kill fungus and prevent infection. It does this by a variety of means depending on what is encountered. e.g a high strength solution would draw water out of the cells of say a fungus by osmosis thus upsetting its internal balance and killing the fungal cells. Same things is happening to axie skin cells too but it's far bigger by comparison and therefore doesn't suffer too much if left for a short time only (water is transferred from within to outlying cells which are also more robust than puny fungal cell walls)

thanx for explaining....i feel like an idiot

Thanks for asking Heather, I have been wondering that myself. Here is another question regarding salt baths. Should you do one straight away whenever you suspect something or is it best to do a big water change first? My 2 axolotls (in different tanks) have each experienced white bits on their gills recently but with a bit of prodding and swishing water over them the white stuff has come off. I dont think it was fungus but food caught in their gills that was getting fungusy. Should I just stick them in a salt bath to be sure or was a big change of water ok?
Thanks,
Kat

Kat, I would give your axies a salt bath just to be sure. It can't harm.

The big black lass in my piccy at side occaisionally gets the same but I know it's not food as she mostly eats worms. Salt bath for 10 mins gets rid then I repeat once a day for next few days.

Try not to do a big water change it might unbalance your tank. 20% every week seems to be the norm.

Thanks Mikki, any idea what it might be? Next time I will put them straight in a salt bath now I am sure how to do one (I was worried about it hurting them). I have had them both about 3 months and have only noticed it once on each. Thought it might be food as they eat frozen axie food from the pet shop that breaks up in little pieces.
Cheers,
Kat

Sorry I didn't make it clear. It is a tuft of fungus and the salt bath will take care of it.

Try not to brush it off with your fingers, you may disrupt their slime coatings and leave the area open to other infections.

Thanks Mikki, on another note is it ok to touch axies at all? or will it ruin their slime coating. Sometimes I gently bring them to the surface if something looks wrong and I need to take a second look.
Do you know why they get the fungus in the first place? I do regular water changes and their tanks are nice and clean. Can I do anything to prevent it? It has only happened once to each axie in the four months of having them but it seems completely random.
Thanks,
Kat

I think the general rule is to touch them as little as possible Kat, and if you have to - it goes without saying to be as gentle as possible. I only ever touch mine if i have to lift them out of the tank (for a full tank strip down and clean - not something i have to do often) I did buy a net for this, but decided that the stress caused chasing them round the tank with it (they REALLY don't like the net!)outweighed the possible damage from lifting them out.

Having said that, if my partner sticks a hand in Muffs tank, he will swim up and clamber on

Whenever I put my hand in Tacos tank he swims up and bites me and likes sitting on my hand. I dont grab him but he is pretty tame. My other axolotl Barry is a bit more shy but sometimes I move him if I am cleaning him or feeding him. Does it give them fungus or skin damage if you touch them? If I need to catch my guys I just pick them up. Both of them just sit in my hand and chill out. I wonder if the fungus they have had on their gills is related to touching them?
Kat

Hi kat, sorry haven't been able to repsond sooner but was off sick for a few days and busy as sin all the other times.

Simple rule try not to hanlde your axies at all. they have a protective slime covering but it is easily rubbed off exposing the skin below to whatever germs or chemicals on your hands.

If you have to - always wash your hands thoroughly and make sure there is no soap left at all. If yu can get some rubber gloves (like vets or doctors) so much the better.

The fungus is typically spread by spores that arrive on the surface of the water like dust. Sometimes it comes with food or on the surface of food. Just part of the great circle of life! If you keep up water changes, gravel syphoning, temp low etc you should keep thing pretty much under control.

I think Mikki means that he doesn't personally use table salt. You can use it though - I do. The only salt that I wouldn't use is "low" salt, otherwise known as low sodium salt. That's Potassium chloride (KCl). You can use a small amount of it but much less than ordinary salt - KCl is not as effective as NaCl (ordinary salt).

If anyone wants to learn a bit more about the different types of salt available, I came across this link earlier:

http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/salt.shtml

It's a lot of reading, but I found it very informative.

Excellent link Leah...read it with interest.

John, you're right about the table salt I won't use it. I knew that they added something to it besides iodine but couldn't recall what it was. But I was more concerned about the effect of iodine on the thyroid.

It's probably incorrect by todays reckoning but when I took biology A level (22 years ago!) I remember being told about the effects iodine was supposed to have on the thyroid. Trace levels of iodine were supposed to promote output of growth hormone (thyroxine ) by the thyroid and that in turn would cause excessive growth in juvenile axies. Leading to specimens typically 15-18" long. I also remember that anything in excess of trace levels of iodine was supposed to kill the axies. So anyone reading this don't be tempted to add a little iodine to your water to try and promote growth!

Iodine is chemically similar to chlorine and fluorine and has a similar but less intense cleaning effect, in its basic form. That's why Charles Bronson and other toughies paint it on wounds.

I appreciate that iodine is required for the thyroid to produce thyroxine but have no idea how the mechanism works. But I have also read that adding thyroxine to water will force-morph an axie. And I was also taught that additional growth hormome in adults humans doesn't cause giantism or big muscles but results in conditions like acromegaly (not sure if i spelt that right!).

So my practice is to use aqua salt and I don't expect anything good to come of iodine (or other additives).

Most ordinary salt isn't iodized (the salt you're talking about is iodized). They do often have anti-caking agents in them (stops the salt clumping together in the salt dispenser) but these are harmless.

Iodized salt can be used for salt baths - the amount of iodine in it is incredibly small, and it's not going to force your axolotl to metamorphose or grow out of control. As for long term putting it in the water, I wouldn't, but for short term (few days) or real salt baths (few minutes) I think it's fine.

For salt baths couldn't agree more. A few mins isn't going to cause any harm whatsoever.

Some time ago I tried keep a few in 40% solution as per Holtfreters. As there was no noticable effect on tank or axies I stopped after a few weeks.

I am getting so frusterated with the other parts of the forum, it seems like nobody answers you over there until the problem has progressed to an even worse state! i love the people over here they reply so much faster!

Does anybody know If salt baths are okay with newts that have injuries like open sores? I have tried and tried in the fire bellied newt forum. i have a Male fire belly that has a seriously screwed up arm...nobody has been helping me!

grrr they make me so angry!!!!

Where's the post? I honestly don't have time to check even half of them each day and I tend to spend more time in some topics than others (I confess to having neglected reading the axolotl area much lately). Salt baths are fine for newt but you should only use one if you think the newt needs it (fungus starting to appear or similar).

Species and genera disscussion>>
cynops area>>
It say in big letters sumthing like "PLEASE HELP ME!!!"
not very hard to find if you're in the right area

Threads should be titled according to their subject. A blanket "help me" doesn't tell anyone what the thread is about or whether they will be able to help you unless they go in there. Bear that in mind please. I've replied to you via email again already.