Fungus and cycling tank

Hi, I think my axies had a fungal infection too. it also had white cottony stuff on it. i put it in the fridge and gave them salt baths. the white fungus has gradually dropped off apart from a couple of tiny dots on their gills. their feathery part of their gills has also disappeared. I have lowered the temperature form 19/20 degrees to about 16/17 but am having trouble maintaining the temp at a constant temp. is there any way of doing this. ive moved the tank next to my window, made sure its in a shaded area, moved the tank off the floor by buying a tank stand/bench thing but its still only about 18/19 and i want to keep it at 16/17 degrees as ive heard they thrive at this temp. my tank has only been cycling for 2/3 weeks which is nearly how long ive been bathing them. the axies have got better but are not 100%. their feathery gills have not grown back and as i said they have a couple of tiny dots of white on their gills which still hasnt gone away after a couple of weeks. Ive been trying to get hold of some mercurochrome or/and some holtfreters solution. is this a bad idea? also does the fungal infection stay in the tank? eg would i have to sterelise it all again? (i did it when i first got all the equipment) although a 100% water change is not good is it? I clear food as soon as theyve eaten it. chlorine tests are fine, water is hard, and PH is neutral. would u suggest lowering the PH?

I empty the saltbath after each use, and only do 20% water changes. My tank is very clean of leftfood and waste. are ammonia and nitrate only high if there is too much waste in the water? O,i also have a non powerful filter with carbon in its media, i have also heard thats good? how often do i clean that/replace the carbon sponge? and they have airstones but they seem to just ignore those. . . sorry alot of questions there :S

x p x

I use quite large pebbles in tank but kinda stir them to make sure theres no dirt/uneaten food in it. my axies are about 10 - 15cm. I have 3 (all infected although smallest maybe slightly more so) smallest is about 10, med one about 13 and biggest about 14/15cm. Dont know if this may help also.

x p x

If you've only been cycling 2=3 weeks then your tank is probably still cycling, which may have contributed to your axolotls' fungal problems.

The gill filaments, frilly bits, can take a few months to regenerate, especially if they've had fungus and probably won't be at their best until they have a consistent environment - ie tank is cycled

Your pH levels are fine - they don't need to be altered.

As for tank temperature that is also ok - but would advise you to move it away from the window once your summer months kick in as you will then notice a rise in temperature.

No need to sterilise your tank at all.

When you say you do 20% waterchanges, how often are they done? If your tank is cycling still, they should be done more often than weekly based on your tankwater testing - ie any levels of ammonia or nitrite over 0.

Have you tested your tankwater for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates? And if so, what are the results.

Clearing waste/uneaten food is good, but there should still be either ammonia and/or nitrites in your tank if it is still cycling.

And last but not least how large is your tank - measurements please?

Ok. Do I carry on with the salt baths until their fluffy gill filaments are back or just until a week after traces of fungus are gone?

Cant find a tape measure to hand but I know the tank is about 4ft by 1ft/1 and a half ft? I do a 20% waterchange every day as I'm trying to keep the temp low aswel. is this too often?

Am getting an ammonia nitrate test 2night. if the test is 0, is that how i will know if my tank is cycled? and is this test useable for more than once or does it just depend on the kit u get?

thanks

x p x

You'll need to carry on with the salt bath's after a week of not seeing the fungus...just to make sure there is none lurking about.
With regards to the test kits, I have ammonia, nitrate and nitrite ones and I think they are suitable for up to 30 tests. I don't think your nitrate reading will be 0 as our water supply tends to be quite high with this. Nitrites are the ones that need to be close to 0, this may feel like it goes on for ever ...but when you reach those magic numbers its great!!
Out of interest what colour are your axolotl..I only ask as golden albino's can have natural white speckling on their bodies and gills.

I have 2 white leuceustics and one non-melanoid wildy

Yea it does seem like its going on forever, Its funny because someone told me before I got them that theyre as easy to keep as goldfish lol. Am making progress though i think, and learning at the same time which i suppose is good.

x p x

Once the cycling lark is complete it does get easier, but I would still do regular water checks to make sure all is well plus the weekly 205 or so water changes. Once I got mine settled and finished .... adding plants and caves to the tank etc there was a moment of peace! Then I discovered they where different sexes and hey presto we moved on to raising axolotl. Still think they are brilliant and would love more, if only I had more space!!

Yea, aww thats sounds so fun raising axolotls and everything. How long did yours take to cycle? I've been told cycling can take up to 11 weeks. I hope mine doesnt take that long :S
I'm not sure what sex my 3 musketeers are *shrugs* maybe theyre all girls. still theyre only about 9 months now so they could still be too young to sex?

x p x

Phoebe, post some pics of them if you can....that would help with sexing although no guarantees.

Ok. I dont have a camera to hand now but I can ask my bro to borrow his when hes back fom college. None of them have a bump at the back to distinguish a boy.

x p x

Help! I'm just giving them the routine salt bath that ive been doing for about a week or more for their fungal infection and i've noticed that one of my leceustics has a bleedy tail tip! its not actually bleeding but the edge of her tail tip is all red and bleedy looking. I havn't dropped her or anything. Whats wrong this time? *cries*
please help!

x p x

It could be a bruise. They tend to look a bit reddish and bloody. My axolotl has bruised his tail a couple of times now and it has healed fine on its own.

A picture would be helpful though, if you are concerned it is something worse.

White Spot?

It could very well be white spot or just a fungus.

Salt bath's work really well, 10 minutes and a lil salt in an ice cream container.
maybe someone else can giv u some more detail. i only remember a lil from wen my 2nd axie Pepper had to endure plenty of them.

Hope this helps,

Steph:kiss:

one of my tanks took 3 months to cycle, the other 3 weeks..... and the other a few days.. (pre-used filter and used aquarium water helped there)..

Phoebe it could be that the tail tip has been damaged whilst handling or perhaps injured itself in the tank.
My leucistic axie had an injury to her tail tip about a month ago, the other axie fancied a bite of it.
Like you I noticed the tail tip looking quite sore and blood had collected along the edge of the wound.
I think it was just her body's way of coping with the injury, sending extra blood to the site to flush any baddies and create a sort of scab for the wound. After about 3 days the redness had gone and her tail is now almost regrown.

Ok. thanks. It must be an injury then, though I havnt handled her to make the injury and it doesnt look like a bite. hmm its healing though which isgood. mustjustbe a bruise or something then

x p x

Right I have my ammonia test now, its at 0.1mg/l. Is that good? PH neutral. and temp a steady 17 degrees.

x p x

ideally ammonia needs to be 0. 20% water changes daily should help bring it to 0 and keep testing the water, ammonia is the most important thing to keep down.

basically yes, although i forgot to ask about the nitrite levels, they should also be 0

Tank is cycled when the readings are :

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrates 5-40ppm or m/g(levels will vary according to whatever is in your tank; ie if you have live plants nitrate levels will tend to be lower)