White Spots on an Old Axalotl

Hey,

I was just doing the setup on a new tank I purchased and was looking at my Axy The Other One or Mr. One for short.

He's rather old (over 7 years, but quite possibly more) and has always had white patches since I have had him (the past 4 years), they have never really changed. I was wondering, do older Axalotls often suffer from pigment loss or is this a kind of non-spreading fungus? He's always willing to eat, enjoys a good swim around, doesn't really float around the top and has put on a fair amount of healthy weight since I got him - he was close to death 4 years ago.

Here is a photo that shows the spots across his body.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/irrelevantpagan/100_1154.jpg

BTW: Don't panic too much about the tank it's still a work in progress and still needs to be planted out and have bigger gravel put in.

Hi um Irrelevant...oh sharks, is there something else we can call you?!

This link has a wealth of information on axolotl's health and diseases they can suffer - there is a rather deadly fungus 'columnaris' that if treated early can avert tragedy - one of its symptoms is white / grey patches of bacteria. 'columnaris' is often mistaken for 'Saprolegnia' which is a common water bourne fungus (and a damn nuinsance in Summer!) that is rarely fatal.

http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm

Would you be able to repost a picture of Mr One that is not on that black gravel? It's hard to make out his form and I'd like a closer look at his mouth as it seems to be maybe swollen? - but it may be just shadow as Mr One is so dark himself.

If you could put him in a shallow clear or pale container (tupperware is ideal) with fresh dechlorinated water and take a photo from the top and side - that would be great.

Could you also post your water parameters? ie. Temperature, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and PH. Ammonia and Nitrite are the most important - but if it is fungus - Temperature is also important as water over 22 degrees celsius excasserbates fungal irritation and can cause fungal growth.

Keep us posted,

Cheers Jacq.

Sorry, due to technical difficulties last night I couldn't add this further note:

The white spots may be just part of his natural pigmentation or old scarring from past injury.

If the white spots seem as if they should not be there however, I would commence salt bath treatment.

Cheers Jacq.

Haha, I had just fed him so his mouth is hanging open a bit, but, I will try and grab him out tonight for the photos. It may be a bit hard as Mr. One is a bit wild and normally doesn't like being moved - for much of his life until he found me, he had no human contact and lived in a dark lily pond with goldfish. I have never really been able to tame him unlike my other Axy, Spoon, who is normally quite happy to be moved around. Splashing good times await !

The temperature about 19c or so, with the weather how it is in Sydney at the moment I wouldn't be too worried about it being too hot for him.

Being a newer tank (that was seeded with bacteria to kick start the cycle - hence the old filter in the background of the original photo) everything seemed to check out with my last test. I did a 20% water change last night and working off memory the specs all lined up to what is shown on axolotl.org, the ph was a bit high but still well within safe range - but I can do another test and let you know.

Another interesting thing I noticed is that only his dark brown spots are affected by the "whitening", the black freckles all over his body show through the white with full colour.


-Irre

Just another question, if I was to give him a salt bath and there was nothing wrong would it be very harmful to him?

Irrelevant said:

I will try and grab him out tonight for the photos. It may be a bit hard as Mr. One is a bit wild and normally doesn't like being moved

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Just show him who is boss!

Irrelevant said:

Another interesting thing I noticed is that only his dark brown spots are affected by the "whitening", the black freckles all over his body show through the white with full colour.

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I wish I had not got up this morning...

It may be just really interesting markings. If you could take some happy snaps of him though, that will help. When you look at the markings, is it smooth with the skin or sitting up from the skin?

Irrelevant said:

Just another question, if I was to give him a salt bath and there was nothing wrong would it be very harmful to him?

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if done correctly, not at all.

I would wait until I was sure before using any treatment though. If Mr One is eating well and is 'active' I would keep him under observation and adopt a 'wait and see' approach.

Salt bath procedure is as follows:

Prepare tub of fresh dechlorinated water. Dissolve 2-3 teaspoons of salt per 1 litre of water. Place axie in bath and leave him in for about 10 minutes - no longer than 15 minutes otherwise salt will start to damage axolotl. Salt baths should be 2-3 times daily.

Cheers Jacq.

I managed to get him into a smaller clear container, but I have to say he was NOT impressed at all (lol).

Here are some photos of him in it (sorry about the blurryness, he was thrashing about)

Side
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/irrelevantpagan/100_1159.jpg
Top
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/irrelevantpagan/100_1158.jpg
Photo taken at the same time as the original one from the front.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/irrelevantpagan/100_1151.jpg

When you look at the markings, is it smooth with the skin or sitting up from the skin?

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Totally smooth to the eye and to the touch, nothing puffy coming off it at all, and as I mentioned they still have black freckles through them.

Anyway, I will watch the old fella and keep you posted, but I have the feeling he will be alright he's gone from near totally gill-less and thin as a rake to what he is now so I just hope he keeps on getting better

Thank you very much for your advice so far!

-Irre

Hi Irre (Yep, that's better...I can cope with calling you that! ),

Irrelevant said:

I managed to get him into a smaller clear container, but I have to say he was NOT impressed at all (lol).

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Yes, he looks a right grumpy old sod! I like him already. :happy:

Irrelevant said:

Totally smooth to the eye and to the touch, nothing puffy coming off it at all, and as I mentioned they still have black freckles through them.

Anyway, I will watch the old fella and keep you posted, but I have the feeling he will be alright he's gone from near totally gill-less and thin as a rake to what he is now so I just hope he keeps on getting better

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Well, if he is eating well and he's had these markings for four or so years, I'd say it's just 'battle scarring' from his past.

Keep an eye on him though and yes please keep us posted, particuarly if he starts losing appetite or becomes 'sluggish' in movement.

The older the axie, the longer it takes to regenerate. He looks like a battler and I'm sure with your care he will be very happy...and grumpy!

What do you feed him? I would strongly recommend earthworm - it is packed with all sorts of great nutrients all rolled into one wriggly package.

Irrelevant said:

Thank you very much for your advice so far!

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You are most welcome.

Havelock said:

What do you feed him? I would strongly recommend earthworm - it is packed with all sorts of great nutrients all rolled into one wriggly package.

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It really depends on what I can get my hands on at the time, I do try to mix it up; earthworms, the occasional meal worm, feeder fish if I can get to my local "trusted" aquarium and if there's NOTHING else a small piece of long term frozen (to kill anything alive in it) raw meat.

I normally feed him about 3-4 times a week, but if he starts begging then I feed him a bit more - it took him ages to learn that trick, when I first got him he was very timid always ran/swam away from my hand.

I've tried him with pellets, but he just won't eat them.

Irrelevant said:

Just another question, if I was to give him a salt bath and there was nothing wrong would it be very harmful to him?

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Hello Irrelevant,

Yes, this can be harmful to some extent because it can disrupt the osmoregulation of the cells.

Jay.