Quickly growing fungus

I'm sorry for posting a new thread on this, as I'm sure there are others. I looked and couldn't find any quick information, but I don't have time to look very hard, since I work graveyard tomorrow and I need to get some sleep.

Anyway, my axie has a fuzzy white patch on his mouth that looks like fungus. It started out small two days ago and has grown noticeably. He now has two good-sized patches on his tail. He also hasn't been eating. I need to know ASAP how to treat this. Should I fridge him, and at what temperature? And how do I do salt baths?

Any quick, precise information will be very much appreciated! I have a million things to do tomorrow before work - taking care of the little guy is #1 on my list, so I need to start quickly. Thank you!

Place the animal in a salt bath for about 10 minutes once or twice a day. A salt bath is prepared using 2-3 teaspoons of salt (table salt, cooking salt, or iodized salt, but not "low" or "low-sodium" salt) per litre/two pints. Don't leave the Axolotl in the salt bath for more than 15 minutes each time, because the salt will start to damage the Axolotl's skin and particularly its gills. Of course, this is all useless if the animal is still under stress when put back in its aquarium (strong-flowing water, high water temperature, bad water quality, etc....).

Copied off the caudata website. Good luck

Kristin are you managing to keep your tank temperature at a good level? If not, fridging after the salt baths may be best.

I'll start the salt bath right away. The temp in the tank has been a steady 65 F for over a week, and I'm keeping the water quality good, so I'm not sure why he's not doing well.

While cooler is generally better for the axolotl, 65F is the optimal temperature for fungus. If you can get him into the refrigerator, that might help. Keep up the salt baths, in any case.

Any idea what initiated the problem? Could he have been bitten by a tankmate or injured some other way?

Good luck!

It sounds like columnaris fungas. It starts on the mouth mainly and looks like cottonwool stuck to the mouth. I know my axolotl had the same thing happen to him. I was told not to use table salt on any axolotls. I used rock salt which I bought for $2 a kilo bag at the aqaurium. Rock salt has minerals in them. Drop the water temperature to below 12C, not sure what this is in farenheit, remove the axolotl from the tank and bath him at least once a day in rock salt, no more than 10 minutes as his skin will dry out. I added Melafix in to the tank water. Melafix is a natural ingredient which won't harm your axolotl. If you can treat the fungus early and provided it is the right information given to you on how to treat this fungus, there is a good chance it will clear up. I have never been one for sticking axolotls in a fridge. I always thought you had to adapt them slowly to a certain temperature before doing this, so I'm not sure how this works sticking them in the fridge. They can go without food for up to a month, but this is only information that was given to me. Good Luck with it all. Let me know how you go and what treatment you use, let us know if it works and your axolotl makes a speedy recovery. Just so I know, as my axolotl died from this fungus but it was quite advanced when I started to treat him, as I'm new at being the owner of axolotls. My other female axolotl is fine and healthy and she was in the same tank as he was. Plus the melafix put into the tank has not affected the other axolotl, despite the different opinions given here on adding melafix to the water.

First, columnaris isn't a fungus. It's a bacteria. And columnaris infections are difficult to diagnose without appropriate laboratory tools.

Second, table salt is just fine. Aquarium salt is better. The idea behind salt baths is that the salinity causes enough of an environmental change to disrupt the fungus, but the duration is not long enough to damage axolotl cells. Having minerals doesn't really have any added benefits for short-duration salt baths.

Melafix can be DANGEROUS! It contains melaleuca, which is one of the primary ingredients in turpentine. Just because it is 'natural' doesn't mean it is safe. I would not recommend using melafix or pimafix until you have tried all acceptable treatments. Treating an entire tank is also dangerous, as you may easily kill off your entire biological cycle, causing water quality issues.

Please avoid giving shady advice, either treatment or biology wise.

Kaysie. This information was given to me by a lady who has breed and looked after sick axolotls in the past. I have not had trouble with the melefix in the tank, speaking from my experience. so what works for some doesn't always work for others depending on what is wrong with their axolotl. I was told not to use table salt when bathing an axolotl. The rock salt has minerals in it which is not as severe as some of the other salts used, so it's a matter of opinion on this one. Where are you getting your information from, just curious???

My information about what, melafix? This is well-known information, and any search on this forum will show you that it is not recommended. Columnaris? This is also well-known. I've kept and bred axolotls for some years now, and have been keeping amphibians for nearly 10. I have a degree in animal biology, specializing in herpetology, especially salamanders (and have done some work with herps in a wildlife management setting, my second degree), and work for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Sadly, the little guy didn't make it. I always have aquarium salt on hand, and used that, but like I said the stuff was very fast-spreading and he seemed to have an advanced case that I couldn't treat in time.

I don't know for sure what caused it, but I'd guess it was the stress of moving. He didn't have any injuries that I could see. My co-worker gave them to me, and after putting them in the tank I panicked about the gravel and replaced it with sand. I think I must have stressed him out too much - maybe even a disruption in the tank cycle as well.

The other axie is still doing well and eating normally. In fact, last night I finally put the plants back in the tank (after learning my lesson and taking each step very gradually), and she thought one plant was food and kept snapping at it! Silly little thing.

I may get her a buddy soon, if all continues to go well with her.

That's too bad, Kristin.

If you do get a buddy, just be sure to quarantine it for at least 30 days to lessen the risk of disease transmission between the two.

Yes, after all this mess I'm all for quarantining.