Illness/Sickness: very ill axy

Hi everyone

Im a newb on here looking for help for my axy.
He has not been wanting to eat over the last week or two, but my friend (his previous owner) said that was not a real issue and he often didnt eat for quite long periods when he had him (hes about 8 yrs old now).

He often hovers near the top of the tank but on my arrival home on weds night he was floating diagonally (one leg in, one out of the water) not really moving. Also I noted white "spikes" soft looking on his dorsal fin or whatever thats called, so I went to the pet shop and got him some antifungicide (well thats what the guy called it but its actually bactericide called myxazin, which he says is fine for them as he used to own one.

Anyway today I get back and he's in much worse shape. His gills and fins have nearly eroded away, and his extremities seem red and ulcerated, possibly necrotic looking. His limbs look swollen and his body does a bit. Also he has a very "dotty" texture under the skin (like white hundreds and thousands) that I did not recall him having.

I did do a large water change a week ago, but he had stopped eating before that. I cleaned the biological filter sponge just rinsing it out in some old tank water, and I dechlorinated the new water. I put in about 2/3 new water but I thought that was OK.

Im pretty sure he is very ill, im continuing the water treatment at present but is there more I should do? Do I need to be at a vets?

Thanks
Gazz

I would reccommend putting him in a container with just enough fresh dechlorinated water to cover his back and sticking him in the fridge to buy you enough time for someone with more knowledge about axies than I to chime in. I am not sure if that medicine is safe for them or not so I would advise you to also quit using it, pet shops are notorious for giving incorrect information. I sure hope the axolotl pulls through for you.

G'day Gazz,

Practical refrigeration is your best bet right now: http://bigapple.uky.edu/~axolotl/pdf/28large.pdf

If you could post a photo of your axolotl, that would help a great deal in assessing what is wrong with it.

dragginthru said:

Also I noted white "spikes" soft looking on his dorsal fin or whatever thats called...

Click to expand...

Did it look something like this:*

*http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/illness3.shtml

If that's the case, this is an anchorworm, which is a parasite. Myxazin is used to treat bacterial infections, which will be of no use if your axolotl does suffer from a parasitic infection. In fact, you said that your axolotl's condition got worse after medication.

Jay.

Hi guys thanks for the replies so far
I dont think its anchorworm. Theres no things that look attached to him or anything.
Since my post, my friend and me had a look and his under-region (dunno what its called but the genital area i guess) is really ulcerated, so are his feet, fins, gills, etc, and there are random growths on him, even since popping out earlier he looks even worse.
In all honesty I think he'll be dead by when I get up, I intend to refrigerate him but dont have a suitable container until 2mora morning when I pop out and get one.

My friend thinks its ammonia burns, which I think is added to by an infection due to the bloatedness and inability to sink, does that sound likely?

Can you pleasepleaseplease try to supply a photo?

Thanks everyone, Im afraid on my awakening today he is dead.
I promise to get a photo up of the body and also to post the results of the water chemistry when I test it later today.
Its frightening that he can go from just not eating to all burnt looking in 48 hours, so there are certainly lessons to be learned.
Thanks again
Gazz

Man I am sorry to hear that, but maybe some of the new people who come on here can learn from this. Although I hate that this was at your expense.

The only thing I can think is that the ammonia levels were higher then they should have been or a chemical got into the water somehow. Sorry to hear about your axolotl though, it does sound rather nasty.

I am beginning to think that those growths might be the ones I mentioned in my thread earlier. The unexplained problems in axolotls...
http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=58242