Photo: Frenzy has the fungus

About a week ago I moved the tank which meant a 50% water change (it's a 200 liter tank).
I have two axolotls. Frenzy now has a fungus, Spot is fine.
Spot is a very relaxed and sweet female who loves to eat. Frenzy however, is a little stress-chicken (as we say in Dutch: stresskippetje). He is the living proof of Dr Phils advice never to label your kids ("if you call your child the tough one, he will feel pressured to live up to his label or will want to prove you wong" etc).
So Frenzy was a little eating monster when he was a baby, and as he grew he developed an eating disorder and stayed very thin and, I think, a little weakling.

Anyway, after the tank move Frenzy stayed in his cave for about three days. When he came out, we noticed one of his front legs was completely covered in fungus.
We took him out immediately, and the ball of fungus turned out to be one string, whis we cut of using siccors. You can see the string in the pictures:

The toes of the affected leg were completely missing, and he had some fungus on his hind leg. He kept on scratching the fungus with it.


Then we put Frenzy in the fridge and gave him salt water baths three times a day. Thank you Kira for your tips on this, posted on this forum.
Frenzy didn't eat anything for six days, which we expected as he isn't a great eater. The fungus on his affected leg didn't worsen or improve, however we noticed it was also growing on the three other feet (which were in a bad state). Also, the gills were affected a little as well as the tip of his tail, which scrapes the affected leg.

For the last two days, we have been adding drops of eSHa 2000, a medicine for fungus in auqaria. We did this because the fungus was still spreading, but it doesn't seem to help.

Today, Frenzy looked very bad. Also, the fungus seems to be creeping up his leg, it was confined to his foot but now it's moving up in the direction of his body. Bad stuff!
Also, his gills all have white bits.



As his condition is worsening, we think it neccesary to change strategies. We also decided Frenzy was depressed from being in the dark fridge for so long. That may be a little over-emotional, but still, happiness is always a good medicine and we at least don't want him to die having spent his last days in a lonely dark fridge.
So we took him out, and put him in a quarantine tank which floats in the big tank. He looks so much more lively already. We have also given him some artemia which he loves, and I think he has been eating some of it.


At least he has been moving about his little tank now, and he is using/moving his affected leg.
He really looks better, however he does have fungus on his leg, all of his feet and on his gills.


I do hope his condition will improve, however I don't have much hope as Frenzy is a little weakling after all....

I would recommend continuing the salt baths, and try to get him eating. And keep the temperature of the tank as cool as possible.

I am really sorry to hear that things aren't improving for you. Sometimes fungus gets the better of our axies. I hope that Frenzy gets better soon for you! I would have to agree with the advice Jen has given you.

Good luck!!

Thank you Jennewt and Kira.
We're really apprehensive about the salt baths, since the fungus seems to be stress induced and Frenzy isn't getting used to being handled. It's still very stressful to him.

Today the fungus has altered though. On the affected leg, it looks very different than yesterday. It is now thicker, yellow and velvety. I don't know what this means.
Also, when he was in the fridge the affected leg was swollen and light purple. The leg sn't swollen anymore, and he uses it when he moves around. So apart from he fungus itself, the leg looks much better.

The other legs have much less fungus on them, although he is missing digits on all of his toes now, they are not so fungy as yesterday. Also the gills look much better! They don't seem to have any white bits, and the colour has restored in them. Frenzy seems to act like himself as well, much more lively and responsive.

For now, he is swallowing air and floating around. He used to do that when he was little. Maybe he does it now because his feet hurt.
I'll see how it goes from now on, I'm glad he looks much better since yesterday. I'm still not sure whether he'll be ok...

Hmmm that doesn't look good at all!!! Have you thought about taking him to a vet maybe. I believe that amputating that limb might be something you should think about, but I think a vet is a must!

Hi Karin,

I really think it is time for Frenzy to go to the vet. His foot looks pretty nasty (is his belly yellow, too, or is that just the way the photo looks to me?) and you may not want to rely on remote diagnoses via the internet for help. If Frenzy is still in the tank with Spot, Spot is in danger, too.

Good luck to you,

-Eva

Probably best to just take off the left leg for now.. the right might heal.

Please don't start hacking off limbs on your own! It is necessary to identify the underlying problem. The decision for amputation (and the procedure itself) is better left to a vet. I've never seen anything like the yellow stuff on poor Frenzy's leg. I'm wondering if anyone else has? Karin, please let us know what the doctor says.

-Eva

You know what? That yellow 'fungus' or whatever it is, reminds me of a bright yellow mushroom that grow in a pot plant I have after we had some rain. The resemblence is uncanny!

Sorry to change the subject! I just thought that it was weird.

Oh, I forgot (sorry I was stuck on the mushroom thing), I agree with Eva about leaving a possible amputation to a vet.

Hi Karin,

In my opinion, you should not "cut" the area of fungus on his infected leg with scissors at the early stage of the disease...
For current situation of Frenzy, I do agree with the others that you definitely need to take him to the vet.

I do hope that Frenzy will recover as soon as possible :happy:

Good luck,

Sad news.
Frenzy died yesterday

It all went really fast.
We didn't even have time to take him to a vet to perform an amputation or do it ourselves. I don't think it would have cured him, as other parts of his body were also affected by the fungus and he was very weak already. It would have caused him great stress though, and the fungus probably was stress induced in the first place.
We need to take into consideration that Frenzy already was a very weak and small axie. And that he was a little stress chicken, not like most axolotls who are more relaxed and are at the most irritated when you handle them. Frenzy was always very nervous and stressful.

The same day we had taken the photo´s posted in my last thread (Sunday), Frenzy took a turn for the worse. He became apathetic and floated on his side, with one half of his gills stuck out of the water and therefore useless. It was a sad view.
We put him back in the fridge. He stopped floating and looked more relaxed.
Later that night we took him out for a water change / salt bath but he was nearly completely lifeless. He didn't move at all and his gills were very bleak, no blood running through them. Also, his gills were curled up and his toes were bent, I think because of lack of blood pressure. We thought he was dead.
Then he moved a slight bit. We skipped the salt bath and put him back in the fridge. There was virtually no life left in him.

Monday morning we didn't want to disturb him because we knew he was really dying. And Monday afternoon he was dead.


For those who want to read how we're going to arrange his departure (for example, what to do with a deceased axie respectfully)... read on.
But if you're a little faint of heart you might not want to read on :happy:


We don't want hand Frenzy over to the vet beacuse he'll just be put in the bin. We don't want to bury him in the yard because he's a water animal. And because I'd hate to see dirt stuck to his tender skin.
We want to give him a water burial. We live in a houseboat, so we have plenty of water around our house. But now everything is frozen because it's winter.
And actually, to die from freezing is a kind way to go, as you get sleepy and just doze off and never wake up. So we thought we would give him a nice symbolic water and ice funeral.
Monday evening my hubby put Frenzy in some water and put him in the freezer. He arranged his little arms and legs and his tail very neatly. He looks really sweet and peaceful now.
Tonight we´re going to give him the water and ice funeral, as we´ll find a hole in the ice and put him under the ice, and say our goodbyes. I think it´s a nice thought to give a water animal a water funeral

Oh Karin,

I am sorry for your loss. I love the respect you are all paying Frenzy, too, what lovely sentiment. There is nothing in the description of your Frenzy funeral to offend the weak-hearted.

Ever the worried hen, I would ask about the aquarium, have you disinfected it? Are the other axolotls doing fine?

Sorry, I know that is an inappropriate question in a condolence message.

You live on a houseboat? How cool is that!

-Eva

I´m sorry for your loss, but i don´t think releasing the body into the canals is a good idea. The animal died because of an accute infection...the risk of spreading that disease is a real danger. Some fungus create spores that tolerate very low temps, way below 0ºC. And since you have no idea what kind of fungus is that or if it occurs naturally in the waters of your city, introducing it could potentially be dangerous.
If i were you i would try to find another way that doesn´t come with a risk.

PS: Somehow i thought it hadn´t been done yet...too late i guess...bugger.

Oh my goodness, azhael is fo course absolutely right. Ugh, I am a terrible conservationist. I never even thought for a moment about the water into which Frenzy was released. Still loved the funeral.