Axolotls stumpy gills???

GemzD26 · Oct 11, 2009

Hi, Ive just purchased a golden axolotl from a awful petshop, its is about 10" long and was stuck in a one foot tank for 3 months,

Needless to say the animal was completly stressed, i coul not bear to see it like that so i bought it.

Ive now put it in my three foot tank and split a divider down the middle to seperate my other axolotl from disturbing it in the hope it recovers.

It has like no gils all little stubs and they look rock hard not like my lexis fuffy gills,

It also is under weight,i scattered bloodworn around it and have seen it take about 4 bites so im happy for that.

Can anyone give me advise to get Sparky back to full health please???

benh · Oct 11, 2009

It sounds like you're doing a good job - if it's eating that's always a good sign. Very well done for rescuing it!

I'm pretty much a noob, but I'm not sure whether the lil guy will be able to fully regrow its gills to be as fluffy as your guys. Hopefully someone more experienced can give you a few pointers, but sounds like you have done everything right so far.
Good luck!

GemzD26 · Oct 11, 2009

Thanks ben,

This is now my 6th axolotl!!! ,lol my obsesion is growing about of control but i love them cause each has a diffrent attitude!

I picked up four babies lectustic/Golden babys last week they are in a two foot tank at the moment

Im still not sure what sex it is tho so im glad the divider is up at them moment im pretty sure its a girl but it looks so deflated that it could have boy bits but they may have shrunk with the stress??

:kill:

benh · Oct 11, 2009

6th eh!! I've only got the one at the moment - but I can definitely see more in the future

I have a Leucistic, but I'd love to get a Golden Albino type next. I'm addicted.

Aimee · Oct 11, 2009

The double-edged sword of rescuing an axolotl from a poorly equiped petshop is that, by buying the animal, you are also encouraging the petshop to keep treating it's animals that way...

Although, I probably would have done the same thing. Sparky is very lucky you came along!

Did you say anything to the owner/manager about it? Another option is to report them...

Also, is there any water flow between the divider in the tank? It's usually good idea to quarantine new animals in a separate environment until you can be sure they won't pass on any parasites, diseases, etc to your other animals.

If Sparky is eating and showing interest in food, I'd say he's well on the road to recovery. I'm not really sure about his gills, though. Maybe someone else will be able to chime in about that.

Congrats on your new addition. I'd say Sparky's chances of living a happy and healthy life have greatly improved since you came along :happy:

dodgy · Oct 11, 2009

from what iv read on here, the gills will grow back ok. iv read thru hundreds of posts looking for bits of advice.
it may be best to fridge the axie for a while, they re-generate faster that way.
hope everything turns out ok for you both.

GemzD26 · Oct 12, 2009

Hi guys,

Thanks for you replys.

Well was watching he/she last night and is eating a lot more

The it may be just ,e but the gills see, to look a bit softer too.

The pet shop i bought if from was awful,i went in pretending to play a bit dumb about the species and the guy was then advising me how to morph it onto a complete salamander and admtted that cause he had it in a tank all connected with others that Iodien was in the water!!

By that point i had more than enough and turned to him and said im not stupid i own 5 and i know how they get looked after,you could see the shock in his face he doubled back and then told me if i did not want it to get the **** out of his shop.

Disgusting excuss for a man,i gave him what for as im a real lover of these animals and i bought it and told hom that the only reason i bought it was cause i could not bear to see it suffering so much.

See below link of it but its gills look much more severe now.

http://www.tropicalfish-scotland.com/fish.cfm?pid=1758

flan123 · Oct 12, 2009

Hi.

Given correct husbandry, care and nutrition, the gills will regenerate but may never reach their full fluffy potential. They can also grow back at 'dodgy' angles and appear thin. Not too much to worry about though as long as an improvement is apparent over the next few weeks/months.

flan123 · Oct 12, 2009

And I've checked that link out... 'Gold Marble Axolotl'???????

GemzD26 · Oct 12, 2009

Hi,

Thats for your advice.

Yeah ive never owned a golden axolotl before i own lecustics so i was not sure if this is the norm for golden axolotls or its slightly diffrent?????

With it eating shall i still fridge he/she for a few weeks to help it recover more,or shall i just carry on with what im doing???

Thanks

flan123 · Oct 12, 2009

Hi.

A Golden axolotl is common, yeah, but I've never heard of Golden Marble!

I wouldn't be 100% on the fridging if he is eating readily and is displaying normal axolotl behaviour, but I would completely segregate it from sharing any other Axolotl's water for at least 30 days whilst you observe him. That way, you can view his behaviour effectively, safe in the knowledge that he doesn't have any disease which could ultimately affect your other little ones.

GemzD26 · Oct 12, 2009

Hi Guys,

Well quick update i very moved my babies into a 2 1/2 foot tank and moved sparky into their old one so he/she is by themself.

I did an 80% water change on lexis tank and treated the water with tap safe (i just wanted to make sure that nothing had contaminated her water.

Fed Sparky waved a bloodworn cube under its nose and snapped most of it up,well chuffed

, still a sorry state but at least its belly is starting to look a bit more filled out

Thanks everyone for your advise really appreciate it

flan123 · Oct 13, 2009

Gemz. Great stuff.

Make sure that every time you add additional water to the tank you treat it with dechlorinator.

Also, make sure that the bloodworm cude is defrosted befor feeding also. You might want to get him on clean earthworms straight away.

Soak the earthworm in a small amount of tank water for ten mins. You'll see the water cloud up - this is the worm releasing its 'defence toxin' which would usually put would-be predators off with its foul taste.

Sparky will love them!

chimene · Oct 13, 2009

Hi Gemz,

Just to let you know I had the same experience a few years ago with my Axie Herbie, he was in a tank crammed with Axies, I was told all sorts of wrong info by the pet shop and it wasn't until I came on here that I realized what a bad state he was in!

I have now had him for just over 2 years and unfortunately his gills have never grown back, just stayed stump like

however he is perfectly happy and is a little piggy when it comes to feeding time! I can't say why his gills have never recovered (every Axie in the tank looked the same) I don't know whether they were bitten off by the others or if he is a little malformed (I still find him adorable!) but just wanted you to know not to panic if they don't grow back! He can breath perfectly well and has no signs of stress.
There is actually a picture on here somewhere of an Axie that looks just like Herbie who's gills have never grown back! just nice to have the reasurance that if they don't grow back its not because you aren't giving your Axie the care and attention that the petshop clearly couldn't provide!

Hope your Axie does manage to grow it's gills back but if it is happy and behaving like a normal little Axie please don't worry too much! It will be much happier and safer in your hands than that pet shop!!

GemzD26 · Oct 14, 2009

Hi Guys,

Thank for your support :grin:.

Well i fed him a few small worms and he gobbled him up,he also ate half a bloodworm cube so im well chuffed.

Still in at state finds it hard to get of the floor of the tank so reduced the water right down so he dows not need to swim up to take a breath,

Ive noticed that his lowest stubes seem to be growing a bit so thats good, but im a bit frightened cause his other four stubs are looking quite dark, is this normal is this the bad bits that will fall off and new gill stubs will grow in it place???

flan123 · Oct 14, 2009

When you say he finds it hard to touch the floor....is this a prolonged problem?

Is your axie floating? Even more so, is he floating Bum-end up?

When you got him, was there anything in the tank such as gravel of small objects which could have been impacted?

GemzD26 · Oct 14, 2009

Hi Flan,

No he finds it hard to get of the floor of the tank hes like so weak he kind of drags him self around the tank tho he uses his feet but without much effort ive put it down to being so weak i have seen an improvement when i first got him he never moved from the same spot for a whiole day, now when i see him hes moved about a bit.

He just finds it hard to pull himself up to the water line so i reduced it down to as low as 5 inches but he just looks up at it like he will move to get to the water line then just stays there.

Im worried about his stubs tho 2 look much better but the other 4 have went darker have your or anyone else every had this problem.

Is this right? does the stubs go black cause the dead part will fall off to make way for new gills???

Thanks

flan123 · Oct 14, 2009

Hi Gemz.

My axie, Ron, doesn't have the greatest of gills. He was neglected in a pet shop also.

Can you get a photo up at all?

GemzD26 · Oct 15, 2009

Hi,

Sorry for the delay!!

Ive been checking hand he looked fiim every day, came back after work and he was not eating had a closer inspection and he has white fungus on one of his toes.

I put him in my carrier tank and totally gutted out his washed the tank filters and did a nother water change on it and left it to cycle.

I was going to leave him in his carrier tank and put him in the fridge but as i picked it up it had a crack in it and started dripping water

.

Ive now put him back in his tank and chucked ice cubes to try and keep the temp down.

I think it was cause i dropped the level so low, it looked at the temp and it had spikes 2 degrees could this have caused this??? Could this also be the reason why he would not eat???

Can enyone advise me what i should do fridge him cause of the fungus on his toe and cause he never ate or shall i just continue with keeping him in his tank and keeping it as cool as possible???

Im sorry my camera or i would have taken a picture,

Thanks in advance :ufo:

Darkmaverick · Oct 15, 2009

Fungal infections are normally due to an underlying problem. Check water parameters and temperature. Also check that your axie is having good nutrition.

Fridging will destress the axie but can reduce its appetite. Fridging also does NOT heal fungal infections. Salt baths are indicated for fungal infections. Without salt baths, some fungal infections actually get worse while in the fridge. Fungus thrives well in the cold.

If your main tank parameters and temperature are well and stable, i think it might be better to leave your axie in the tank and offer plenty of blackworms. You will still need to give 2x daily salt baths though.

Axolotls stumpy gills???

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