Fungus advice please

Hi, I'm quite embarrassed to put this picture up because it looks like extreme neglect or something but this really wasn't there yesterday morning. I think it has to be fungus but I can't think how I got fungus in my tank. The water chemistry is fine and the temperature is below 18 degrees Celcius. The few pellets I put in the tank last night were quickly found by my greedy axie family and the only other thing that's been in the tank this week are some earthworms.



Am I going mad or can this stuff attack, to such horrible degrees, over an 18 hour period?

Anyway, I did a search and found some similar pictures and read some advice and I've just given Mike a 7 min salt bath (2 teaspoons salt per litre) and I used a 10ml pipette to gently flush the stuff off his gill branches - it floated off easily so I took him out short of the recommended 10 - 15 mins. He now looks great, without a trace of that stuff and he's perched on his rock almost daring me to try catching him again.

Can someone with a bit of experience please confirm, from this admittedly poor picture, if this is fungus please. And, should I be doing perhaps a 50% water change to get rid of as many spores as possible?

Since this has latched on to his gills so aggressively, I definitely believe it is fungus but it just doesn't look cottony in this pic. I'd keep up the salt baths for at least 3 days, but I would also keep him isolated from the others to prevent re-introduction into his environment.

Keep the others under observation and a 50% water change wouldn't hurt. Be glad you caught it when you did!

Esoteric,
Can you post updates?

Im having same problem with Pinky and he's treated like royalty so I know what you mean. I hope he's ok

I agree it looks more clumpy than cotton-like, but when he went into the salt bath it came away from his gills in whispy threads. When I went to bed there was no sign of the white stuff and he didn't seem at all phased by the experience.

This morning, when I got up, I noticed a few tiny clumps had returned but I had to wait till at least 1.00pm before giving him another salt bath. Again, those clumps simply floated away with a few gentle squirts from the pipette.

I gave the tank a 50% water change and moved Mike into a 2ft tank on his own. I've been all over my other axies with a magnifying glass and as yet they are fungus/white stuff free. I have some earthworms purging andI look forward to tempting him with a bite shortly.

If it is reappearing, I'd fridge him to try to kill off this crud. Keep up the salt baths until it doesn't reappear and then for 2 days past just to make sure it's gone.

It's a relief to hear the others are not showing any signs of it. Please keep us posted!

Mike's just eaten a rather large worm as if he hasn't eaten in days .. which is absolutely normal for him. here's a blurry pic taken 4 hours after his last salt bath, with no white stuff showing at all.



Finger's crossed.

I appreciate the advice and concern people....Many thanks.

Just a quick update as I'm always left feeling a little disappointed when I read through the sick axolotl threads that simply end without a conclusion.

Mike had no fungal growth after his second salt bath. I kept him Isolated for 3 days and gave him a further 2 salt baths.

He went back in the main tank early evening yesterday and when I checked around lunch time today:



Mike and his harem seem to have been busy through the night.

I removed the eggs and put them in some clean dechlorinated water because I imagine if there are still some fungal spores in my tank they will adhere to the eggs very quickly.

Wow, now isn't this an interesting change of events! Congrats to the mom and dad - and good luck to you as you are going to be very busy, depending on how many you try to raise!

If you see fungus on any of the eggs, it would be best to remove the eggs immediately so as to not affect the others. I don't have personal experience but it is my understanding that fungus generally forms on the unfertilized/dead eggs. Here's a cool link to keep track of your egg development: Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) - Embryonic development

It is a German site by another member of this forum - Daniel - I believe, sorry if I'm wrong about the name.

Thanks for updating, but now you need a thread under larvae, breeding to keep us posted. How cool!

Guess Mike IS feeling better!

Thanks for your help and your encouragement Shannon. The pictures on that link are absolutely incredible, I mean really breathtaking.

I'm already raising larvae from Mike and Kylie...see here...they are about 3 months old. Then there are some larvae from Mike and Blade, they're about 1 month old. Inevitably it's Gilbit that's laid this time at least she's the one looking very ...open.

I will wait to see that the eggs are fertile and will probably sell them over the next few days, I can't possibly raise any more.

I remember reading that thread too. Wow, so you were already busy anyway! So you're an old pro now! Great, I know who to come to, should Sphynx and Nef ever follow through! Take care.