Illness/Sickness: Nipped tail, possible fungus?

My melanoid Cole has something on the end of his tail that make sme quite worried. =/ I hope it's just a nip, and the skin is shedding, but I have a bad feeling that it's the beginning of a fungus and that I'll have to salt-bathe him for a while.

Here are some pics. These were all taken within minutes of each other, just an hour ago.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/AuraCantos/P1060035.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/AuraCantos/P1060034.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/AuraCantos/P1060009.jpg

As far as salt bathing goes, how long should I do that salt bath for? How many minutes, how many days? I don't want to have th fridge the little guy, but would it be better to?

My white axie Rai also has a toe missing. I have a feeling that they're getting a little crowded in the 15 gallon that suited them perfectly when I got them. Haha. But I already have the replacement 40 gallon up and running, and they'll be put into it this upcoming Saturday. I want to make sure it's mostly cycled before I put them in. I used their old "used" filter material for the bacteria, as well as some of their current tank water.

Sorry for all the questions and everything, but I'm trying to do my best for this little guy. I'm new at axies, and I'd hate it if something happened to him!

Looks like a bit of flesh to me, so I don't think salt baths are necessary yet..but I would keep a close eye on it to see if any white/cottony substance forms. And you are right, the 15 gallon tank is too small.

I woke up this morning and immediately checked on him, and sure enough it's starting to look cottony and whiter; like someone swabbed him with a cotton ball and it got stuck.. >_< I'm gonna do a salt bath when I get home from work, just to be on the safe side. Better to be cautious than to let the little guy get sicker.

I don't get how he could've gotten it, though. He's healthy, other than the apparent wound, and none of the other axies have a fungus. =/ Ah, well. Let's just hope he has a speedy recovery. <3

I hope it gets better! It doesn't look very big at least. When I'd only had my axies about a month one of them had a little white fluffy bit on one of his gills - I assumed this was just healing after a nip and luckily it cleared up on its own very quickly - I hope yours does too!

It could also just be the flesh decaying. But you are right to be a bit cautious, and a few salt baths will hopefully eliminate any possibility of fungus quickly.

I think you were right about it being mostly the flesh decaying, Eric. I got everything ready for the bath today, and as I was persuading him into a transfer container, Cole gave a great freakout and the portion that was cotton-white just fell off! I have to admit, it freaked me out to a great extent, and I panicked like no tomorrow, :rofl:. I think my heart stopped. I gave him a quick bath in the salt solution, then put him back in the tank with a bit of clean water. The tail looks mostly clean now, I think it'll heal up in no time. The salt water seemed to make him stressed, though. =/ I followed the sticky's instructions on how to make the solution, but it just seemed to make him irritated. I keep checking on him every few minutes to make sure he's okay.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b17/AuraCantos/P1060055.jpg

Yeah, looks fine..one of my Axies took a big chunk out of his tail and it healed up really quickly.

Of course it irritated the Axolotl, salt water isn't fun for anyone.

I figured that was the case. I just worry, is all.

Thanks for being such a great help, Eric! I really appreciate it.

That's what mine did to himself on a piece of driftwood.

Oh my! I would've definitely freaked out, haha!