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Gill fungus and not eating ..

shells

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Hi everyone,
Im concerned for my Mazzi Moo, she has recently developed a slight gill fungs which I was recently be able to get rid of by swabbing and water changes, but i've just started to notice its return, she had been off her food a little lately, still eating (just) but nothing like her fellow compaion (who seems absolutely content by the way!) Tonite she snubbed food totally, something she has never done. I was thinking of comencing salt baths tomorrow and was wondering if fridging also was necessary in slight fungus cases or seeing as she's gone off her food could be a good thing? Secondly whats the best temp fridge wise I've just checked ours and its quite cold around 5 degrees C.
Cheers, im concerned for my gal.
 

shells

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Very sick axie.... When to/not to fridge?

Hi,
Following on from my previous post and doing some extensive reading in the forum i am seeking some expert advice being really new to this.
I have 2 axies, one is perfectly well, the other not so good, she has recently gone off her food eating just sparsely and trying to eat tonight only to spit it back out and refuse anything further, I have noticed a slight fungus on one of her gills (most of which i have be able to swab off this evening) i will treat tomorrow when i get the appropriate aquarium salt. These gills have deteriorated over the last couple of days prior to the fungus. I have just noticed her good gills are up but not quite forward in the stressed position. My water parameters are all 0.0 apart from my PH which is 7.5.
A couple of months ago she got in the way of my other axie at feeding time and suffered an injury to one of her front legs which seems to have healed nicely, however she tends not to use it as often. Could it be possible she has incurred an internal infection while this was healing, which is now making her unwell also? If so, how would i treat this? I've read on this site that API General Cure could help??

Should I fridge her now, or will that only stress her out more? :confused:
Im so worried about her, I know i'm just going to be up all night checking on her and aprehensive to do ANYTHING until I know its not going to make the situation worse.
 

Jennewt

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Raising the fridge to 8-10C would be better for the axolotl (but worse for keeping your food). She could certainly endure 5C if necessary. If your room temp is cool, the fridging may not be necessary, just the salt baths and isolation from the other axie might do the trick.

Regarding the underlying reason why this one is prone to fungus, consider testing the water. And possibly adding more hiding places so the more sickly one has more places to hide.
 

Jennewt

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I put your 2 posts together. It's easier for people to follow if they have all the info in one place.

I don't think fridging is absolutely necessary, but separation is.

Your water parameters cannot all be zero. NitrAte should be in the range of 5-40 ppm, unless you just did a 100% water change.

Who suggested API General Cure? It contains copper, so I would strongly recommend NOT using it.
 
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shells

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Thanks Jennewt,
After a very sleep broken night (getting up every hour or two to check on my gal) I've just done another chemistry check and something WERID is definitely going on:

Ammonia: 0.50ppm
Nitrite. 0.10ppm
Nitrate. 0ppm

Whats going on???? I did a partial water change 2 days ago and everything seemed fine, I've been told our local council has been "treating" our water since our big floods in January, could this have something to do with it even if im using a dechlorinator prior to replacing the water?

Being quite warm during the day here I have no option but fridge if I'm to separate them, I've just played with the temp settings and will hopefully have it right prior to going to work for the day.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've only had these guys 4 months but just LOVE them to bits!! Would hate to see anything happen to either of them.

I found the suggestion of API cure in another thread posted by someone else earlier this year.

Thank you :happy:
 
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Have you treated your water with dechlorinator before doing the water change? It sounds like your tank isn't cycled yet. I'd do another large water change asap as that high of ammonia is very stressful to them. If you decide to fridge her, keep a jug of dechlorinated water in with her as you will need to do daily 100% water changes. Also, what are you feeding her? Try some earthworms if you haven't already. You can leave a small one in the fridge for a couple hours with her. She may not want to eat while in the fridge, but its good to offer some.
 

shells

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Yep, treated the water before changing. I recently moved and had to do a full water change then, that was 3 weeks ago and the chemistry was fine after a few days of running through the filter, I kept the media/;ants/ornaments/substrate in the old tank water while moving.
Already have a large bottle of declorinated water ready to go, just tweaking the temps in the fridge (don't want to have her too cold!).
Since getting her, her diet has been mainly earthworms, with the occasional pellet or two and blood worms.

Thank you everyone for your input. I worry about her, like we all do about our precious axies!
 

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I was mistaken about the ingredients in API General Cure. It contains two anti-parasite medications, 250 mg Metronidazole and 75 mg Praziquantel per packet. It may be OK for axies, but I don't think it's going to help with the gill infection.
 

shells

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Thanks Jennewt,
Don't think it will help with the gill fungus either, just concerned she's got something going on internal also since the leg incident. She's had bouts of spazmatic swimming which i just put down to her being silly, but upon more investigation it can be a symptom of parasite infection.
Do you think it would hurt to treat her? even the both of them?? Im feeling that this is the bigger problem, due to her change in habbits prior to the gill fungus. (just call it instinct)
I have just been speaking with a reputable aquarium who have advised me Im unable to get the API general cure in Aust (apart from a vet, which im about to start ringing around) due to the ingredient Metronidazole, however I can get Praziquantel, is there any other active ingredients that anyone knows of that might help?
 
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shells

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Just an update on my Mazzy Moo. After much ringing around I found a vet that was "axy friendly" and was advised that the treatment she probably needs is called Flagal, prescription (of course) due to their location and mine and their popularity with everything unusual, I cannot get her in for 3 WEEKS!! The nurse there has sugested treating with Melafix to help bolster her imune system until i get her seen to , I started treatment last nite. Keep you posted. Thanks again for everyone's input :happy:
 

shells

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So after much perserverence I have my Maz eating again, albeit little bits and only beefheart cubes which I know are no good for her but its the ONLY thing she'll take, she's still lethargic, due to being soo skinny i guess (poor little thing) now I have the issue of the fungus that keeps popping up on her gills, while she's been unwell I've been able to keep it at bay with swabbing it, I know to clear it up she'll require salt baths and fridging, the warmest shelf on my fridge currently sits at 6 degrees, I was wondering if I should try and fatten her up a bit before comencing this as I know she'll go off food being kept this cold, she's terribly skinny already!!. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated
 
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