Illness/Sickness: Please help, really sick axolotl

Hi Everyone,

I'm hoping that someone will be able to provide me with some guidance... I have 2 male axolotls (they're about a year old and have always been happy and healthy) and unfortunately one of them is very unwell.

We noticed that Sprite was starting to look unwell yesterday morning (appearance of flaking skin and slightly pink), so I took him out of his main tank (we'd only checked the water the night before and that all was okay) and put him in a tea bath.
When I got home from work, there were what looked like patches of sores with white on top and then very red raw looking areas underneath.
I immediately set everything up for fridging and he's now in the fridge... very still and not happy. Is there anything else I can do / should be doing?

I foolishly didn't take a picture of the "sores" but will post later if that helps.

I really welcome any advice
Thanks

A picture would be really helpful.
So we can understand what may be going on, could you tell us the readings for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate? What is the temperature of the tank? What is your axolotl's diet? What else do you have in the tank. Finally, do you add anything to the water at all ?

Julia

Hi Julia,
I have the 6 in 1 strips to test the water and all the readings came back as okay (sorry I can't remember what the exact readings were), I've also got the ammonia checking kit and that came back as normal.
The tank temperature is below 16 degrees (I had to get a tank strip as my regular thermometer broke), and we have a large tank containing mixture of live plants, fake plants, a log, and a tiki mask for them to play with / hide in. The substrate is sand and we have a small sponge filter in the tank and an airstone that's occassionally used.
We add aquasafe to the water to remove chlorine but that's it.
I'll add a photo when I get home from work this evening.
Thanks

The strip test kits are well known as being highly unreliable. You should check the pH, nitrite and nitrate as well.

When was the last time you cleaned the sponge filter? When was the last time you did a water change and how much did you change?

Ed

Sponge filter was last cleaned at the weekend, and replaced about a month ago

I've just got home and found him barely alive in the fridge.. Please what can I do to save him

Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 25mg/l

SpriteandFidget said:

Sponge filter was last cleaned at the weekend, and replaced about a month ago

I've just got home and found him barely alive in the fridge.. Please what can I do to save him

Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 25mg/l

Click to expand...

Are those results from the strip test kit or a more accurate one?

It isn't uncommon to see a short recycling of aquaria if too much of the biological filter is disrupted.

Since you double checked the ammonia levels, that should rule out ammonia issues. The lethargy can also in part be due to the temperature in the refrigerator but the red coloration could be due to a infection. Given the extent, you probably should consult with a vet if possible.


Ed