Bad fungus on gills

Quentari

Quentari

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Quentari
I have a copper axolotl named pebble. Literally overnight he got a terrible fungus on his gills. I went to bed, we was fine. Went to feed him the next evening, his gills were like this. I've been giving him salt baths twice a day for the last three days plus keeping him fridged but the fungus isn't getting any better.

I've been using regular salt, would aquarium salt work better? Should I try a higher concentration of salt? I haven't had an axie live through a fungus yet, the fridge is like a death sentence and I'm really worried he won't be okay. His tail is hooked so I know he's uncomfortable/in pain, and there's little bright red blotches in his gill fronds, I'm thinking its blood.

I've tried gently trying to remove the fungus but its really stuck in there, more like mould really.

He's totally lethargic. Only moves while he's in his salt bath, otherwise he's totally still. I keep thinking he's dead!

Has anyone got any advice?
 

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Poor baby! I think you need something stronger than salt baths, and I think you need totalk to a vet. If it has come on that quick and is not responding to salt bathing you could be looking at chytrid infection.

If you can't get to a vet you might have some luck with Chloramphenicol - the eye drops you get for conjunctivitis, and although it's an antiobiotic used for bacterial infections in humans it seems to have some affect on amphibian chytrid fungus.

Also peculiar, if it is chytrid, you could try a hot bath - the fungus doesn't do well over 20C, so 26C bath for a short while may help.

And of course, the obligatory scrub down of tanks, accessories, filter etc to prevent re-infection and ross contamination.
 
oh dear that sounds scary. I've been keeping an eye on his tankmates, one of them died a couple of days beforehand and I'd guess he had this infection thing. I'll do a thorough clean of the tank tomorrow.

Would you recommend trying the hot water or the eyedrops first?
 
I'm not a vet, I'm only passing on what I read on line.

But if it were me I'd start with the cheaper option of a warm salt bath before splashing out on vet fees or going for harsh chemicals. Make sure you use a thermometer.

And yes, chytrid is nasty and its decimating wild amphibian populations worldwide, as well as captive animals -you need to literally sterilise EVERYTHING (use swimming pool chlorine and rinse several times), chuck out filter medium and re-cycle your tank, and treat any axies who have been in the tank with the sick one - preventative salt baths should work.
 
So what do you think it is Julia? I have come across chytrid before and that photo looks similar (a friend's froglets - they all died within 2 days of spotting the first fungus) but it was some time ago, I may be misremembering and I could be wrong - I'll bow to your experience if you have a more accurate diagnosis.
Looks like fungus of some sort to me - is there a better treatment?
 
honestly if I'm not gonna have to boil my axies that'll be good lol, I'll hold off on the treatments 'till tomorrow morning so if anyone has a more exact diagnosis please let me know!
 
Quentari said:
I haven't had an axie live through a fungus yet, the fridge is like a death sentence
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Quentari said:
I've been keeping an eye on his tankmates, one of them died a couple of days beforehand and I'd guess he had this infection thing.
Click to expand...


Before this thread goes any further down the chytrid route........ This looks like fungus.
You need to understand why your axolotl has fungus and also why you have suffered recent fatalities. Fungus is not a fatal condition and is picked up in three main ways
1) A bite/injury which has breached the protective slime coat allowing an infection to take hold.
2) Poor water quality/ too high a temp stripping the slime coat allowing an infection to take hold.
3) A sick axolotl with a lowered immune system being unable to fight the fungus off, it is a secondary infection in this case.

Axolotls are easy to take care of, if you follow basic care standards they generally only suffer from 1), even the best of keepers will see fungus in their tanks. I have between 200-800 axolotls at anyone time , from the sizes of 3"-8" they just dont fall over dead, if kept properly they are a very hardy species. If you check the sick axolotl section of this forum you would be led to believe that axolotls are a weak and sickly species, they are not, the vast majority of posts are due to people not following basic care requirements. The fact that you are suffering fatalities and severe fungal attacks would indicate reasons 2) or 3). I suggest you revaluate your care. You may not wish to hear this but you need to other wise you will continue to have dead axolotls. I suggest you treat the axolotl for fungus in the usual way, clean water and cool temp.

auntiejude;390833 Also peculiar said:
Chytrid gets blamed in the forum occasionally for amphibian deaths. Most of the time it is just poor husbandry with chytrid being a scapegoat to cover what is essentially incompetence ( I am not referring to minniechild in this instance , she has some nasty virulent **** in her tank atm). Heat treatment is an option for infected frogs but advising it for an axolotl suffering from a fungal attack is very poor advice. A sick axolotl exposed to higher temps will probably add heat stress to its problems and it will not help get rid of the fungus.
Click to expand...
 
xxianxx said:
Before this thread goes any further down the chytrid route........ This looks like fungus.
You need to understand why your axolotl has fungus and also why you have suffered recent fatalities. Fungus is not a fatal condition and is picked up in three main ways
1) A bite/injury which has breached the protective slime coat allowing an infection to take hold.
2) Poor water quality/ too high a temp stripping the slime coat allowing an infection to take hold.
3) A sick axolotl with a lowered immune system being unable to fight the fungus off, it is a secondary infection in this case.

Axolotls are easy to take care of, if you follow basic care standards they generally only suffer from 1), even the best of keepers will see fungus in their tanks. I have between 200-800 axolotls at anyone time , from the sizes of 3"-8" they just dont fall over dead, if kept properly they are a very hardy species. If you check the sick axolotl section of this forum you would be led to believe that axolotls are a weak and sickly species, they are not, the vast majority of posts are due to people not following basic care requirements. The fact that you are suffering fatalities and severe fungal attacks would indicate reasons 2) or 3). I suggest you revaluate your care. You may not wish to hear this but you need to other wise you will continue to have dead axolotls. I suggest you treat the axolotl for fungus in the usual way, clean water and cool temp.



Chytrid gets blamed in the forum occasionally for amphibian deaths. Most of the time it is just poor husbandry with chytrid being a scapegoat to cover what is essentially incompetence ( I am not referring to minniechild in this instance , she has some nasty virulent **** in her tank atm). Heat treatment is an option for infected frogs but advising it for an axolotl suffering from a fungal attack is very poor advice. A sick axolotl exposed to higher temps will probably add heat stress to its problems and it will not help get rid of the fungus.
Click to expand...

I have had three axolotl die (not including the two that died in less than a week after I purchased them from a questionable source). The first I have no idea why he died, I assumed fungus after a closer inspection showed one of his white spots was slightly fuzzy. I have since seen better pictures of fungus and I am not entirely sure that is what he died of.

The second I suspect was actually nitrate poisoning, I know what I did wrong there and I haven't made that mistake again.

The third is the albino that died last week with a similar looking fungus on his gills, like Pebble the fungus came very quickly but he was sick beforehand and I never could figure out why (I did get him from my mother-in-law not long ago after she decided two axies was too much work. I was trying to re-home him for her and stupidly had him in the same tank as my others).

There was a reasonably big gap between each of them, but I do appreciate your concern. I'll continue the fungus treatment for now and see how it goes in a day or two, hopefully it is just a regular fungus and not something horrible!
 
I apologise so the misdiagnosis, but as I said it looks similar to something I have seen before.
 
auntiejude said:
I apologise so the misdiagnosis, but as I said it looks similar to something I have seen before.
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That's okay, if there's the possibility that it's something worse I at least need to know about it.

I do hope it's just a fungus though :rolleyes:
 
Update: I actually thought he was dead. Took his tub outside, dug a hole, then he rolled back the right way up.
 
So.... you have had five axolotls "die" and a sixth at deaths door, how many more do you plan on having "die" before you decide to look after them properly ? This is a care issue, you need to follow care procedures for this species.
 
xxianxx said:
So.... you have had five axolotls "die" and a sixth at deaths door, how many more do you plan on having "die" before you decide to look after them properly ? This is a care issue, you need to follow care procedures for this species.
Click to expand...

I have had three die. I do not count the other two because I brought them from the market (an outdoor stall) in the middle of summer and they were on sharp gravel at the stall. They died in less than a week with blood coming out of their mouths and refusing to eat, I'd hazard a guess that that's not exactly my fault.

The other three I have always sought advice on here, kept track of the temperature and I have the liquid test kits. ONE I know I ****ed up, I let the nitrate get too high. For all three I sought advice on here but no one could tell me what I was doing wrong so either point out something helpful or go complain elsewhere.
 
Quentari said:
so either point out something helpful or go complain elsewhere.
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I am pointing out that your care standards are obviously inadequate which would be use full if you took note . I am not complaining about how many axolotls you have butchered , it doesn't effect me in the slightest and do not concern your self with me responding to any more of your posts as I am obviously wasting my time trying to help.
 
Hmm

So nobody's actually asked what your tank readings are? Have you tested them and if you have can you post them up? Also, what's your cleaning regime? It might be that a few extra cleans a week could really improve your tanks and axies health.
 
snuggly time said:
Hmm

So nobody's actually asked what your tank readings are? Have you tested them and if you have can you post them up? Also, what's your cleaning regime? It might be that a few extra cleans a week could really improve your tanks and axies health.
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Last I checked the readings were ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20-40 (it's hard to guess the colour) but I can check again and post a picture with the results in the morning.

at the moment I do a 20% water change once a week, with spot cleans if I notice anything. I will mention though that our axies are fed the Blue Planet brand sinking axolotl pellets, and my fiance is a bit heavy handed with them. I always thought is was awesome that if one landed in a plant or behind something after about a day it would float back up to the top covered in white fluffy stuff, which made it easier to clean up and less hassle than sticking my whole arm in the tank. But lately he's been putting in WAY too much and the little floaty pellets have increased (instead of one or two, there's like 10 a day). Is there a chance that maybe the axies ate one or something? I didn't think it'd foul up the water too bad if it didn't disintegrate and it's usually hidden poop to blame for any nitrate spikes but maybe I'm wrong.
 
xxianxx said:
I am pointing out that your care standards are obviously inadequate which would be use full if you took note . I am not complaining about how many axolotls you have butchered , it doesn't effect me in the slightest and do not concern your self with me responding to any more of your posts as I am obviously wasting my time trying to help.
Click to expand...

Yes obviously they are, but no one has told me what exactly it is I'm doing wrong. Telling someone they are wrong without actually telling them WHAT they are doing wrong (specifics I mean, not just "everything") isn't "helping". It's actually UNhelpfull. I KNOW i'm doing wrong, so tell me what it is I'm doing wrong. And while you're at it, help me save my sick one.
 
OK, practical help:
increase your water changes to 50% per week, with daily poop scoops
keep temperature down to 15-18C
give up the pellets and switch to earthworms - much cleaner
visually inspect your axies daily for fungus, injuries and anything not normal. That photo you originally posted looks like the axie has been growing fungus for a few days, and it might have been easier to treat if it had been caught sooner.

If it is plain old fungus try a fungus treatment, check Axolotls - Health & Diseases for details of axie safe medication.
 
auntiejude said:
OK, practical help:
increase your water changes to 50% per week, with daily poop scoops
keep temperature down to 15-18C
give up the pellets and switch to earthworms - much cleaner
visually inspect your axies daily for fungus, injuries and anything not normal. That photo you originally posted looks like the axie has been growing fungus for a few days, and it might have been easier to treat if it had been caught sooner.

If it is plain old fungus try a fungus treatment, check Axolotls - Health & Diseases for details of axie safe medication.
Click to expand...

Thanks. The other two are in tubs atm while I clean the tank for any nasties (plus I just found a bunch of those little snails.) so that I can keep a close eye on them for the time being. It seemed to crop up overnight but there must have been some warning signs at least.

I'll increase the water changes and make sure to do spot checks more often, hopefully that will prevent stuff like this from happening again :eek: Thanks.

Oh and Pebble actually looks better today, I used the salt from the other shaker in the house, and he seems to be responding better to it. Must have used the wrong one to begin with, so hopefully I can expect a full recovery!
 
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