Chunk missing from leg?

I woke up this morning to find a couple of things wrong in my Axolotl tank. Firstly, the filter had completely stopped working. It was making a faint hum but no filtration was taking place. I checked on my axolotls (I have two), and was pretty shocked to find a chunk missing from the leg of my black one. It seems as if there's a red coloration on one side of the missing chunk, and perhaps a little lump. There's a tiny growth on his other leg, almost like the skin tags that we humans often have, and lastly there was a tiny slice, roughly 0.5cm in length on the top of his tail. The other axolotl seems fine. I got a new filter earlier today, less powerful than the last, as I noticed that before it stopped working it was disturbing the water too much and stressing them a little. Their behaviour now is totally normal - I fed them a decently sized earthworm each about 5 hours ago. The pictures I'll attach will show the issues I've described on my black axolotl. I don't know if any or all of these things are related - the filter breaking, or the abnormalities on my axie, but it did seem strange to me that I noticed them all on the same day. I don't recall them being there yesterday.

What kind of freak accident caused these things? I can only speculate. I'm slightly worried about the chunk missing from the leg, the other things seem superficial. What do you guys think?

Now this is just what I think, but to me it seems like your axolotl might have gotten itself stuck on the filter somehow when you weren't around. My own gets little nicks in his tail sometimes when he manages to move the plants away from the intake tube on my filter, so it's not that far fetched to think a powerful enough filter could have made those injuries on your axolotl's leg and tail, and would probably explain why the filter stopped working.

The other theory is just that your axolotl's tank mate got a bit nippy and bit it, and the filter breaking was just a weird coincidence.

That's just my opinions on it, I'm sure someone else has more insight.

PatchworkClocks said:

Now this is just what I think, but to me it seems like your axolotl might have gotten itself stuck on the filter somehow when you weren't around. My own gets little nicks in his tail sometimes when he manages to move the plants away from the intake tube on my filter, so it's not that far fetched to think a powerful enough filter could have made those injuries on your axolotl's leg and tail, and would probably explain why the filter stopped working.

The other theory is just that your axolotl's tank mate got a bit nippy and bit it, and the filter breaking was just a weird coincidence.

That's just my opinions on it, I'm sure someone else has more insight.

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That's what I'm thinking too. I'm not sure how likely it is that his pal bit him because of the precise shape of the chunk.

Sharp ornaments? Or an awkward place/ ornament he could of fit a toe or two in and kind of jammed/pulled them off?

I'm leaning towards the stuck in filter scenario. What should I do? He's eating okay, so should I keep him in the tank with his buddy, or should I put him in the fridge for a bit?

Fridging is done to help pass things like poop and gravel, or an axolotl that is severely sick. A little nick and eating okay shouldnt recquire fridging. I would suggest a tea bath, it is antibacterial and slightly anti fungal and will help soothe, tighten and heal his cuts. Keep an eye out for fungus, and start salt baths ONLY when you see fungus.

I've noticed another thing with my other axolotl - this one's leucistic. One of his gills has a red line inside it. It looks like a bloodworm. What could this be?

Do you feed him blood worms? It's best if you can upload a photo, it could be a bloodworm if he eats them, I've read it could be a vein issue although it's not harmful, or an anchor worm. But we won't know without a pic

I recall someone saying something about red things coming off the gills in another thread. I don't remember what they called it, but I do remember it being said that it was harmless and would probably go away in time. Anyone remember what thread that was on?

I couldn't find it either, but that's what I was referring to with " vein issue although harmless ". I recall it was only a few months ago if that.

Stez said:

I've noticed another thing with my other axolotl - this one's leucistic. One of his gills has a red line inside it. It looks like a bloodworm. What could this be?

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Is the red line like this?
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...xicanum/f58-sick-axolotl/92844-gill-vein.html

I think that's the thread everyone is referring to.

Also, with the injured axie, keep the water cool and clean. It might be best to separate it from the others if it's in the same tank. It could possibly be a nip from another axolotl. Tea baths as said above can also help.

The tea bath tutorial is on this page. Good luck! Caudata Culture Articles - Illness Part 2