Any clue what this is?

So about 4 days ago he had just a tiny bit almost not even visible...he had it before and we thought it was an infection and treated it and it went away, this time it seems to be back with a vengeance lol.

Someone told me its probably just gunk from his tank, but its getting worse each day. Our parameters are still basic (fresh tank) 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite / nitrate, 7 ph. It doesnt make sense to me that it would get worse because he doesnt brush up against his floating log, which has a TON of similar gunk on it. There is a bit of it on two of his live plants but not as much as would cause that much on his gills.

however, we currently have his carbon filter out because we have medicine in the tank, so maybe if we put the filter back in it will help it go away, idk. He doesnt seem sick or anything, so this doesnt feel right in the sick thread, he's just not as active as normal but we think thats just because his new tank is HUGE. (he's about 5 inches in a 4ft long 55gallon tank)

Anyway, the first image is his gills, you cant see it but its on both his right AND left top most gills and used to only be on his left top gill.

The second image is one i found on google that is dangerously close to what his looks like, just not as thick.

The last few pictures are his log because it looks like the same stuff as whats on his gills..

Any tips on getting rid of this junk would be awesome, we are going to put his carbon filter back in soon and use some API Stress Zyme in hopes it will eat away the gunk.

No ideas? :/

Stop medicating your poor axolotl until you have some idea of what it actually is?

It would be much more useful if you could upload a decent, well-lit photo of your axie, not a stock shot from the internet. With a digital camera you can get good shots if you use a high-speed setting with flash - like a sports/action setting.

If you think it's coming from the wood in your tank get rid of the wood.

I would also recommend you put your axie in a tub to monitor it, and get your tank cycled properly.

What medication are you using and why?

It's very hard to tell from the photos. It almost looks like algae?

Ok well, we were medicating him because we were told it was a bacterial infection, we are using melafix, have never had issues with it.

his log isnt real wood, and we are cycling the tank..but we arent gunna put him in a seperate tub for 6 weeks while we do..

I have no clue if its algae or not, but it seems to come off when he swims fast so I dont think he's ill or anything, i was just trying to see if anyone knew what it was for sure...not really looking for advice about cycling or medicating, but thanks for the tips.

You should always hold off medicating any amphibian until you have a 100% diagnosis. It looks like there might be a chance its a fungus but unless you see it spreading throughout its gills I would not do anything besides make sure the water is healthy. Two of my axolotls have some faded white spots on their gills but before I go dunking them in a salt bath I've been waiting to see what it looks like.

The least amount of stress on them the better

Also, I dont have a digital camera, just a cell phone, I used that google image because, as I stated, it look EXACTLY like whats on his gills. So even if I had a clear image, it would look identical to that one...

Boomsloth said:

You should always hold off medicating any amphibian until you have a 100% diagnosis. It looks like there might be a chance its a fungus but unless you see it spreading throughout its gills I would not do anything besides make sure the water is healthy. Two of my axolotls have some faded white spots on their gills but before I go dunking them in a salt bath I've been waiting to see what it looks like.

The least amount of stress on them the better

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Thank you, we are doing a water change tomorrow to get most of the medication out anyway and putting carbon filters back in, we only treated it because a reliable source at a aquarium store told us it was a bacterial infection. Im iffy about it being fungus because almost every image ive seen of fungus on gills has white clots on them and he has none, just the filmy slime stuff.

snuggly time said:

What medication are you using and why?

It's very hard to tell from the photos. It almost looks like algae?

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I actually was curious and found a page on an aquarium site about a guy having an issue with some kinda freshwater slime and checked it out, its some kind of mild algae/bacteria thing, not harmful from thensounds of it, its from bacteria colonizing during cycling, makes sense since we added this quick start stuff with bacterias in it and have taken the carbon filters out for the medication. Bingo.

info is here, ours isnt as bad as his, but looks like that.

found a few other sites as well

Fungus would look like cotton wool. If you think it is fungus you could try a salt bath. Or perhaps if you're not 100% certain a tea bath or Indian Almond leaves could help. Personally I've found the Almond leaves effective. I wouldn't use Melafix unless a vet told me to or somebody very experienced on here advised it.

Tea bath for axolotls
Contributed by Daniel Weiner, August 2007.

I mainly use teabaths for minor skin problems. It may also be used with fungal problems but on that account I prefer salt baths. Tea has a slightly antifungal and antibacterial effect (resulting from tannins) and additionally it closes the pores in the skin a little bit (mainly resulting from tannin and caffeine). The skin tightens and gets some kind of protective layer, making it harder for fungi and bacteria to intrude the body. On the other hand it makes it harder for salt or medicine to reach pathogens which are already inside the body - that is the reason I do not use it on fungal infections, although a tea bath is sometimes recommended as a cure for fungal infections by some people.

The medication is as follows: I take one bag of black tea without any additional aroma (it is important to use black tea because this kind of tea is fermented and so it has tannins) for every 10 litres of water (preferably used in a quarantine tank). This tea gets dashed with boiling water in a seperate bowl - I leave it there for at least 10 to 15 minutes so the tannins are resolved into the water. The tea has to cool down and is finally added to the quarantine water. After a week I make a bigger change of water (60% at least), the rest of the tea is removed over time by normal water changes. If you have to make more regular water changes (f.i. in a small bowl or tank) the tea concentration can be refilled. As far as I know there are no negative effects even for long term treatment.

A similar effect (although not as strong) may have the addition of dried oak or beech leafs now and then as a precaution.


The stuff on the ornaments looks like the algae I had in my tropical fish tank. It was hard to get rid of, but it eventually went. If it is algae it can be prevented by reducing the sunlight/aquarium light, reducing feeding or left over food and poop.

we will definitely try the tea bath if it doesnt subside, it seems to be mostly gone right now, i dont know how algae would have come because we dont use lights and the window is always curtained. weiiiird.

I think fungus is likely the culprit. Fungus often occurs from poor water quality and/or excessively warm water. Remember axolotls prefer water around 60 degres F. Also, overfeeding provides the nutrients for fungal growth. I would suggest trying to cool you water temp and adding a small amount of aquarium salt (1 tsp/ 5 gal).

It's been established that it's most likely not a fingus, salmonide.

Cherry- I had a algae thing growing off my drift wood when I had no light and my blinds were always closed so it doesn't need light to grow, but light will make it grow bigger and faster. I got rid of mine during water changes. Scrape what you can off ornaments/glass and siphon it up. If you do this continuously slowly it'll disappear

Salmonidae said:

I think fungus is likely the culprit. ..... Also, overfeeding provides the nutrients for fungal growth.

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It doesn't appear to be fungus. Over feeding does not cause fungus, it causes water quality issues and possibly bacteria or algae blooms.

Salmonidae;407552I said:

would suggest ..... adding a small amount of aquarium salt (1 tsp/ 5 gal).

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Indina almond leaves or tea are preferable for fungus prevention - but it's not fungus. Salt is usually administered via a bath rather than added to the tank for axies. Salt in the tank is a remedy for fish, not axies.

Auntie Jude, you say overfeeding doesn't cause fungus... have you ever watched what grows on uneaten food in a tank? A fungus called saprolegnia is usually the culprit.

Salt is a remedy for many things, but in this case it helps improve gill function, and doesn't have to be administered via a bath.

If you are not a professional biologist please do not pretend you are.

I would advise against adding salt to the main aquarium. It might be good for improving gill function in fish but axolotls are not fish. Axolotls have much more sensitive skin and the salt is irritating. A salt bath is much more advisable for fungus. Although in this case it is not fungus so it is not necessary or advisable to provide a salt bath for this axolotl.

Salmonidae said:

Auntie Jude, you say overfeeding doesn't cause fungus... have you ever watched what grows on uneaten food in a tank? A fungus called saprolegnia is usually the culprit.

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Fungus will grow on uneaten food, but does not cause fungus in an axie's gills or on wood. It is more likely to decompose and cause an ammonia spike. And besides, this case is not fungus. (and I have never left uneaten food in the tank long enough to grow fungus)

Salmonidae said:

Salt is a remedy for many things, but in this case it helps improve gill function, and doesn't have to be administered via a bath.

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The STANDARD treatment for fungus in an axolotl involves treating the axie in a salt bath, not adding salt to the tank. Salt is irritating in the concentrations required for fungus treatment, so should be administered via a bath. 1tsp salt per 5 gals would have no impact on fungus in a tank. But, did you not get the message that this is NOT fungus?

Salmonidae said:

If you are not a professional biologist please do not pretend you are.

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Did I ever claim any professional qualifications in biology? No, I didn't. Do you know what I am qualified for? No, you don't.

auntiejude said:

Fungus will grow on uneaten food, but does not cause fungus in an axie's gills or on wood. It is more likely to decompose and cause an ammonia spike. And besides, this case is not fungus. (and I have never left uneaten food in the tank long enough to grow fungus)

What happens to a clump of fungus on uneaten food left in an aquaria? After exhausting its food source it will detach and drift around the aquarium until it finds another nutrient source or gets caught in the filter (or in this case the gills).


The STANDARD treatment for fungus in an axolotl involves treating the axie in a salt bath, not adding salt to the tank. Salt is irritating in the concentrations required for fungus treatment, so should be administered via a bath. 1tsp salt per 5 gals would have no impact on fungus in a tank. But, did you not get the message that this is NOT fungus?

How do you know that it is not a fungus? I was not aware that anyone confirmed it through microscopy or electrophoresis.
Also, fungi have a very broad range of salt tolerances depending on the species.


Did I ever claim any professional qualifications in biology? No, I didn't. Do you know what I am qualified for? No, you don't.

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I don't know your qualifications, but your certainty that it is not a fungus makes me assume that you know what you are looking at.
I am a biologist and my professional opinion is that it appears to be a fungal infection.

A couple of my Axies have had it once or twice, as far as I know it's just gunk from the tank that's got stuck to the gills, I just gently removed it with my fingers, what I couldn't get off came off on it's own with some good playtime. I'd stop medicating the tank, re cycle it and wash the log out. It prob got stuck to the gill when it was in the log.