Not sure what to do!

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KaylaLayne

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Hey guys, I'm new on this site. I have an approx. 1 year old axolotl named Batman. Recently I noticed it had started developing symptoms of columnaris. So I did the 10 mins a day 3 days in a row salt water treatment, and he seems a little more active then he did before (today was treatment day 3). I also did an entire 29 gallon water change & disinfected all of his accessories. Yesterday while he was in his salt bath, I noticed his frills are almost all gone! What should I do ?
 

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Are you sure you are using the proper concentration/duration? Incorrect measurements of either can cause gill damage. If you no longer see any fungus, I would consider stopping treatment before further damage is done and monitor his condition. Providing the correct water quality needed should allow him to recover.

For reference:
Caudata Culture Articles - Salt Solutions in Treating Salamanders
 
Yeah I went to my local pet store and made sure it was right, and I never left him in for more then 10 mins. There doesn't seem to be any bacteria on him or in the tank anymore so maybe it was the bacteria that did it to him. I stopped treatment as it only called
To do it for 3 days and today was day 3. So I'm just going to see if he will start eating again now and see if his frills grow back.
 
Columnaris or fungal infection? Fungal spores are always present in the tank and is picked by either a breach in the slime coat or a weakened immune system caused by incorrect water parameters, wrong temperatures or stress.

The filaments should grow back given they have the right parameters and temperatures.

Also i hope you didn't "disinfect" with chemicals. If you ran your ornaments and filter under hot water, it's most likely killed your beneficial bacteria and may crash your cycle. Keep your eyes on water parameters.
 
No I just soaked them in hot water. And from what I read his symptoms were of Columnaris. No appetite & white on him (his frills were all white earlier this week). So maybe the salt bath killed the bacteria and in order to get rid of it his frills had to fall off? He seems a lot better now, not eating yet but moving more and doesn't have the bacteria on him anymore. I'm checking on his water, the temp is back to normal and pH is good, going to be doing a water test soon probably, just to make sure.
 
KaylaLayne said:
No I just soaked them in hot water. And from what I read his symptoms were of Columnaris. No appetite & white on him (his frills were all white earlier this week). So maybe the salt bath killed the bacteria and in order to get rid of it his frills had to fall off? He seems a lot better now, not eating yet but moving more and doesn't have the bacteria on him anymore. I'm checking on his water, the temp is back to normal and pH is good, going to be doing a water test soon probably, just to make sure.
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Did you soak the filter media in hot water too?

Columnaris and normal fungal infections have the very similar symptoms. It's most likely he had a fungus rather than columnaris. Salt baths are irritating and can cause filaments to fall and the wrong dosage. I've had one fungus problem and my axolotls filaments didn't fall off.
 
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