Possible Fungal?

K

Kylehubble

New member
Joined
Jun 20, 2014
Messages
24
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Country
United States
Display Name
Kyle_Hubble
Parameters:
30 gallon long tank
3 juvie axolotls
Heavily planted
Two underwater filters rated for 30 gallon, features carbon, mechanical
substrate: sand
Recent Ammonia spikes as of 2 days ago (very high) (doing 50% water change daily to control) - has been very low ever since
Other 2 have no signs of fungus
have been feeding all salmon pellets, occasional feeder fish
yesterday before any fungus appeared I fed each axolotl 2 whole feeder fish
Nitrate, Nitrite - very low

Any advice / information would be appreciated
if found sick please advise a reasonable treatment
 

Attachments

  • sick1.jpg
    sick1.jpg
    105.5 KB · Views: 186
  • sick2.jpg
    sick2.jpg
    86.3 KB · Views: 168
This guy has also been swimming up top and floating there, nobody else is just him, and he is being very active and swimming but hes been staying up top unusually long.
-I just did the water change minutes ago
 

Attachments

  • floatingtop.jpg
    floatingtop.jpg
    105.4 KB · Views: 152
....and the leusictic just died right then and there the other two seem fine...
 
Can nobody help me..?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
People on this site live all around the world so different time zones can affect replies since some might be sleeping...

Doesn't look fungus to me, looks like slime coming off. Why has your ammonia spike? Uneaten food/poop, uncycled, changes substrate? It's hard to determine cause of death, there doesn't seem to be any noticeable ammonia burns... Did you introduce anything new to the tank without quarantine? Do you use chemicals near the tank like fly spray, deodorant, cleaning agents etc? What do you feed them?
 
If you read my post you'd know what I fed them. I didn't change anything or add anything new. The only difference out of usual was that each of them were fed 2 feeder fish each


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Right before it died ( I watched it happen for a straight hour) it became lethargic and it's gills were flipped to indicate stress and when it officially died it regurgitated one of the minnows half digested


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Kylehubble said:
If you read my post you'd know what I fed them. I didn't change anything or add anything new. The only difference out of usual was that each of them were fed 2 feeder fish each


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Hey I'm trying to help, no need to be snappy. Did you quarantine the feeder fish before introducing them to the tank/feeding them? Every living thing you add to the main tank should be quarantine for a few weeks to prevent nasties getting in your main tank.
 
After death I placed the axolotl in a deli cup with tank water for a half hour in case he'd come back but he didnt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The minnows were in the tank for weeks and they died eventually and I remove them usually. They were there initially to create a cycle in the tank before the axolotls came. I didn't get a chance to get a couple of them and the axolotls ate them


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Before I left work work today (couple hours ago) I put in the recommended dosage for API ammonium remover and another API product to add helpful bacteria. Both are reptile, amphibian newt ect. safe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
It's so hard to diagnose this. It could be so many things. My first suspect would be the feeder fish. You say the others died - this could perhaps indicate the fish were ill and perhaps carrying some disease. I would be considering a total clean-out of the tank followed by a fishless cycle (put your remaining lotl in a covered tub of cool water in a quiet place and do 100% daily changes with dechlorinated water while you re-cycle the main tank).
Meanwhile, my condolences on your sad loss. It was a beautiful little leucy. Your other lotl has a female-looking body shape to me btw.
 
That's now 2 axolotls dead. The floater died. The other I salt bathed today and am putting in a tub


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You shouldn't salt bath if there's no fungus, it's highly irritating. It's also unlikely the salt will kill whatever infection the fish may have caused. If you're worried about their slime coat use Indian almond leaves instead of salt baths.
 
I think your remaining axie needs a vet and probably antibiotics, not a salt bath. It sounds likely that this is some sort of infection transmitted from the feeder fish, in which case you will need to sanitise the tank and everything in it. As I suggested earlier, keep the remaining axie in a covered tub of cool, dechlorinated water, changed daily, and start cycling your tank again.
I am so sorry to hear about your chubby little floater. Such a sweet axie. You must be devastated to lose two.
Sadly, the lesson here is that if the rest of the feeder fish died, it was probably unwise to feed any of them to your axies. (The point of quarantining feeder fish is to see if they are sick. Dying is probably a hint that they are!)
 
You shouldn't be seeing any ammonia present with a completed cycle. During a fish-in cycle there should be daily water changes to keep the ammonia below toxic levels for the fish. If your ammonia levels are spiking it's because you haven't been doing the needed water changes or there is detritus causing your water to foul.

The skin on your leucistic looks more like the symptom of a toxicant, possibly nitrite, and not a fungus.

I would abandon the main tank for now and keep the remaining axolotl in a tub with daily dechlorinated water changes until the health improves. I would also feed a more appropriate diet than feeder fish during the recovery. The remaining axolotl might not survive given how fast the previous two passed but clean and cool water should give it the best opportunity to recover.

This would also be a good time to review some of the excellent material on husbandry available:
Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling
Caudata Culture Articles - Water Quality
Caudata Culture Articles - Food Items for Captive Caudates
Guide to Axolotl Husbandry
 
Thanks everyone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last axolotl is in tub with clean water, will change tomorrow. He seems alright let's hope he can make it pray for me fellow owners


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Still hanging in there, ate a couple pellets. Will update for you guys


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Also not sure how long I should tub him, 5 days? Until levels are stable? Do I water change the main tank daily or let it fix itself?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • Shane douglas:
    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
     +1
    Unlike
  • Thorninmyside:
    Not necessarily but if you’re wanting to continue to grow your breeding capacity then yes. Breeding axolotls isn’t a cheap hobby nor is it a get rich quick scheme. It costs a lot of money and time and deditcation
     +1
    Unlike
  • stanleyc:
    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
     +1
    Unlike
  • Clareclare:
    Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus Japanese . I'm raising them and have abandoned the terrarium at about 5 months old and switched to the aquatic setups you describe. I'm wondering if I could do this as soon as they morph?
     +1
    Unlike
    Clareclare: Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus... +1
    Back
    Top