Illness/Sickness: Emergency advise needed

Hi all im new here sorry to come flying in and post so soon but im in desperation.
I need emergency advice from anyone who is knowledgeable enough to offer it.
My little axi is very sick. Shes gone downhill in the space of 3 days. Day one she looked under the weather, day 2 she had a bent tail and drab gills and the morning of day 3 (yesterday) she had sores all over, a shrivelled tail and gills and flaking skin. With no idea what else to do for her i removed her from the tank and she is now in the fridge. She has been in there over night. I thought i was going to have lost her by this morning but shes still hanging in there.. but she looks appalling. It's breaking my heart and looking at her i would rather she had slipped away during the night.
He partner who is still in the tank now seems quiet and didnt eat his dinner last night... im now fearing for his health, either by picking up something himself, or loneliness. They have lived together happily (and had babies, one of which i have downstairs) for nearly 5 years up until now.
It has been suggested it maybe ammonia burn, so i have started more water changes in my main tank over the past days/hours, and have also been told to start salt baths.. although its not clear to me yet how to go about this and i dont want to mess this up.

Do i treat the axi in the fridge with salt too?! Or just my main tank with her tank mate in.
Also, any suggestions as to what type of salt to use as theres too many types and iv not had a clear answer yet.
She also appears to be rapidly loosing weight in the fridge, yet i highly doubt shes going to have any interest in eating.. whats best to do?
Please any advice..

Don't do salt baths. Those are only for fungus.

What are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH) and temperature? Also it might be helpful if you told us about your cleaning & feeding routines.

It sounds like there's something wrong with the water, so removing her from the tank was good. In case something is wrong with the water it would be good to remove the other axie too. Remember to do 100 % water changes once or twice a day while she's in her separate tub to make sure the water stays perfect (the water needs to be same temperature, so keep a bottle of water ready for water changes in the fridge with her). She probably won't eat while in the fridge, but as long as she's not getting too skinny it's ok. If you feel like she needs to eat then take her out and let her warm up a few hours and then feed her. But after that it's not good to put her in the fridge because the changes in temperature would be stressful for her.

Edit: a couple more questions.
Have you added anything new in the tank? Do you treat your water before adding it in? Is it possible that something got in the tank that shouldn't be there like some chemicals etc.?

Thankyou for clearing up the salt bath issue. I will not do one!

Is there any other treating for them while in the fridge, or just time?

In regards to weight she is looking a lot skinnier than she should, but from all that iv read the fridge is the best place for her to be in the state shes in, so unless i see improvement i think lack of food may fair better for her than taking her back out to try food? I really dont think she will eat so im not sure that would be worth the risk.

How long do you suggest she stays in there for and how long before i should see any improvement if theres going to be any? And also, upon seeing any improvement... what should be my next steps?

They get fed once every other day on frozen blood worm and that has been their routine for the past 5 years! I do a water change aprox once a week, again this has always been their routine.

Sorry for all the question... a feeling of panic and heartbreak. I really appreciate your time and help xx

Also, nothing new in the tank, and no chemicals should have got in. I also always treat the water with tap safe x

You could try indian almond leaves in the water. They're mildly anti-bacterial and anti-fungal and would soothe the skin.

Since you're the one who knows the axie, you'll be the best to judge wether she should stay in the fridge or come out. But cold temperatures do help the axie heal faster so I would let her stay in there at least for now. If she starts looking really skinny then take her out and try feeding her. Earth worms would be better diet for them since they have better nutritional value than bloodworms. But she might not take them right away if she isn't used to them so keep bloodworms at hand if you decide to try to feed her. Once she's healed you can switch to earth worms completely.

The most important thing right now is to keep her water clean and cool. Those are often all axies need to heal. You can keep her in the fridge for a few more days for start and see if she starts getting better. Then decide if she should stay in for longer or take her out and feed her. Axies can stay in the fridge pretty long without damage as long as the temperature stays above 5 C.

Do you have a water testing kit? It's important to test the water regularly to make sure the ammonia and nitrite stay at 0 and nitrate under 40 ppm. If you don't have one I'd strongly recommend getting one and maybe taking a water sample with you to a lfs for testing too. Even cycles that have been running for years can get off balance and cause ammonia and nitrite to climb to toxic levels.

Thats all really helpful thankyou so much!

I'll have a look at the almond leaf thing.. that sounds like it could help.

A couple more question if i may!! If i feel she is ready to come out the fridge, either looking better or needs feeding, can she go back into her tank with her tank mate? Obviously, after acclimatizing back to a sufficient temperature. If she needs to be in a recovery tank on her own... will it just be a case of daily 100% water changes because it wont be able to 'cycle', and what about filters?

Also, any advice on how to keep her tank mates spirits up while she's away (and if the absolute worst happens... he ends up alone)

Thankyou again for your advice, although i cant do much more to help my girl than im doing i feel much more in control of the situation! Now i guess i just have to pray for her and keep everything crossed she may pull through. xx

keiko said:

You could try indian almond leaves in the water. They're mildly anti-bacterial and anti-fungal and would soothe the skin.

Since you're the one who knows the axie, you'll be the best to judge wether she should stay in the fridge or come out. But cold temperatures do help the axie heal faster so I would let her stay in there at least for now. If she starts looking really skinny then take her out and try feeding her. Earth worms would be better diet for them since they have better nutritional value than bloodworms. But she might not take them right away if she isn't used to them so keep bloodworms at hand if you decide to try to feed her. Once she's healed you can switch to earth worms completely.

The most important thing right now is to keep her water clean and cool. Those are often all axies need to heal. You can keep her in the fridge for a few more days for start and see if she starts getting better. Then decide if she should stay in for longer or take her out and feed her. Axies can stay in the fridge pretty long without damage as long as the temperature stays above 5 C.

Do you have a water testing kit? It's important to test the water regularly to make sure the ammonia and nitrite stay at 0 and nitrate under 40 ppm. If you don't have one I'd strongly recommend getting one and maybe taking a water sample with you to a lfs for testing too. Even cycles that have been running for years can get off balance and cause ammonia and nitrite to climb to toxic levels.

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I would keep her separated until she's better. Just in case it's something contagious so she won't give it to her tank mate and also because the other axie could attack the sick one. It's also easier to monitor her while she's in her separate container.

As for helping to keep the other axie's spirits up... I really can't offer any advice since I've never lost an axie yet. I did have a depressed bunny once though after his girlfriend passed away and only thing that helped was getting him another friend.

If she needs to be in a recovery tank on her own... will it just be a case of daily 100% water changes because it wont be able to 'cycle', and what about filters?

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Daily 100 % water changes will be necessary until she's back in a cycled tank. If you have a filter that's cycled (has all the good bacteria in it) and you can take it and put in her tank once she's out of the fridge then that would work too. But there's no need to put a new filter in her tank that doesn't have the bacteria in it.