Sick Axolotl URGENT help needed!

It has been a while since I posted which is a good thing, but now im having major problems with my axolotl Onyx. ):

I just recently cleaned his old tank which took me a few days to finish since ive been busy. I had him and seadra in an extra tank that has been sitting around for a bit. I didnt think anything of it as I had a different and healthy axolotl in it not long before they were placed there.

Around 4 days after I put Onyx and Seadra back in their cleaned tank, they stopped eating. It looked like there may had been a fungus starting to grow on their gills. I watched it closely for a couple of days and it started getting a little worse. I immediately started fridging them and doing salt baths at least once a day. Seadra does not appear to have a fungus now. Im beginning to wonder if thats even what the problem was. She still looks rather healthy but im continuing the salt baths and fridging for about another week. (It will be 1 week tomorrow.)

I must mention that the water perimeters were awful after I changed the water! The ammonia was 0.25, nitrate 10&, and nitrite was a little high. I cant remember exactly but I WISH I wouldve tested the water before putting them in there! Temperature is always 66 F

Onyx has only gotten worse. He has lost a LOT of weight, has been looking very veiny, his tail is very curled, but what im finding so strange is that his gills are a bit smaller and red pieces keep falling off in his water. Its obvious that hes uncomfortable and stressed in a container in the fridge, but I feel it would get even worse if I put him back in the tank. The tips of his gills are turning white! It started with one and now two or three. I dont know what to do anymore, I feel so awful. Ive been doing 100% water changes daily but im beginning to think my tap water is bad? I use dechlorinater each time and the temperature is the same as what he was previously in. He seems to be getting weaker and I wish I hadn't waited this long to post! If you guys have any clue on whats going on or what I can do, please dont hesitate to tell me! Im so upset and afraid that im going to lose him ))):

Hi,

I would not put the axolotls into the main tank until the parameters are secured. Have them in small tubs which won't be the end of the world. You will have to do 100% water changes every few days in the little tubs. Also consider antibiotics as it seems you have been giving them several salt baths already it can be quite harsh.

There are no local vets that look at axolotls so do you know of another way I could get them, or another way I could treat him?

I understand, as I only have two in my city which charge like $200 for a visit.

But at the same time I started noticing they didn't know as much as I hoped they would, infact one even went on this forum to look up answers in front of me!

The person I learned the most from is from is my researcher friend, I wrote up a post just today about an antibiotic solution. Maybe give it a try, you can find it usually in pet stores.
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-beginner-newt-salamander-axolotl-help-topics/f48-axolotls-ambystoma-mexicanum/f58-sick-axolotl/99459-axolotl-antibiotic-solution.html

Also consider making the call on if you want to force feed them. Sure they can not eat for long periods of time but at the same time food is energy for them to fight off bad things.

HitmanSougo13 said:

Hi,

I would not put the axolotls into the main tank until the parameters are secured. Have them in small tubs which won't be the end of the world. You will have to do 100% water changes every few days in the little tubs. Also consider antibiotics as it seems you have been giving them several salt baths already it can be quite harsh.

Click to expand...

If the axolotls are being kept in small tubs, you should actually be doing 100% water changes DAILY, or else the water can get quite foul. Now, if a sick axolotl is not excreting any waste ( like if it's not eating, therefore no poop), you could get away with daily PARTIAL water changes.

I would do 100% water changes daily to be safe. You will be minimizing infective agents in the water by frequent cleaning, and they still excrete ammonia through the gills as a byproduct of respiration even when there is no visible fecal waste. It sounds to me like your animal is in pretty bad shape. Poor water quality can weaken the immune system and leave them vulnerable to all sorts of opportunistic pathogens. I agree that your animal probably needs more aggressive medical treatment, and I would highly recommend finding a vet to help you figure out the most effective course of treatment, even if it has to be by phone consultation.

How could you force feed an axolotl? I know him eating would really help. He's so weak and onky getting worse.. im losing hope.. but yes I've been doing daily 100% water changes. Stopped with the salt baths. I just checked on him to change his water and it looks like he threw up or pooped out organs?? I took a picture but it just looks like a big blob of blood.. he has had little amounts of blood in his container for a few days. Today its much much more. His toes are really red now as well. Something is going on begin his gills. I feel so bad for him.
Ill definitely go to the pet store tomorrow and see if I can find that solution. Im will I will I try anything to help him. I wouldve taken him to the vet several days ago if I could find one.

Have you checked this out: Looking for a vet?

Suggesting force feeding and medicating based on the little information provided at the time may have been a bit premature at best. I also feel that providing dosing instructions for a medication without citing a proper source to reference causes more harm than good.


The bleeding may be the result of an improper salt bath treatment, among other things. You mention you plan on continuing the salt baths for another week? Doing so would be considered excessive. Sharing more details on how you performed this treatment may help determine if this was a factor. More specifically, the details concerning the salt concentration, duration of each bath, total days of treatment, and number of treatments per day.

So you think medicating would be a bad idea? I looked up specifically how to do the salt baths, and how to make the salt baths on here. I dont remember where I saw it, but I've done it before and had no problems. The other axolotl is perfectly fine now, and she was getting the baths as well. I did one salt bath every day aside from missing two days. I did 14 minutes each time and did a total of about 10 days? It was under two weeks and I stopped the salt baths 2-3 days ago. Ive just been sticking to the daily 100% water changes and fridging.

Onyx died.. thanks for your help everyone..

So sorry for your loss! It's always hard to lose a pet

It really is.. ): im so sad. He was the first axolotl i ever got and he welas a baby.. the others were about half a year old when i got them and i havent been as close with them. I just cant believe this when he was perfectly fine three weeks ago when I took this picture ):