Illness/Sickness: Wound causing fungus-help please!

Hi all,

About five weeks ago, I noticed a cut on my 2 year old axolotl's mouth (see photo). I'm not sure how she got it--the water levels were good. There are a few rocks in her tank which may have been the culprit, am planning on removing them. She was acting normally and eating fine, but I decided to move her to the fridge to be safe against potential infection.

The redness cleared up within a few days, but the skin hasn't entirely closed over, even now, five weeks after being in the fridge. It looks almost like a little scar. You can compare the two photos below. While in the fridge, I've been feeding her one live nightcrawler (cut up) every other day, and she's been eating okay.

Just today, I noticed a fungus developing in her gills, which I think must be due the the wound which still hasn't entirely closed over. She's refused food the past four days, but seems pretty active (for a fridged axolotl) and swims around when I take her out for her daily water changes.

My game plan is to start twice daily salt baths starting tomorrow morning to battle the fungus, but am worried that the wound is the underlying cause. I am at a loss as to how to help her further and would like a second opinion. I might move her back to the tank after the fungus clears and just keep an eye on the cut. I'm also toying with the idea of taking her to the vet but am not sure how helpful that would be and don't want to stress her unnecessarily. Any advice would really be appreciated, I'm very worried!

The first photo is the one from five weeks ago when I first noticed the cut.
The second was yesterday, you can see how the cut has healed-sorry the quality is so poor.
And the third shows the fungus (i'm assuming?) on the gills, taken just today.

I don't think you need to fridge the axolotl any more, as long as the tank temps are kept under 19 degrees. The salt baths might actually help the wound heal over so I would keep the axie in your tank and do the salt baths as planned. It's only a little bit of fungus so I don't imagine you need to do salt baths for more than a few days.
For further healing you can add some indian almond leaves to the tank, but not until you have finished the salt baths as the tea can reduce the effect of the salt.

Thanks for the advice Hayley.

I've done two days worth of salt baths twice a day and the fungus has cleared. I may continue for another day or two just in case. I'm hoping to add her back to her tank within the next couple of days (I'm adding 25% 50% etc of chilled tank water with each water change to prepare her for the move).

About the Indian Almond leaves, how many should I use? I heard that you should boil them first and then just put the leaf in the water (without the water used for boiling). How often should they be changed? I know there is somewhat of a debate on whether to use these just for treatment versus a preventative measure, so how long do you recommend I use them? Are they safe for indefinite use?

Thanks again for your help; it's a big relief to hear a second opinion from someone with lots of axolotl experience

Great to hear the fungus clearing!
If you buy dried indian almond leaves I'm pretty sure you just throw one or two into the tank. I have a 35-ish gallon and have 2 leaves. That's all I was instructed to do when I first got them. Everyone says the water turns brown but mine hasn't changed at all so I could be doing it wrong lol :wacko: They break down over a couple of months so you just replace them. It doesn't hurt the axies to leave them in but you can remove them once any issues have cleared.
Another tea option is to brew plain black tea and add it to the tank after cooling and dechlorinating. This does tint the water but weekly water changes will bring it back down. I can find the tutorial if you need it

Update on my axolotl's condition: She's doing great!

After a few days of salt baths, she's back in the tank and has a big appetite again. I added an Indian Almond leaf, which I boiled first just in case. The cut over her mouth is barely noticeable, and I think will soon fade entirely. I don't know if anything I did actually helped or if she just healed naturally, but am so glad she's doing better. Thanks again!

Great to hear!