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Help! Issues with axolotls :(

nickw234

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I have two axolotls for about a year now and never had any problems. 3 days ago i noticed that their gills are shrinking :( they also had a bit of fuzz on their gills, just a few tiny spots. i immediately tested their water and found their ammonia levels were high and their temp was up to 69°F. last week i did a deep clean on their filter and media. could this be the cause of the ammonia spike? i assume that many benifiacial bacteria were lost when i cleaned it. i’ve been doing salt baths for the gill fungus. I did a 30% water change the night i noticed it all and have been doing 10% daily water changes ever since (dechlorinated water of course) and lowered the temp. is there anything else i can do? are they gonna be okay? will their gills regenerate? their gills aren’t gone, just not as full/long as they were last week. please help, i’ve grown really attached to these little guys. they’re still active and swimming around with the occasional trip to the surface (something they don’t normally do) but after three days they still are refusing food.
 
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So far I think your on the right track. Continue the salt baths twice a day, every twelve hours if possible until the fungus has disapeared and a few days after that for safety. Once you fix your water parameters and the fungus, the gills will regenerate, though not exactly as they were before. Do your axolotls have forward turned gills or a curled tail? If so, they are most likely stressed. I would recommend separating the two of them if possible. Just until the fungus is gone and they start eating again. Keep their tanks in a cool, shady area and maybe try feeding them in a shallow box/bucket. I’ve found that when I have water problems my axolotls will eat if I put them in shallow water. It may or may not work for your axies though. Let me know if you have any other questions or if there’s anything that I missed.
 

nickw234

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thank you for responding. they’re doing much better and fungus is clearing up. they both pooped today which i’ve heard is good sign. still refusing food but i’m gonna try again tomorrow. no curvature in gills or tail. jim (black) and alfredo (white) are looking much happier and healthier. thank you again, i think i just needed some reassurance that they were gonna be okay.
 

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I’m glad I could help. If you have any other problems, just VM me :) They do look happy and healthy though, and I’m sure they’ll be fine!
 

michael

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How did you clean the filter and media? Rinsing well with aquarium water or dechlorinated water should not cause a spike. If their is any way to add more biomedia to your filter that could help.
 

nickw234

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completely crossed my mind at the time to use aquarium water to clean my filter. i used hot, tap water. after i did all the cleaning and the ammonia spiked, i realized that this could’ve been the cause. thankfully my tank perameters are back to normal and everyone is healthy.
 
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