Fungus & a red spot

This is my sweet, little baby, Poe


I've had him since April 1st & I am quite attached to him. Yesterday I noticed a white patch on his head that was lighter than his skin. It also had little pieces of gunk sticking to it.


A friend of mine who also owns an axolotl & works at the local pet store recommended salt baths & following the directions on this website. I have given him 2 salt baths following the directions of the salt bath tutorial. I am also fridging him. I've had to fridge him before when he was constipated & floating and it worked well.


This is him in the salt bath last night. Bright red gills.

Last night when I was watching him in the salt bath, I noticed a red spot on his tail.

A popped blood vessel?

This morning when I took him out of the fridge, his gills are the same in size, but have lost all their color.


He also vomited in the salt bath this morning, but it was a tiny bit.
Basically, I am a worrying mother & I want to make sure that he's okay/gonna be okay, and that I am doing everything right. I have been doing 12 hours apart salt baths, this morning was the 2nd. His fungus looks good. It was never a bubble or raised, it's almost like he scratched himself and it got infected, but I don't know how that could have happened. I also did a 30% water change of his tank and sucked out anything small floating around. I am going to take a water sample to the store this morning, but it's always good. I use activated carbon, a carbon insert & a poly insert in his filter. I do water changes every other week (sometimes once a week) & his tank is always right around 18 degrees celsius.

Thanks for reading & hopefully commenting!

How large is his tank, and was it cycled before you put Poe in there? I don't think this is a fungus issue to be honest, so I don't think the salt baths are going to be any help. I would either blame this on a heat issue..are you sure the tank is ALWAYS at 18 degrees, or does it raise during the day? Or I am going to say it is an ammonia issue. Let us know after you get the test results, and confirm that the temp is at a constant 18 degrees (64.5F).

I am sure that his tank is always right around 64.5 degrees(it has been 65. it has been 63. It doesn't really stray from that). My house is fully air conditioned and I keep it on in my room at all times now that it is warm.

He is in a ten gallon tank, and it was not cycled. I had an ammonia problem at first & a cloudy tank for the 1st month, but my friend gave me some live bacteria for the filter and it cycled pretty much right away. The ammonia, nitrites, nitrates have been where they're supposed to be since May, I take a water sample to my friend twice a month. I will let you know what he says when I see him today.

A large Axolotl in a small 10 gallon tank will foul the water quickly, so once again I'd say this is a ammonia/water parameters issue.

What are your ammonia/nitritie/nitrate levels usually?

I don't know what they are, they just say "They all look good" and they show me the strip. I know it's a bit ignorant of me, I am quite trusting.

My friend has his adult axolotl in a 10 gallon with no problems. I didn't realize I'd have to upgrade my tank.

So, I should stop the salt baths?
And what about the loss of color in his gills, is that ok?

The loss of color is a result of more sluggish behavior. When the Axolotl is at rest, the blood in his body is not flowing as quickly, which results in the dulled coloration. I would suggest stopping the salt baths.

As for the tank size...10 gallons is the bare minimum an Axolotl should be kept in. Some axolotls are more sensitive to water parameters/temperatures which is why his might be fine and yours is not. As for the water testing...strips are much less accurate than drop tests..I would suggest buying a drop kit so you can test the water on your own.

I'll agree with everything Eric said, and add my $0.02. The patch looks like a piece of skin or slime coat that didn't shed properly. The red spot is a broken blood vessel, probably from injury against something rough.

I also suggest stopping the salt baths.

Thank you both. I brought a water sample to my friend and he did a drop test. He is also ordering me my own drop kit. He said my ammonia is 0, nitrates 20ppm, nitrites 0, ph 8.4. Poe is still in the fridge, so he told me to do a 50% water change and add something he gave me to bring the water to a ph of 7. I'm going to bring a sample of my tap water for the ph. He also suggests more plants and keeping Poe in the fridge for a week. I am not going to continue the salt baths. Does this all sound good?

Don't use the pH up and down solutions. They'll do more harm in the long-run. If your water is truly that basic, you may need to find a long-term solution to bring it down (usually in the form of peat or sphagnum moss). But established tanks often become more acidic over time anyway.

More plants is usually a good thing.

Keep him in the fridge. Axolotls can be in the fridge for weeks on end without ill effects.

Ok, I'm not going to use the stuff he gave me. Thanks for the advice.
I don't know where I would find the moss, what about driftwood? From what I gather the moss releases tanic acid, which is what improves the ph, right?

I really appreciate the timely responses. I love Poe so very much & I want him to have a long, healthy life

Driftwood will work too, although it will stain your water brown (unless it's been soaked for a long, long time before putting it in your tank).

Kaysie said:

Driftwood will work too, although it will stain your water brown (unless it's been soaked for a long, long time before putting it in your tank).

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No kidding! I've have driftwood in my tanks for about a year and the water just started getting clear rather than tan. But I have heard the tannins released from the wood naturally help prevent bacteria growth.

Tannins are also what is released from tea leaves, which is why tea baths are so effective!