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Illness/Sickness: fungal infection, not sure

matty

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i need help, jim has white spots on the tips of his gills and im not sure if its a fungal infection, could someone please help me. heres a pic.



file_1984.jpg
 

chelsbels

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Hi Matty,

Sorry that no one has replied yet but I am very glad to say that I have a link that might be helpful for you and your axie.

http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm

If you scroll down it has a section of bacterial and fungal problems for axolotls.

Goodluck and merry christmas!

Chelsea
 

kira

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Yes, that looks like the start of a fungal infection.

To treat this you need to do two things: A Salt bathes, B Fridge your axie.

The salt baths need to be done three times daily(if possible if not, just two) and use a container that is longer than your axolotl. Mix 2-3 teaspoons of uniodised salt per litre of dechlorinated water. Make sure you dissolve the salt, because salt can burn your axie if you just put them in on top of it. When you first put your axie in their salt bath, they will probably find it really irritating to begin with (remember to use a lid if it is a shallow container). Jim will need to stay in there for 10 - 15mins, BUT NO LONGER THAN 15MINS, soreally good idea to put a timer on for 10-15 minutes so you know exactly when to take him out. Empty the salt bath after each use and make up a fresh one each time.

You will need to put Jim into the fridge because the fridge can help with the fungus (slow down growth).

Jim will need to have his water changed daily with fresh dechlorinated water. You will need to keep bottles of dechlorinated water in the fridge, these will need to be used for the water changes to keep the temperature consistant for your axie so that she doesn't suffer temperature shock.

When Jim is in the fridge, you should also put a towel over his container to stop him getting stressed out over the light going on/off when people open the fridge.

While Jim is in the fridge remember, he probably won't want much to eat, so don't worry about that.

Because your axolotl needs to be in the fridge, make sure to use the dechlorinated water from the fridge in the salt bath, so it's the same temperature as the fridge water to avoid fluctuating temperatures which can be very stressful to the axie.

I would also continue with the salt baths for around 4-5 days after all the fungus has disappeared to make sure it doesn't come back.

Good luck!:D

AD: What is the temperature of your tank?
What are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels?

Treating the fungus is obviously a good place to start, but it is important to try and work out why this happened in the first place (ie. temperature??) so that it can try to be prevented next time.
 

matty

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i try to keep the tempreture down but it always goes to 20 degrees c, i also went to the aquarium store and they gave me triple sulfa (broad spectrum) so im using that for now. thanks for the tip i gave him a salt bath this morning and will do one this afternoon.
 

kira

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i try to keep the tempreture down but it always goes to 20 degrees c, i also went to the aquarium store and they gave me triple sulfa (broad spectrum) so im using that for now. thanks for the tip i gave him a salt bath this morning and will do one this afternoon.

20C is ok. I would recommend that you stop with the triple sulfa and do salt bathes and fridge method instead.

I would also recommend that you don't listen to pet shop advice. Generally, all they are after iss your money and don't have your axies best interests at heart. However, there are a select few out there that DO do the right thing (don't want to offend anyone:eek:)

also am not sure about the ammonia levels but im pretty on top of it, when he poos i do a 20% water change so it doesnt go foggy.

Axolotl poo turns into 'poo dust' (thanks Kaysie!) very quickly and most of the time you won't see it.

You really do NEED to get a liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (and if you want to pH). This is very important that you stay on top of these levels as any ammonia or nitrite in your tank can be toxic!

Just because your water is clear does NOT mean that your water is not toxic. Ammonia is clear (at least you can't see it in your tank).

Until you can get those test kits, I would recommend that you do 10% daily changes. Also, you can take a sample of your tank water with you to a pet shop and they will test it for free (or a small fee). Just make sure you ask them what the levels are. Ammonia and nitrite should be 0 and nitrate 10-60.
 

matty

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ok thank you i will do the salt bathes instead (ill clean the tank out now) and will do those water changes each day until i get the ammonia test kit. thanks so much for your help.
 

matty

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ive given him another salt bath and have then put him in a different container, now ive placed him in the fridge, one more thing, how long does he stay in the fridge for?
 

matty

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i thought id let all the kind people that helped me with this matter, that jim is making a fast recovery, he now has a speck of the fungus left on his gills, i was a bit scepticle with the salt baths at first but amazingly, its working! now i know where to come for help, thank you all.

ps; i also found out that what caused this infection in the first place, was that i went on hlidays for a week and left him in the care of my grandparents, the tank got foggy so they changed the water but forgot to add dechlorinator, when i heard this my heart sank. they did it in best mind for jim but i know now if im going on holidays, i should leave him with someone more experianced with axies.
 

Kaysie

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Matty, glad to hear Jim's on the mend.

I have a VERY detailed care sheet (it's actually a couple of pages long in a notebook, one for each species I keep). I be sure to go over that care sheet with anyone who is watching my animals. I sit them down, and I go through all the motions of feeding and cleaning, and allow them to ask as many questions as they need.

Good luck.
 

chelsbels

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Hi Matty,

It's great to hear that Jim is getting better!
I'm glad you know what caused this infection on poor Jim, it's a good idea to leacve your axie with someone more experienced.

Hope Jim recovers quickly and quietly,

Chelsea
 
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