SOS - How do I treat a parasite infection?

My ax Scoot has picked up some kind of parasite when I introduced a companion to his tank. No, I didnt quarantine as a precautionary measure. I now know I should have....His skin looks like it peeling off, and the top of the water is slimy and he is spending a lot of time at the top to gulp air - I've read that they over-secrete mucous when they have a parasite, so that explains the peeling skin/slimy water/gulping. On the weekend he pooed out what looked like a worm (it was wayyyyy too long and skinny to be undigested food) so I took it to the vet and the pet shop and they both think it's a parasite too. But they cant tell me how to help him! He is still eating pretty regularly, but he's always had a voracious appetite.
Does anyone have any ideas? What to use, where to get it.....
Please help because I would be devastated if anything happened to him.
Breony.

Hello Breony,

What makes you certain that your axolotl is suffering from a parasitic infection? These sorts of infections (including bacterial) are difficult to diagnose because the symptoms tend to vary across each axolotl. If you could post a picture of Scoot, this would really help in determining (with a degree of uncertainty) whether your axolotl is suffering from such an infection. Providing the necessary water parameters would also be of assistance.

His skin looks like it peeling off, and the top of the water is slimy and he is spending a lot of time at the top to gulp air - I've read that they over-secrete mucous when they have a parasite, so that explains the peeling skin/slimy water/gulping.

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Skin peeling can be related to an acidic pH or stress and the secretion of muscous is natural to an axolotl. However, axolotls can produce an excessive amount of mucous which is often a sign of illness because mucous secretions are used predominately for protection against bacteria and pathogens. Therefore, if your axolotl is being attacked by a pathogen, it will secrete more mucous. The gulping at the surface of the water can be associated with a high nitrite reading.

Personally, I would not try any medications on your axolotl just as yet because they are more sensitive to all chemicals. Also, if you are treating the infection incorrectly, this is a quicker way to kill your axolotl. The best thing to do now is to place your axolotl into the fridge.

Jay.

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I am going on what the vet and the pet store said when they saw the THING that i took in to them. I dont know what it was, but it looked like a worm and was really long and skinny and white.
Ive taken your advice and measured all his tank specs again - ph was bang on 7, temp was around 18C, and nitrite levels was about 0.2 ppm which I know is higher than it should be - I haven't cleaned his tank for about a week, so I assumed that was part and parcel. I do keep an eye on things and take measurements regularly so things are usually pretty good.
I had another axolotl who was rehoused who exhibited the same symptoms shortly after we got her. She is in a new home now, but still alive, and I couldn't help thinking that she passed something on to him? I usually have separate equipment for my tanks, but a few weeks ago I had to share a tube for cleaning. I'm thinking Ive cross-infected....
Ive attached a pic of scoot. His gills are pushed forward because he was getting pretty narky with me by this stage of the photo shoot can't blame him!

Thanks!
B.

Hello Breony,

Sorry I didn't notice your post until now.

I have read that slimy/clear faeces is an indication of a parasitic infection, but I don't know whether this source is valid. This is, however, the general symptom for most fish that are suffering from such an infection. Looking at the photo of Scoot, he appears to be fine but that's just from a first glance of course. Do you remember the colour of Scoot when you first got him? That is, did he become more golden in colour as his health regressed?

Regarding the nitrite, you're going to have to reduce this because poor husbandry will stress your axolotl. A stressed axolotl is more likely to succumb to infection; or if it is already infected, its immune system will have a difficult time creating the necessary antibodies/immunoglobins to fight off the pathogens.

You mentioned that you had another axolotl who exhibited the same symptoms; in this case, it may be a parasitic infection but like I said earlier, it is very difficult to be sure.

The best option for now is to place your axololt into the fridge because the temperature range is too low for bacterial or parasitic proliferation. It will also give your axolotl the time to build up its immune system.

Jay.

Hi!!! Great to actually see someone else from Newy on the forum!!! Definitely put him in the fridge, and keep and eye on him.

I noticed that you mentioned he was recently purchased. I dont know how far this is for or against the forum rules, but i too have purchased axolotls from a certain pet shop on two occasions in our fine city, which have both died within a few weeks of being purchased. I'd love to know where you got this axie from, and what his health was like when you got him? Do you think that the infection was aquired or was already with him when you got him?

Well, we got Scoot from a pet shop in Singleton back in January, and to their credit he was amazingly healthy, no problems at all. Theyre great people and try to help with any questions you have - if they dont know it, they'll find out for you. The problem arose when we introduced another ax into his tank. We got her in Cessnock, and I gotta say I'm mightily p'd off. In retrospect the conditions they were being kept in (half a dozen ax in a tiny tank with no plants/hides) was appalling, and the guy didnt know ANYTHING about them... I kind of think maybe we shouldn't have got her, but then she would only have died in the shop....she's rehoused now with friends and seemingly pretty happy. Unfortunately I think she has brought some nasties into my tank! She also had an infection on her face which developed a few days after we brought her home and ended up ulcerating. There was some serious nursing going on in my house!
Scoot still isn't doing well - he has poo'd out one of these things again yesterday, and I just dont know what it is - we've put him in the fridge (how long is it safe to leave him in there for?) and crossed our fingers, but things aren't going well.
Does anybody know what this is??? It's 2 inches long (three times longer than anything Ive ever fed him), flat, the underside is silvery and striated - it almost looks like sinew that you find on fillets of meat, and on one end it seems to be triangular. It doesnt break up like their poo usually would. It is the third one he has passed in probably as many weeks. He's just not being himself, he's miserable and he doesn't come and play anymore. He's still eating every day - always had a ferocious appetite, but he's just not himself. Really mucousy still, the water has gone opaque and bubbly on top. Ph / nitrite levels fine.
I'm tearing my hair out

Intestinal nematode - Scoot's got worms!
Many thanks to the guys at Hunter Pets in Thornton for their great advice and promt action - starting treatment tomorrow morning, and hopefully everything will be sorted in a couple weeks. They whipped out the microscope and took samples of the water and... well, whatever it was that was in it. Fingers crossed!

B.

As Jenn pointed out earlier, on a diet of earthworms, ALL axolotls have nematodes. These live in the guts of earthworms, and therefore the guts of axolotls. They are not necessarily parasitic.