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Help figuring out how to help axie

randybal

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I noticed a bit ago that my axolotl was developing these white spots on its side. Unfortunately I noticed them right as my wife’s water broke, so I spent the next several nights at the hospital. After I got home I did some searching around and it seemed to me, like it could be a fungus (I could be wrong) I saw that the options could be doing black tea in the tank and salt bath as options and thought the black tea would be less aggressive method to try first. Anyways, she got worse. Now she has multiple of the whit spots, plus she has what I believe is skin hanging off of her. They looked like the little lint balls a shirt gets after washing. I have taken her out and intend to fridge her and do salt baths now, I just wanted some input from people on if this is a good method, as I know it can be fairly aggressive for axolotls. Thanks in advance! I have attached 2 pictures.
 

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Hayleyy

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Can you test the water and let us know the parameters and temperature? What do you feed her and how often? She is looking skinny and the gills are small so this will help figure out what's happening.
If there is skin hanging off I would do tea baths and/or indian almond leaves. The salt is probably too much for the skin right now. Indian almond leaves can be left in a tub with the axolotl. What method of tea baths were you already doing? I'm not sure if you really need to fridge it at the moment, is it eating/pooping?
 

randybal

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I will do the test as soon as I can. It has been eating and pooping everything that I have fed. I’ve thought it was strange she was so skinny as well. I usually feed her either frozen bloodworms or live black worms, depending on my suppliers availablity. Any good link on where to buy the leaves at all? And as for the tea bath I did, I was using a recipe I found on another axolotl forum adding a certain number of bags of pure black tea to her actual aquarium. I can’t remember the exact amount, but I will look it up.
 

randybal

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Also, her gills have been short like that since I got her several years ago as a baby, they haven’t changed for better or worse since then.
 

Kingfisher

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How old and long is your axolotl? Looks like it could be on whole if not chopped earthworms, better protein than bloodworms.
 

Hayleyy

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I agree with Kingfisher. Move onto earthworms. Nightcrawlers specifically are great. Feed what he will eat. I usually do one or two a day, though other axolotls prefer one every couple of days. Keep up doing the tea baths. Let us know what the water parameters are when you can test them.
 
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