Aquarium Vs Caudata !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

ok so i went to go and get my nitrite and nitrate tested... because i dont have the testers...

my water is heaps good, and my tank is cycling fine =]

but my axie has been sick... fungus... and i told her how i was doing salt baths... then putting her in the fridge

and she was like "omg... why are you doing that, thats rlly bad, take her out str8 away blah blah blah..."

and she told me she strongly urged me to give them the medicine but only half dose it coz she dosnt have scales...

so now... im confused...

do i keep her in the fridge... or put her back and treat her with the medicine...?

PLEASE HELP...

I DONT KNOW WAT TO DOOOO!!!!?!?!?!?!?

Medicine gives the shop money, you doing salt baths does not. Hope that clears up her motivations for telling you to use medicine. Though it may just be ignorance rather than trying to get you to buy stuff. If I were you I would be going back and having stern words.

Ignore her, if your salt baths are working fine (as I have noticed you mention in another thread) keep them up until the fungus is gone. Medicine is used when salt baths fail as it is MUCH more risky to use medicine.

Robbie all I can say is that an awful lot of people on here who have had your problem have used salt baths and it has worked for them.
Medications can work too I guess, but perhaps the shop is just trying to get you to buy more from them.
Personally I would stick with the salt baths.

Hi Robbie,

What medicine is she recommending?

If it is Malachite Green (used to clear fungal infections on FISH) or if indeed the medicine contains any malachite green you will poison your axolotl and she will in all likelihood die.

If you feel salt baths are not working for you, the next best method is mercurochrome which can be purchased from pharmacys but is becoming harder to get - you may need to go to several chemists.

There is the medicine Metheleyne Blue which can be bought from most aquariums and is considered safe medicine for treating fungal infections in axolotls (I've never used it myself so I dont know how effective it is).

Fungal infections can take up to a couple of weeks to months to go away - it takes patience and perserverence - there is no quick fix for fungus.

How long has your axie had fungus and where is the fungus located? Do you have a picture of it?

Cheers J.

Havelock said:

Hi Robbie,

What medicine is she recommending?

If it is Malachite Green (used to clear fungal infections on FISH) or if indeed the medicine contains any malachite green you will poison your axolotl and she will in all likelihood die.

If you feel salt baths are not working for you, the next best method is mercurochrome which can be purchased from pharmacys but is becoming harder to get - you may need to go to several chemists.

There is the medicine Metheleyne Blue which can be bought from most aquariums and is considered safe medicine for treating fungal infections in axolotls (I've never used it myself so I dont know how effective it is).

Fungal infections can take up to a couple of weeks to months to go away - it takes patience and perserverence - there is no quick fix for fungus.

How long has your axie had fungus and where is the fungus located? Do you have a picture of it?

Cheers J.

Click to expand...

THAT... B.I.T.C... u get the rest...

its called Fungus Cure

the only ingredients i can find is...2.00mg/ml Acriflavine and... 0.40mg/ml MALACHITE GREEN

=[=[=[=[=[

ok im definately not listening to them...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

anyway... the fungus is on her tail... ill try and take a decent photo in about 30 mins... when her next salt bath is... but my camera is dodgy... we'll see tho...

if i cant... dw... because... in a couple of days im getting i rlly good camera, so i will be able to take really clear photos =]

Not that i'm sticking up for them, but heres why I think she told you to stop. All of the treatments you are performing on your axolotl would kill a fish. To place a freshwater fish in any saline solution, or a saltwater fish in any fresh water, would result in death. To spare, and myself, the bio that is swirling in my head, the cells would be destroyed because of the change in solute levels on the inside and outside of the cells would cause them to either shrivel up or burst, depending on which way you went. Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with her giving you wrong advice, but thats probably where she was coming from.

tylototriton said:

Not that i'm sticking up for them, but heres why I think she told you to stop. All of the treatments you are performing on your axolotl would kill a fish. To place a freshwater fish in any saline solution, or a saltwater fish in any fresh water, would result in death. To spare, and myself, the bio that is swirling in my head, the cells would be destroyed because of the change in solute levels on the inside and outside of the cells would cause them to either shrivel up or burst, depending on which way you went. Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with her giving you wrong advice, but thats probably where she was coming from.

Click to expand...

I know what you're talking about here when it comes to the turgidity of cells. It all has to do with diffusion and osmosis. That being, if you were to place a cell in a concentrated solution (i.e. more solute that water molcucles), the water will travel down the concentration gradient. Thus, water leaves the cell and goes in the concentrated solution, causing the cell to become flaccid. The same mechanism is true when you place a cell in a dilute solution. Water moves from the dilute solution into the cell, causing the cell to become turgid.

When we advice people to perform salt baths, we strongly recommend the a specific dose and a time period. This prevents cells from becoming flaccid. Sure the cells may lose their shape but they will re-gain their shape once returned to freshwater.

Salt baths have proven to cure many cases of fungal infection most likely because the added electrolytes disrupt the cell walls of these single cellular organisms quicker than the cells of an axolotl, which are stratified.

Jay.

gees no u guys are just getting technical. from wat ive read and experienced salt baths do the best. my axie had visable improvements in just a few days wen he had fungus on his gills. medication is really just a last resort. fridge and salt baths are the way to go. least in my opinion.

tylototriton said:

All of the treatments you are performing on your axolotl would kill a fish. To place a freshwater fish in any saline solution, or a saltwater fish in any fresh water, would result in death.

Click to expand...

Actually I have used salt baths on goldfish and friends also use salt baths as remedies for fungus and ich on fresh water fish. You can't use much salt though - 1 teaspoon per 3L approx. Never had a death from it but I have killed a few fish with medicine :\ So I don't think the pet store person has an excuse really. Recommending medicine with malachite green shows very poor knowledge about the stock she keeps and if it were me I would go back to the shop and have a word with her.

Salt BATHS are just temporary, but moving an animal to a new permanent home with different salinity would likely kill it. The thought behind this is that the bath is long enough to kill the pathogen, but not enough to kill the (bigger) animal.

Malachite green nearly killed my axie. Please don't use it. Salt baths usually work well. In extreme cases of fungus you can use methylene blue in small doses in a separate bath.Use about a tenth of whats recommended for fish, and keep an axie there for about 30mins a day.Good luck!

robbie257 said:

THAT... B.I.T.C... u get the rest...

its called Fungus Cure

the only ingredients i can find is...2.00mg/ml Acriflavine and... 0.40mg/ml MALACHITE GREEN

=[=[=[=[=[

ok im definately not listening to them...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

anyway... the fungus is on her tail... ill try and take a decent photo in about 30 mins... when her next salt bath is... but my camera is dodgy... we'll see tho...

if i cant... dw... because... in a couple of days im getting i rlly good camera, so i will be able to take really clear photos =]

Click to expand...

ok heres the photos of her tail... =[... it seems to be getting alot worse...

its not a pretty site... please help, im doing salt baths at least 2 times a day... keeping her there for about 10-15 mins...

could it perhaps be a parasite?

good luck

hi robbie, looks like we have a simler problem i have a hurt axolotol and fungi was growing on her leg looks just like your pic so i took advice off fish shop load of rubbish ,listen to the guys on hear, i have done salt baths and put mine in fridge ...she is looking better . ill keep my fingers crossed for you

Robbie,

That still looks like fungus to me, so you are doing the right thing by giving your axolotl a salt bath and placing it in the fridge :happy:

However, you are stressing about whether this illness could be something else- like either a bacterial/parasitic infection, in which case you should cease the salt baths. In this case, the fungal infection would be secondary to the parasitic/bacterial infection. That is, you axolotl's immune system is trying to fight off these pathogens that are invading its body but as a result it has let down its defense on another area, which is the fungal infection.

Something that you have to keep in mind is that fungi in the water are usually symbiotic with bacteria. Basically, the bacteria and fungi share an ecological relationship because of the close vicinity. This relationship maybe for a number of reasons, whether it be metabolic or nutritional. Therefore, if you do have any pathogenic/virulent bacteria thriving around the water or even within your axolotl, this could be the very reason why the fungal infection is getting worse.

Yet another concept: the salt bath. Salt can aid in the production of the slime layer because salt itself is an irritant. The natural slime coat is basically the 'first-line' of defense for an axolotl, much like your skin. The slime coat is the production of specialised cells scattered throughout the epidermis, and its production can be stimulated in two ways:

1. Hormones

2. An irritant because it can act as precussor for the secretion of hormones which trigger the production slime-secreting cells.

As I mentioned before, salt itself is an irritant therefore it will naturally bring about the secretion of hormones leading to the production of an 'excessive' slime coat. Now, I'm not saying that your axolotl doesn't have a funal infection anymore, I'm simply suggesting that it could be the wispy bits of the slime coat. Your picture isn't that clear so it's hard to tell...sorry.

The underlying issue here is to determine whether your axolotl is suffering from either a: bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection. So it is vital that you provide clear photos. Photos from many perspectives that way we can ascertain the shape and colour of your axolotl. Also, if you could keep track of the appearance of your axolotl's faeces, that would help greatly.

I hope we can figure out what's wrong your axolotl Robbie and get it back its feet.

Jay.