Illness/Sickness: Poor Indy!

Hi All,

Hoping you can help!!! We bought our Axie (he is black) about 2 weeks ago, about 2 days after we got him home we noticed he had developed fungus on his fuzzy gill bits. We took a samples of the tank water to a pet shop and had it tested for Ph, nitrate, nitrite, amonia etc and all was perfect (we also have amonia test strips and Ph test strips that we are using to test the water frequently). The water temp is sitting at around 20C (which i think is ok for him?). We have also added iodine free salt to the tank. The tank is approx 65L so i added approx a handfull.

We bought a fungal treatment from the pet shop called Melafix which we gave him half doses of daily for 7 days (as reccomended by the pet shop).

His gills have all fallen off now bar one which still has fungus on it. What's more distressing is his skin seems to be raw or maybe just red behind where his gills used to be.

He also has not eaten a thing since we got him 2 weeks ago. Have tried blood worms, live crickets and axie pellets. He is looking more interested in food tonight, but still not eating.

We originally had goldfish and snails in the tank, but the snails took over the tank and killed all the fish. We bought some snail rid from the pet shop, once we had treated the water several times we set up a filter did a 50% water change and let the water sit, being filtered for about 3 weeks before putting the axie in. It looks like the snails are back though, so today i took him out of his big tank and put him into a smaller tank (with the same tank water) so the snails don't suck off his slime coat.

Any advise on the above would be greatly appreciated (including how to get rid off the snails without hurting indy) - sorry that it is such a long winded story!!!

Thanks inadvance

Ali

I advise you get yourself a liquid water testing kit (aka, no strips) and do not rely on pet stores for water testing, some of them are a bit dodgy.
20 is fine for axolotls, but anything around 23-25 can result in illnesses such as fungus.
It's best to try salt baths (preferably three a day) before resorting to medical treatments such as Melafix.
I don't advise adding salt directly to the tank, a salt bath lasting 15 minutes is just as effective (one teaspoon of salt per 10 gallons).

Some snails aren't really a problem for axolotl tanks, unless they are roughly the size of your 'lotls head. Small snails are okay, mystery snails are far too big and anything inbetween is a risk. Axolotls should be kept isolated from any other type of fish or amphibian. They belong with their kind and not with goldfish. Please read the care articles on axolotl.org

Thanks for the help! Excuse my ignorance (first axie) but how am I best to set up a salt bath for him? I want to make sure i do it right becuase i know that salt can be harmfull to them. Also, should i be keeping him in the fridge until the fungus clears up?

Can anyone advise on the red marks/ or blood that seems to be appearing where his gills used to be?

Also re the snails, the only problem with them is last time they took over the tank, there were literally hundereds of them, if this happens again i am concerend how this will effect the ammonia levels of the tank. Is there a safe option for getting rid of them that wont contaminate the water.

Thank you!!!

Yes, it's a good idea to keep him in the fridge until the fungus clears.
To rid your tank of snails, you'll need to clean the whole tank very well to make sure you don't have any living snails or snail eggs in there..
If you want - while Indy is in the fridge you could buy some bottom feeders that may or may not take care of the snails for you.

You will find the info on salt baths in the Fungal and Baterial Problems http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm
However when I do salt baths, I use a container that is the same length if not longer than my axolotl, fill it up with dechlorinated water (until the water level is above my axolotl) and then I add about half a teaspoon of salt, and mix it around. I also put the timer on for 15 minutes so I know exactly when to take him out.

When your axolotl is in the fridge it is a good idea to put a towel over his/her container, this will stop them getting stressed over the light going on/off when people open the fridge.
The only thing I can think of (for the red marks) is that because the gills are gone, it is possible that a rich blood supply is needed to get the oxygen out of the water in that area? I'm not sure, someone else will tell you soon, I hope

Once again - thanks so much for your advice.

I started him on salt baths this morning and managed to get the temp in his tank down to 18C. He is going in the fridge tomorrow once I have a container suitable.

I read that you can gentle remove some of the fungus from their gills with a cotton bud, but poor Indy did not like this one bit and thrashed his head against the cotton bud. This knocked his entire (only remaining) gill off!!!! It started to bleed allot, so i very gently tried to put some pressure on it until it stopped. Now he has no gills and is sitting in his tank with his little mouth open and going up to the surface frequently to gulp for air.

I feel terrible that i have hurt my Indy! Will his gills grow back?

Poor Indy passed away this morning. It's very sad but I am pleased he isn't in pain anymore.

I'm sorry for you loss!

So sorry about your loss, don't give up on axies though, they are a great pet.