Illness/Sickness: jap.F.belly growing fungus on skin?

hello. i have a japannese fire belly newt.. i just noticed maybe yesterday that he has all these white-ish patches on him. hes been swimming around taking his back left foot and always scratching at his left side with it, it seems. has been for a long time. i thought it might be his shedding but then i looked really closely and i thought i saw fuzzy stuff instead of skin. it looks like both kinda. in some spots its flaking off, like dandruff but still attatched at a small point and in some spots it looks fuzzy, like algea (but white). also, his back feet, each have 5 toes. (front 2 have 4 toes) i also noticed that a toe on each foot (the one we'd imagine to be the short thumb) both were kinda just white puffs. one worse than the other, not pimple like, but kinda foggy. i thought maybe that was shed or whatever too, but im looking at him now and it looks like maybe the shedding got torn off because he was on land, except, i think he is missing the toe because it use to be a noticeable toe, but now its not there really. just a small point or bump real close to the skin where it would connect. though it doesnt seem to bleed or anything. just covered in white [shedding?] and now nothing but [shedding] hanging. his other toe thumb, though, has a bit of white [shedding?] at the tip but the whole toe thumb is still there. i dont know what is wrong. or what it is.

now i must state all his changes. i fed him a tetra fish about 4 days ago because i ran out of earthworms and cant find anywhere to buy them (he doesnt like red wrigglers and night crawlers, only earthworms like in the ground). also, i always keep a supply of ghost shrimp for him in the tank if he ever just wants a munchie, even thuoght most of them retreat to inside the filter. he hasnt shed in about a year or more, not saying his body doesnt try, but it just always flakes and sticks, where as the first few months i had him it peeled from head to toe perfectly than he ate it. also, i had stated a while ago his tank usually was at close to 80 degrees. sense then maybe a month or two, i have kept it down. i havent used bottles or anything, i just keep the room cooler and right exactly now, its 71. it drops even lower to like 60 on cold nights but hasnt been back to 80. the last change that i can maybe factor in is; not quite a week ago, his tank (20gal long half full w water) hadnt been cleaned in a maybe a month. the tank had gravel and decorations, 2 shrimp his floating land and waterfall like filter and was all covered in algea. ive tried to get rid of the algea before but it just respawns fast. it was soft and fuzzy, kinda long (a few milimeters long) and all on his filter and EVERYTHING, gravel plants glass decorations and his filter appeared black because of it. it was slimy. also, it was green colors dark and light and some was purple-ish. i dont know if it was red or purple but definatly had that type of color, not just green. not bright. anyways, i did what i thought was best, even though i know it probably wasnt the true correct way but i took him out, took everything out, emptied the tank and scrubbed it with hot water. i scrubbed the filter in hot water and the filter pump and put it back in. i gave him brand new filters. (filter takes 2) i went out at 1 am and bought him brand new gravel. and went to petsmart the next day and bought him a new branch decoration and scrbbed his floating land the best i could. so he currently has clean tank clean filter and land, new gravel a decoration and ghost shrimp and rosey (feeder fish because i cant find earthworms). i used water from the hose, but i used amphibian water conditioner, and just added more. now hes just floating about more than usual. he crawls in and out of the water alot. he wants alot of attention too. always swims infront of the glass and is always ready to have a staring contest. i really think he needs love. but i need help please!


sorry so long just i dont know

I'm not quite sure what the problem may be, but it does sound like some sort of fungal or possibly bacterial infection that your newt has contracted. Often feeder fish bought from pet stores are carries of diseases that you newt may have obtained from living with them in his tank. Ideally, feeder fish bought from a pet store should be quarantined before ever being fed. I'd suggest removing the feeder fish from the tank.

Have you tried chopping night-crawler into smaller pieces? Your newt may appear not to like them as they are just to large. Keep trying with chopped night crawler. You could also give bloodworms a try, as they are small and easy to eat.

Please look over this and related links, and then see if you can identify what illness your newt may have- http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/illness.shtml

Also, would it be possible to post photos?

Good Luck!

In terms of maintaining the tank, you shouldn't try to eradicate algae, just scrape off whatever gets unsightly. What you describe sounds like "black beard algae" or "black brush algae" (BBA), which is typically black or purple in color. It is harmless. I never disassemble a tank and start from scratch because this means you have to start all over establishing a beneficial bacterial population. When keeping any aquarium, you should always be focused on creating a good environment for the bacteria. If the good bacteria are healthy, then the environment will be healthy for fish or amphibians. A "clean" tank is actually not a good thing. An "old" tank is best, maintained with frequent partial water changes. Problems with skin and shedding are usually caused by water quality issues, although diseases can also play a role.

I hope this all makes some sense. Here are some articles that explain further:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Tank_critters.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/waterquality.shtml

thank you for your replys. so now i have another question, if my newt is only having trouble shedding, i dont know if that it what it is or not, but most threads say its from poor water quality. how do i know if his water is ok. how do i make it ok for him and how do i keep it that way? i have a filter, and i have some amphibian water conditioner used for terrarium drinking bowls or aquarium water. thats all i have for him. because if i can keep his water healthty, maybe i can keep him healthy. also, i bought my feeder fish from petsmart. could they still have parasites? also, if feeder fish usually have parasites, how come stores are allowed to sell them? also, does any one know of anywhere on the web i could buy earthworms? not red wrigglers and not night crawlers. just plain earthworms. i have looked and have had no luck.

ps- my newt does not like night crawlers. cut or un cut. he actually doesnt like anything cut/chopped.

About the red wigglers..you should keep trying, i find that most animals tend to get used to it after a while.

There are several tests available that you can use to ensure the water quality fits certain parametres. The links Jen provided are top notch...you should really read them thoroughly and get to understand how cycling works.
I too think the possible shedding issue is influenced by water quality, so your best chance would be to focus on that.

so, i used to do that when i only had a fish tank, test the water and such keep it at what was recomended, if i do that for him, it should help with his shedding? if it is him shedding, will it just all get better after i start testing the water and keeping it at the correct levels or is there any other simple factors it could be too? i just feel so bad for him because he just looks itchy. imagine if you had a sun burn all over and it started to peel, all those little skin flakes all over your body you have to peel off, back legs arms..... thats what he looks like.i will be at walmart tomarrow looking for test strips.

I suposse it could also be some other factor. Perhaps some kind of external parasite like mites? It would definitely provoque a shedding response.
Also wounds, and infections tend to increase the shedding rate and could affect the shedding process.