white spots on our babies

burgo · Mar 15, 2009

we've got two babie axies which have developed white spots. ive been away so left my mum in charge to feed them and her eyes not being what they used to be she didnt see the spots. i would like to do salt baths and fridge them but i have a couple of questions

1. being as they are babies do i use the same concentration of salt as normal. 2-3 tespoons per litre? and by babies being there back legs are just developing.

2. i remember reading somewhere that if an axie has undigested food in its stomach for to long it can poison them. so i was wondering if im better off not feeding them for a couple of days to let there big bellies go down abit before fridging them? as i understand fridging them slows there metobolic rate and therefore they wont digest it as quick.

Jennewt · Mar 15, 2009

Can you describe better what you mean by "white spots"? You have the right ideas regarding treatment, but before doing any of that it would be good to confirm that you are seeing something abnormal, not just the development of some aspect of normal pigmentation.

Also, when you say "babies", what size and age are they?

burgo · Mar 15, 2009

its defintely abnormal and its not the pigmentation either

to be honest ive forgot how old they are but they are about 30-35mm long

i tried getting a picture but its abit hard.

ferret_corner · Mar 15, 2009

what is that rod thing at the bottom?

burgo · Mar 15, 2009

its a heater. im in the uk lol

rick · Mar 15, 2009

Why do you have a heater in your axolotl tub? and how often do you clean is tub? I would use some sort of fungus cure, Jungle Lab always works for me.

burgo · Mar 15, 2009

we have a heater because they are in a very cold room. we change 50% of he water every couple of days and fish out the **** every day

michael · Mar 15, 2009

I'd get rid of the heater. They should be fine down to almost freezing.

burgo · Mar 15, 2009

i figured a constant stable temperature would be better for them as they grew instead of fluctuating

Kerry1968 · Mar 15, 2009

To me it looks the normal white spots you see in baby axolotls, I assume you mean the spots on the head?
As far as the temperature goes, they will be fine at a lower temperature but they will grow slower. I had a couple of babies (mistakenly) in a tank outside and they are a lot smaller than their siblings, but healthy.
Do you have a thermometer in with your babies? If the temperature is above 10 degrees I would expect them to be fine, below this they eat and grow less. (I hope someone will correct me if I'm wrong here)
Also, I would be careful using fish medication as mentioned above, they're not always safe for axolotls. If there is definately fungus, salt baths and fridging is the recommended route to take.
Please don't salt bath your babies unless you are positive it's fungus.
Good luck.

burgo · Mar 15, 2009

yes i have a thermometer in there as well even tho the heater has a temperature setting on it aswell. its set to 20 degree's and the thermometer confirms this. the white spots aren't just on the head they are all over it.

Kerry1968 · Mar 15, 2009

I think 20 degrees is on the border line of being too warm. If they have got fungus it won't help having a warmer temperature. I would take the heater out and let the water return to the ambient temperature in the room. Keep an eye on the babies and see if the 'fungus' gets worse. You may find the cooler temperature will help them to fight off any bacteria or fungus without the need of salt baths.

burgo · Mar 15, 2009

i had it set on 20 as i read 18-22 was best for baby axies. i also read a post from a breeder on here that he had his at 22. i have taken the heater out now and the temperature is down to 17 at the moment

inkozana · Mar 15, 2009

There is fungus on your babies, a lot of it. I don't know how many babies you have but if you can, seperate the ones with fungus from the ones that look to be okay.
But by the look of that one, I wouldn't be surprised if they all had it.

Babies need constant food, I used to feed mine twice a day with lots of cut up blackworm.. Remove the uneaten food from the tank as well. I would personally not be giving my babies salt baths, they are too young and not even fully developed yet.

Please do not use "Jungle Lab" as it takes away a lot of the natural bacteria in the tank and it is not safe for baby axolotls, it's not even recommended for axolotls.
In my experience with fungus cures in tablet form, they didn't get rid of any fungus on my axolotl, they merely got rid of bacteria in the tank, as I mentioned before.

Please have read up on this site http://www.axolotl.org/health.htm for helpful information about diseases/infections/parasites as well as how to go about treating your axolotl for them.

Darkmaverick · Mar 16, 2009

Hi Burgo,

Im afraid it is positive identification of a fungal infection. Have a look at this link.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/why_larvae_die.shtml

Fungal infections are opportunisitic so there must be an underlying condition. Normally environmental or nutritional stress is the primary cause.

Looking through the points in the above link, rule out or rectify any nutritional or environmental stressors. Ensure optimal tank conditions and nutrition and do no other treatments for 2 weeks but just observe and monitor. If the fungal infection persists or deteriorates, salt baths are probably the way to go. http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/salt.shtml

Cheers.

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