Illness/Sickness: Damaged gills

Hello all,
i recently adopted a white axolotl from a friend of mine, so im very new at trying to care for her. i just came back from a 14 day trip to find that she has gotten kind of sick, and im not sure what to do. i asked my mom to look after her while i was gone and thats when things started to turn sour. the water color turned kind of yellow but most disturbing was that her gills seem to be falling off, about two days before i got home. they've turned grey and floppy at the top and have mostly desintegrated. the bottom half still looks healthy. theres been a recent heat wave in my city and the tank temp jumped to 74 which ive been keeping down with ice bottles. i did a 50% water change as soon as i got home and another 50% today. aside from her worrisome gills she seems ok, shes walking around a bit more than usual and taking gulps of air. she also has some feeder goldfish and white cloud minnows in there as well and two of the gold fish were seen nibbling on her gills so they were removed. she hasnt eaten since tuesday although today i got her to eat one live earthworm, another she spit back out. (i usually feed her dry pellets, worms as a treat.) since i got back on friday she looks stable, but no significant improvement. should i put her in the fridge?? the fridge temp right now is 0 celsius.
thanks for your help!!

Hi there,

1) Check your water parameters - ammonia, nitrites, nitrates.

2) Try lower the temperature of the tank to a stable cool temperature.

3) Fridging is helpful. However, your fridge temperature should be at 5 degree celsius. Zero degree celsius is way too cold. You can put the axie in the fridge but NOT the freezer.

4) Try offer live wriggly worms - earthworms, blackworms to keep up its nutrition.

Cheers.

thanks. i checked the water, Ph is 7, ammonia is .5 ppm, and nitrite is 0. i dont have a nitrate test kit, but i could take a water sample to my local fish store. she did eat one earthworm yesterday, and ive gotten the temperature down to 68F.
also, what exactly does fridging do?

Fridging at 5 degree celsius will destress the axie, boost its immune system, accelerate healing and regeneration, and render harmful pathogens less proliferative so that the axie's own immune system can counter them naturally.

Hello

If you have access to live earthworms (that, most importantly, are from a pesticide-free garden), I would recommend that you feed this as a staple diet, rather than as a treat, as it's the most nutricious food you can give your axie - pellets are good too, but if you have access to worms, seems a shame not to use them as a staple. :happy:

Zoe x

my back yard is pesticide free, however finding enough worms for her may be a challenge. i'll see what i can do though thanks! she's already looking a lot better, and her gills are starting to grow back. however, her appetite is not stellar, and anything she eats she spits out again, including worms! shes lost weight, but not too bad yet. any advice?

Is the axie still in the fridge? When the temperature drops below 10 degree celsius, axies may regurgitate/spit out food because their digestion slows down. The best way to overcome this is to feed very tiny slivers of food (or live blackworms) that are very easily digestible.

Alternatively, if the axie is recovering well, and the ambient temperature is cool and stable, you can house her in a hospital tank where its warmer than the fridge but cool enough for comfort. At that temperature range, the axie should be able to hold down the food ingested.

no i havent put her in the fridge yet. shes still in her main tank, which is at 19C i can lower it a little more if i put ice bottles in there. she is recovering, her gills are growing back nicely, but shes not eating. i put 2 tbsp of aquarium salt in the tank a couple days ago on advice from my local fish store (they have some experience with axies). the tank is 30g, but im keeping it a little low for ease of water changing.

I have never used aquarium salt or given a salt bath before, as have not needed to, but from reading various posts on this forum, I am under the impression that a salt bath is only used if your axie has fungus - and your axie should only be in the salt bath for a maximum of 15 minutes as prolonged exposure can damage their skin.

I'd be inclined to take your axie out the tank and pop in the fridge in a tub of fresh dechlorinated water, without any salt.

Zoe x

thanks zoe. this sunday i have to go to a wedding and i will be out of town for 4 days. im not sure if i should put her in the fridge while im gone, or wait until i come back, as im not sure who i could get to change the water while im gone.

A bit of aquarium salt in the tank shouldn't be an issue. The water hardness will be raised. The problem occurs when too much salt is added causing excessive salinity that can affect axolotl skin and gill health.

Have a look at this link.

http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/vacation_care.shtml

Cheers