Illness/Sickness: Gills atrophying and turning red, regurgitates, lethargic

Dear Forum Members,
I was wondering if anyone knows what is going on.
I gave some information as to where I got my axolotl in my introduction.
We live in Japan. He is one year old.

He has had repeat episodes of white fluffy fungus, which we get rid of by putting him a half litre of water and 2tsp of dissolved salt for 20 minutes once or twice a day. This doesn't seem to happen much in the winter because the water is cold.

However, for the past 3 or four months, his gills have gotten smaller. Red dots appeared on the tips of the feathery things. Th worst ones are turning dark red and atrophying, from the bottom gills up. We have tried the salt. It doesn't work.

About the same time this started, he began regurgitating his food. He stopped eating his pellets. Then we tried minnows, which he ate for a few weeks and then started to regurgitate them, too (gory). Then we started feeding him frozen blood works, which is what he gets fed now. He likes them, but he regurgitates about half, until he fianlly gets most down. It takes him a long time. We are worried that he might have some sort of internal problem. Also, dark red bloody-looking blistery dots like the ones on his gills have appeared on his tail. He has two.

By the way, around the beginning we asked the pet shop people and they said to put in a stronger filter, the hanging kind. So we did. But he hates the current. Also, it occurred to me that if their bodies change so much, the gills might actually atrophy to adjust to the amount air in the water. He is in a 25 liter tank. We have lowered the pump flow level as much as possible, and it seems better, but he really seems to like the bubble pump the best, and plays in the bubbles. Should we get rid of the hanging filter pump, or is it necessary? In the summertime, the water gets kind of nasty, and we have to change it like every week or sooner in the hottest months, but the hanging pump seems to be the best at getting the water clean.

Thank you so much for your help.
Sincerely,
Sofia

Hi Sofia,

We're going to need some more information before we can suggest anything. Please bear with me about all the questions.

How big is your tank? What are the parameters - pH, ammonia, Nitrite/nitrate levels? What is the temp of your tank now? What does the temp go up to in the Summer? What do you mean that the water gets nasty in the Summer?

Do you have access to earthworms - live worms?

Thanks, we want to help you and your cutie there.

How often do you do water changes? And 25L is a bit small. Do you have a picture of the entire setup?

As just an off the cuff comment, I'd leave the filter on and divert/block/disperse the water flow.

Hi Sofia

I have a few questions for you -

1) The salt baths you are giving for fungus - what kind of salt are you using? As table salt is not recommended (just mentioning in case you are using this).

2)As mentioned above, your water parameters are incredibly important - this includes temperature, cleanliness, ammonia & nitrite levels, current etc.

*Temperature-wise, you want to be aiming for 16-18oC - anything over 24oC is going to make your axie seriously ill. I would suggest searching the site for cooling methods if you are unable to get an aquarium chiller.

*Cleaning-wise, in addition to spot cleaning any mess in the tank (turkey baster is good for this), I would recommend doing a 20% water change once a week, using fresh, cold, de-chlorinated water - really important to ensure that only de-chlorinated water is used.

*Ammonia and nitrite tests - really important - do one every week or more if needed - but avoid the dip stick ones as they are not completely accurate.

*I would recommend removing the larger filter - axies, as a rule, do not like strong currents in their tank - some will enjoy bubbles and the such-like (mine sometimes lies under the hose from his water chiller), however, they need a chance to get away form the currents too, which a stronger filter will not allow. If you have a smaller filter, probably best to use this - however, if this is your only filter, I would recommend using stones etc to reduce the output flow.

3)Do you have adequate hidey places for your axie - because they do not have eyelids, this means they are particularly sensitive to light and need places to hide in, such as half logs etc - again, searching or looking on the axie site/galleries will give you ideas.

4)What size is your tank in cms or inches? I'm not very good with proportion, but it sounds quite small?

5)Believe someone has already mentioned this above, but a change in diet culd be in order - live earthworms (nightcrawlers) are the most nutricious food you can feed your lottle...plus, they are all wiggley, so, like a game and a meal in 1 for your axie.


Thanks

Zoe x

The only other thing is that 20 minute salt baths is too long, 10 minutes is much more effective.

Hi Sofia,
The second photo in your post seems to show a white tuft on one of the gills which looks very suspiciously like Columnaris, a bacterial infection which thrives in dirty water, or, in water which fluctuates in temperature. 25 litres is a small amount of water and is very difficult to keep at a constant temp – this will promote outbursts of Columnaris, especially in warmer weather. Identifying the difference between fungus and Columnaris is fairly easy if you know what to look for – fungus appears as either a slimy coating, or as fluffy “strands”, whereas Columnaris looks more like cotton wool, and tends to appear as little “balls”. My own experience is that salt baths are totally useless against Columnaris. I’m a little bit worried that the bleeding gills and blisters you mention are actually the result of SALT.
I always use Mercurochome to treat Columnaris, and it is devastatingly effective, without causing your axolotl distress. I remove my axie from the tank and put him in a small container with just enough water to cover him, then I apply the Mercurochrome directly to the affected area with a small paintbrush. He can return to the tank immediately after treatment – take care not to get Mercurochrome in your tank as it will kill the bacteria in your filter. You can repeat this treatment as often as you feel it is required – though once or twice a day for 2-3 days is usually enough to kill it.
Is your axie actually vomiting? Or is he just spitting it out? Columnaris is notorious for infecting inside the mouth, and is sometimes called “mouth-rot” in fish, and can make it difficult for the animal to swallow. Regurgitation is usually a sign of something more sinister.

Thank you so much everyone for your kindness in responding so thoughtfully to our call for help!!

Sorry, I haven't figured out how to use this system, and couldn't figure out how to get to the thread... none of the messages were in my inbox and I am not automatically connected to my own post... I must be doing something wrong.

Anyway, we tried out a medication sold here in Japan called Gold-F. I searched around for the active ingredients, Nitrofurazone and Sulfadiazine, and they seemed to be OK according to the forum and the net, so we went ahead. He didn't struggle at all in the meds, and when he got out, he was back to his former self from MONTHS ago! We are so happy. There are still a few spots on his gills, but he seems worlds happier.

He does have hiding spots, and we turned down the water to a minimum. We will start the bubbler as suggested, he really seemed to enjoy it before we changed to the filter. I will post more later.

Again, thank you all so much!!!!! Our Upie is back!

Glad to hear things have improved, and once you get the hang of the forums it's pretty easy. It seems there are still some improvements you can make to Upie's tank, but it's fantastic to hear he is doing better.