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White stuff appeared in my axolots gills!

andyarroyave

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Hi guys I have a situation that I want to share with you to see if you can help me. Two weeks ago I started to notice white stuff in my axolot gills and they started scratching them hardly with their legs. For this reason, i started taking them out to a little 8 liter tank and adding 15 tea spoons of sea salt. Some of them appeared to get better but then the white stuff started showing in the rest of them. I have changed 50 % of the water twice now but it doesn’t get better, they are eating fine but it really seems to annoy them. I was wondering if there is a safe way to add something to the water like methylene blue or perhaps any other medicine against fungus in order to stop them for speeding ? I have a medicine for fish called “lifeguard” it comes in pills and contains the following components: chloro-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-4-imidazoline. I just want to proceed with the safest option to stop this issue.
Thanks a lot
Andres
 
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andyarroyave

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Hi daremo thanks for the early response, well the thing is that I have been giving them salt bats fro 3 days now but the fungus continues appearing in them or in others so im afraid that it might be like something in the water that is spreading. As I said I have performed 2 water changes by now but I think it is still remaining in the water and that’s why I think that I might need to add something to the tank.
The most disturbing symptom is that they start scratching their gills really hard and swimming like crazy. One of them developed the with stuff and after taking it into the salt bath the next day the white think was gone along with part of the axolotls’ gill.
Im really concerned about it, and I would appreciate some advice on what to do.
I’ve been hand feeding them with little pieces of the same fish that I buy for myself and the water parameters are this:
temp 18-19 C, General Hardness 180 ppm mg/lt, Carbonate Hardness 0 ppm mg/lt, Ph 7,5, NO2 0,5 ppm mg/lt, NO3 80 ppm mg/lt, ammonia 0,02 ppm.
 

callina

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Hi,

1. your tank isn´t cycled. Ammonia and nitrite should be at 0 and nitrate at 80 is a way too high, too. You should do a 50% water change to reduce the readings. Take a look here: http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

2. salt bathing: 2-3 teaspoon per litre water for 10 minutes, twice a day over 4-5 days.
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/salt.shtml

You should put the axies into fresh and clean water by doing salt baths twice a day, while your tank is cycling.
 

Platterpus

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Hi there...
Are you sure it's fungus? There are other waterborne diseases such as Columnaris which look similar to fungus, but won't respond to salt-bathing, no matter how many times you attempt this. My personal opinion of salt baths is that they can be pretty barbaric and a poor substitute for real medical treatment.
If you want to treat your entire tank then triple-sulpha is probably the safest option but it makes a mess of your set-up, and you'll probably have to restart your cycling process.
If you can get hold of Mercurochrome 2% solution, it is excellent against most infections. Use a few drops per gallon of fresh dechlorinated water and give your axies a bath once or twice a day. We have a lot more success using this method. Hope this helps :happy:
 

andyarroyave

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Thanks a lot guys for the advice ill take from both, ill change 50% of the water again and take them in a small thank with the Mercurochrome 2% solution, I just have some other questions for the tree of you guys:
Question 1:
Ill change 50% of the water and ad the beneficial bacteria, but, I don’t have anywhere else to put the axis while the tank I cycling (I’m still working on getting another thank for this cases) since they are many, so, would it be ok if I perform the water change and I leave them there?
Question 2:
Well I’m not sure if its fungus so I’ll take your advice but, how long should I leave them in the bath with the Mercurochrome 2% solution, and for how many days should I do it?
I also wanted to ask you about the food that I’m giving them, I hand feed them with the same fish that I buy for myself, I cut 2-3 cm pieces and feed them daily with it is it a good food for them or should I change it?
Thanks a lot for your help guys!
 

lea

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hi
you are able to cycle your tank while your axie are in there.....you have to watch the water parameters and do water changes more...... the best food is earthworms but the can have bloodworms, beef heart and fish(and other things) as treats......
lea
 

andyarroyave

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Great advice lea thanks a lot!, and thanks to all of you guys ill let you now how it goes.
 

Platterpus

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Hi again. According to Peter W Scott, you can actually leave an axie in Mercurochrome bath for up to 3 DAYS (!) - but I have never actually done it for this long... If you do a LONG treatment like this then you must keep your axie in fresh water for at least a week between treatments. (Not required if you do the shorter treatments)

My own experience (I have had a lot of success with Mercurochrome) is that 20 minutes per bath is plenty enough for minor infections - will kill it in 1-2 days.

For worse cases (yours sounds severe) I would recommend you bath for 3-4 hours if possible. You can do this every day or even twice a day.
I would also recommend a small paintbrush - you can swab the gills gently with Mercurochrome straight from the bottle (put him in a shallow water container so you can "paint" him). This direct treatment is very effective.
I don't actually have any set rules or guides for Mercurochrome - just use it cautiously and observe your axolotls reactions - he will tell you when he's had enough! It's pretty safe as long as you are sensible! Good luck!

PS - DO NOT put Mercurochrome in your tank!
 
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