I'm so worried Help Please...

Hello all I am new to the forum. I have read thread after thread and as far as sick axolotls go I think mine is in distress because of the temp in my tank.

I came home from work this last Friday and noticed a small white fleshy spot on my Axels (his name is Axel) side. I first thought that it may have been stuck against the filter while sleeping and had some flesh worn away. So initially I didn't even think about the tank temp. However the next day was very hot and when I woke I found my pour Axel with a plecostomus sucking at his side... I freaked and immediately did research to see what his possible aliments could be. Upon learning about "frigging" I moved him to a temporary home in our fridge.

As of now he has been in the fridge for three days, and his injury/ailment doesn't look worse but doesn't look better either.He also appears to have some raised skin on his other side.

I understand that his metabolism will slow and that he may not eat, but do I need to keep trying to feed him, or just let him be for now.( been giving him earth worms/ghost shrimp/guppies/blood worms) He is about a year and a half old and this is the first trouble I have had with him.

We recently moved into our new home and I do think that its much hotter in this house even though we only moved across the street. I have already purchased a fan to get some surface movement on the tank water, and I have Onyx sand for substrate. Tank temps right now before the fan is installed are at 75-77 and I know that's high. Hopefully the fan will bring the temp down a few degrees and I am also working on getting my a/c installed as well. I am pretty sure its not ick.

All in all I am freaked out and want to do everything possible to help him recover, Im just stressing so much right now.

Hopefully I have provided enough info for some of you more knowledgeable types to add your two cents.

I will upload pictures of his injury/sickness in just a little bit, I had trouble getting registered on the forum so I am eager to hear any helpful advise. i love my Axel.

Oh geez, I almost forgot... Axel has no lungs on the outside of his head, I cant tell if they are growing back or not... I've read that extreme stress can cause them to metamorph, but I know the odds are against that... just wanted to have all the info on the table.

Please Help... at this point I just really want someone to tell me to keep at what Im doing, I have read so much I cant think to do anything else.

if you have him in the fridge you have done the right thing.......what are your water parameters???? you will need to 100% water changes while he is in the fridge....also make sure you put another bottle of treated water in the same area as he is...thihs will be used for the water changes...this way you wont stress him more because of the water temps are different.....his feeding will slow down but you could give him a earthworm and he might have a snack when noone is looking ....be sure to take any remains out .....it will turn your water yuk......
you shouldnt have pleco in with axies....i would remove them before you put your axie back
as for the temp you could add frozen water bottles in the tank.....this is not perfect and it can be a bit tricky.....you have to replace them before they are completely melted.......good luck...i hope this helps
someone with more experence will chime in soon

Thank you.

I have additional water in the fridge to do the 100% changes...this forum was a fantastic help to me when I started freaking out.

Is it ok to just leave the uneaten worm in the water that he is in for an hour or so? I have been taking him out of the fridge and dangling it in front of his mouth for about 5min before I give up and put the worm away and place him back in the fridge.

I have a 30G tank and I have no ammonia, and my PH is at 7.1 right now. I do a 25% water change every weekend so once a week.

i have left a live worm in the with mine over night and when i changed the water i changed the worm...he can stay on holidays for a couple of months....hang in there.......a water chiller is the only way to have the tank at the same temp but they are a bit pricey....well over here they are.......

Thank you so much for your help. I really needed to hear that I was doing good at this point, I'll get pics up asap. I'm going to go put a worm in with him now.

cool bananas......someone with more knowledge will jump in soon........remember to get the other fish out, the fish can hurt your axie ......

Hi, sorry to hear about poor Axel.
Good advice from the last post, do you have any "aquarium salt" as opposed to table salt? Also, strange as it may seem, tea-bags? As in black tea (or as a Brit I'd say 'real' tea!). The tannin in the tea can be beneficial, I've read.
Before you do anything, wait till an experienced forum member has posted advice.
But the chances are you might need these handy.
Photos are always a bonus, as well.
Hope this helps, welcome to the forum, by the way

Sorry to hear about your axie, but hope you have taken Lea's advice and removed the offending fish.

Fridging him is wonderful and as Ken mentioned, a tea bath could also be beneficial. Check out how to do this at Tea Bath. The Tea procedure is about midway down the page.

Photos would be very helpful too. Please keep us posted.

the most is told, but can you provide some pictures, please. One pic close to the wound and another from the whole axie?

I've got a quarantine tank that I'll move the placo to, I also took pics and should be able to upload them tonight.
I left a earth worm in the container that he is in currently and he didn't eat it over night so I removed it this morning upon giving him his 100% water change. Still no sign of the injury getting worse or better, I'm sure it can take weeks to heal so I'll do my best to be patient.


Just want to say thanks for the support, I cant help but stress for my pet.

it´s a good sign that there hasn´t developed fungus or an infection, so your doing a good job.

Axel was dead when I got home from work today. I'm devestated...


Thanks you to those that were kind enough to try and reassure me in the short period that I have been on this forum. I loved my axie and I did everything that was in my power to take care of him...

I dont know what else to say at this point, i am so sad.

I'll miss you Axel....

Here are two photos that I took yesterday. The spots appeared over night and he was frigged the very same morning that I saw he was hurt.

If anyone knows what this is or has an idea please throw it out there... Axel is gone but I'd sure like to know if this was a placo that killed him or heat stress... those are the only two things that make since to me. He was fine in the tank just the way he was for over a year and a half.

jesse.... im so sorry to hear about axel.....i can't open your photos but im sure someone will be able to shed some light on the issue..

I can't say I've ever seen a pleco "bitemark" before but they are very aggressive. It does look like the pleco got him and got him good too. I am so sorry he didn't make it. I know you tried your best.

I am so so very sorry to hear about your loss..:sad:

I bought my 2 foot tank for £1.24 on 'Ebuy' including lights, filter, heater, etc.
It was bought locally, so after it was delivered, I removed the 300w heater to find that it was set at 86 F......I contacted him to ask what was in the tank before (as I was curious, at that temp) and apparently he kept 2 plecostomus catfish!!!
It looks like he was trying to cook them and cramp them.....
Here's a link which I think is relevent;
Caudata Culture Articles - Species Mixing Disasters

Basically, the pleco did the damage it seems (wound the size of a pleco's mouth?) and the heat exacerbated the situation......the axie's immune system couldn't cope with the added stress of a fungal infection and the ambient temperature (rarely have I seen Plecos in a pet-shop with 'accurate' info)

People keep small corydoras catfish with Axies to eat algae......but it DOESNT work...the axie chokes.....as the link demonstrates (graphically)

As I said, I'm so sorry for your loss , but there's great info on this site to help you keep the next little guy smiling.....

Don't feel too bad, it just means that your next little 'addition' will be treated like royalty :wink:

Ken Worthington said:

Basically, the pleco did the damage it seems (wound the size of a pleco's mouth?) and the heat exacerbated the situation......the axie's immune system couldn't cope with the added stress of a fungal infection and the ambient temperature (rarely have I seen Plecos in a pet-shop with 'accurate' info)

Click to expand...

I would agree with this.
Its best to keep axies with axies only as the link above shows.

Sorry for your loss

Mel

Once again thank you all for the support and info. I'm Still very sad, but whats to be expected when you love your pets with all your heart.

Hope to post up pictures of a new health axolotl in the future... but for now Im going to take a break and get conditions perfect... I had no idea that a placo could cause such an injury... I wish I didnt have to find out the hard way.