Illness/Sickness: Axie's tail disappearing?

Morrison · Oct 12, 2010

In another topic I wrote about my floating axie. He isn't floating anymore.
But he also has something with his tail (I also mentioned that) and I don't know what it is.

So here's a second try, with explanation and pictures.

First: The water parameters are fine, as far as I know:
PH: 6.6
No2: 0
No3: 0-10
Ammonia: 0

Temperature: 19
Tank: 60x30x30 (Jewel tank)
Filter: Internal filter, little bit of flow not to disturb my axie and/or make him stressed
Axie: Young albino, size is about 11 cm. He's the only one in the tank.
I have sand on the bottom (no rocks, gravel, pebbles)
And artificial plants, 3 hides, a pipe and a pingpong ball to play with.

As I said earlier he isn't floating anymore.
He doesn't look stressed. Gills are normal (as well as the size). No curled tail tip.
He's pretty inactive but eats normally.

So here is what's wrong:
It looks like his tail is... disappearing. Like something is eating it away.
(But it doesn't like when another axie ate half of his tail...)
It also looks pretty red sometimes (even if he isn't very active and even when his gills are not so bright red)
I don't see any sings of fungus, other weird things or unwanted creatures.

I do water changes every week as well as yesterday so I'm not sure if it's a water issue...

Does anyone knows what it is? What I can do about it?
I guess it will grow back but I don't want my axie to suffer if I don't do anything when I CAN do anything.

Pictures and drawings about what I mean:
(You can also see that the upper part of the tail fin it's folded over a bit and that it's a bit red because of the bloodvessels... Pretty much looks like it's irritated.)
I also made a "find the difference" kind of picture in paint to see what it was and what it has become....:

daremo · Oct 12, 2010

I would add almond leaves to the tank, I had a similar problem with my axie's fingers and the almond leaves helped a lot, he's not getting reddish toes anymore.
He used to get reddish toes, then they fell off and get fungus... it may be the same issue, I think it was bacterial

Birthdayboy · Oct 12, 2010

I really doubt this could be the problem, but I was reading another post about a Andersoni morphing and the first thing the owner noticed was his tail fin decreasing. So maybe he is starting to morph.

dragonlady · Oct 12, 2010

Axolotls very, very rarely morph...Andersoni are a bit more sensitive to water quality and such. I do not feel that this is a case of morphing at all.

@Morrison - You brought up a good point about the toe problem you had, and while I am not familiar with a tail problem such as what you are having, it could be a similar issue...One thing for certain, almond leaves won't hurt. Try them, the only other thing I would suggest is to fridge him but if it is something in the water, then that wouldn't help all that much...

Have you ever had your water tested for other things such as metals? I wonder if you could get a water report from your local water authority? Sometimes you can find these online...It might be worth taking a look at...

Another note is that the tail fins do change as axolotls change from juvenile to subadult...However, based on your pics (nice drawing too), the tail fin does appear to be a bit diminished beyond that change.

Morrison · Oct 14, 2010

I don't think it's a morphing thing either. I don't see any other signs of possible morphing (and I think I would never have a morphing axie

)

About the metals: I live in a city that is well known because of its "clean" water. I'm still looking for some info about it to see if it's also axie proof. (I let new water 'age' for a day or two before I do a water change, just to make sure)

About red toes. I had another axie in the same tank about 1 or 2 weeks ago (I sold it because it was a bit too.... overcrowded in my room) and I noticed red feet on her too. I just thought that my knibbling lil' albino bit her in the feet again but I guess it's really something that affects my albino's tail.

I've read things about "red leg bacteria". I don't know if it's the same thing and don't know what it really is because my English isn't so great.

About the almond leaves. I tried to look for them but I can't find them anywhere. I had an option to buy them from a website. So I was wondering... Is this something I really need to take care of quickly with the leaves or can it wait (and fridge him until I receive them)

And what do almond leaves actually do? What else are they used for? (Just in case I might need them in the future.... I hope not but... who knows)

(Oh and my axie has a little red spot on his tail now so it looks a bit irritated again... It doesn't look 'blood vessely' at the moment though....)

daremo · Oct 14, 2010

Hi

I got the leaves from this seller on ebay, they arrived quickly
Amy's 50 A+ LARGE INDIAN ALMOND/CATAPPA LEAVES -discus - eBay (item 250535166022 end time Oct-18-10 09:42:41 PDT)
all you do is before adding it to your tank wash them with running water (I do just in case) then you add one leaf into a tank (I think its one per 50 L or something, I add one) and after a day or two it sinks and gets soft
it releases tannins which are natural bactericide, as I said it worked very well on my older axie, and now I am using it for my little one since he's also getting reddish toes (so I guess the problem might be in the water that comes from the building's tank...)

it doesn't hurt, it makes the water somewhat reddish or ambar in color but it looks nice

Morrison · Oct 14, 2010

Thanks very much for the link. These are less expensive than the ones I've found on the internet.

daremo · Oct 14, 2010

it wasn't that bad and she shipped them to argentina, I got them in about 10 days and they cost a lot less than what I can find here for less quality leaves

I hope it works for you too!

Morrison · Oct 15, 2010

I just ordered them today

I hope I'll get them pretty soon to save my cute little axie :wacko:

Morrison · Oct 17, 2010

About the leaves. I thought I was about to get them tomorrow but it will probably turn out tuesday or wednesday...

So: Are there things I can do for my axie until I get the leaves?

And if I have the leaves... Should I rinse them, do something else with them or can I just put them in the tank without any 'treatment' or so?

(Oh, my axie starts loving my fingers

)

daremo · Oct 17, 2010

what I do is rinse them and then add them, that's all
I'm not sure of anything else you can do, have you tested for hardness? maybe it's the same issue with my water which is on the soft side...

my axies love my fingers too, probably because I hand feed them earthworms, they try to eat me all the time hehehe

Morrison · Oct 17, 2010

My parameters at the moment are:
PH: 6.6
KH: 6
GH: 4
No2: 0
No3: 0-10
Ammonia: 0

I hope it's pretty OK. It always stays pretty much the same.

daremo · Oct 17, 2010

mine are similar
PH 7 or 7.5
KH 5 or 6
GH 3
ammonia and nitrites 0

i was wondering if the soft water was the issue... however my little's axies toes seem a lot better now (i added a full almond leaf to a 50x20 tank)

Morrison · Oct 24, 2010

UPDATE:
I don't think he's doing better. I noticed something red (like a bloody scratchy... something) on his tail and now his rear end is ...raised. Like something is stuck inside him. He also don't really like to eat somehow. He only eats when something is dropping in front of him but when something is on the floor he just ignores it.
So the raised tail... could be a sign of a blocking inside. But what? I don't use gravel, just sand, I don't have other things that are "axie-edible" sized.

I just put him in the fridge. Should I also give him a tea bath or so (also in the fridge? Is it possible actually...¿)

I took a close look at his tail and I see that the skin of its tail is somehow.... folded over (see pics below) like it's sticky or so.

Oh and I added an almond leaf to the tank, I don't know if it's actually working. The only thing that has changed dramatically is the... KH-kinda thing in my water. It has lowered extremely! (The rest of the water parameters were still the same...) I also did a water change (maybe that helps, I don't know how else to fix that KH-thingy).

Also... his tail tip looks... weird. (See pic)

Well, so he's in the fridge now. Maybe he poops something out I didn't know it was in my tank (and in m axie ofcourse)

The pics (the first one, the redness on its tail (there are some bloodworms next to him, I tried to feed him, the last one is his "save me!"-face):

bayhicoach · Oct 24, 2010

Morrison said:
Oh and I added an almond leaf to the tank, I don't know if it's actually working. The only thing that has changed dramatically is the... KH-kinda thing in my water. It has lowered extremely! (The rest of the water parameters were still the same...) I also did a water change (maybe that helps, I don't know how else to fix that KH-thingy).

From Aquarium Water Hardness
"Carbonate Hardness

Carbonate, bicarbonate or temporary hardness is formed from the compounds of calcium and magnesium with carbonic acid, i.e. it is the measure of carbonate (CO3-) and bicarbonate (HCO3-) ion concentrations dissolved in the water. It is represented by the letters kH. As with calcium and magnesium, these compounds are also found in town, artesian (bore) and bottled water, and as such, their concentration is dependent on the source of the water and the treatment processes it has undergone.

Carbonate hardness helps stabilize the pH value and prevents dangerous drops in the pH value (acid drop or pH crash). It is sometimes referred to as alkalinity. An aquarium with a low kH level (50 ppm or less) will tend to be acidic. Aquariums with these characteristics are subject to rapid shifts in pH, if not monitored carefully. Water with a high kH level (> 200 ppm) usually has a high pH. The biological breakdown processes in an aquarium or pond, and the carbon dioxide consumption by plants, deplete the carbonate hardness resource in the water. Drastic changes in pH values can harm fish."

From Indian Almond Leaves and Its Purpose for Aquarium Use - Aquaria Central

"Like driftwoods and peat, they [almond leaves] release heavy amounts of tannic acids. You may not like the looks of yellow water but your fish will naturally benefit from its use. The tannic acids will considerably lower the pH level depending on the hardness levels. Allow one large leaf of 8-10 inches per 10 gallons although I admittedly do not follow what is often recommended as I really like the idea of having a leaf litter in my aquaria no matter the size. Removal of tannic acids is done by either use of activated carbon or doing plenty of water changes."

daremo · Oct 24, 2010

the almond leaf in my tanks have not lowered the PH at all... I replace them every 15-20 days and I haven't noticed any change in PH at all, my water is already low in hardness...

I think there's something annoying the axie so he raises the tail, and it looks sore... but I have no idea what it could be, sorry :'(

maybe being in the fridge helps, I hope so

daremo · Oct 27, 2010

I was wondering how your axie was doing?

Today I noticed that my golden has some blood veins showing reddish on the tip of her tail ... I really can't find the cause of this, all I can think about is the water is the issue, there's no substrate in her tank and hardly anything that could hurt her at all

Morrison · Oct 27, 2010

He's not doing better... I guess it's a parasite or something.

I'll make an update in a moment with things I've found and seen on my axie(s).

GazerOfStars · Nov 18, 2011

Forgive me for posting on an old topic, but whatever happened to your Axie?

Morrison · Nov 18, 2011

He got back to normal and became a big boy.
Then I thought it was a cute idea to trade him for a golden female. But she died and now I miss him

Illness/Sickness: Axie's tail disappearing?

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