Illness/Sickness: Fungus/salt bath advise

hi all

i am currently dealing with a pretty bad case of fungus all over my poor axie's gills so he is in the fridge at the moment while i am giving him salt baths..

the problem is.. i ran out of aquarium salt yesterday so i bought some more from a different pet shop than i normally visit - i've just begun mixing it and realised its really really poor quality stuff and theres thousands of little white bits (doesnt even look like salt at all) so I am extremely reluctant to use it. :uhoh:

all the pet shops are closed now (its late evening here) and the only salt i have handy it coarse sea salt... i know this will take a lot longer to dissolve but is it safe to use? obviously i am going to visit my usual (more reliable) pet store tomorrow when they are open to get some more aquarium salt but is Sea Salt ok for one salt bath tonight?

also, this is the 3rd fungal infection i have had to deal with in the last month or two so clearly there is some kind of infection in the tank... i have cleared out all the pebbles that were in there trapping debris, i have also siphoned it thoroughly a few times as well as clean the glass inside etc... is there anything else that i can do??

thanks in advance!

ciao

Hiya
If the salt from the pet shop is non iodised then it will be fine. (what brand is it?)

Unless the sea salt says non iodised do not use it. It contains iodine.

What are the temps in the tank?

Mel

hi

the new stuff i bought is "Jungle Trade Supplies - Aquarium Tonic Salt" this is exactly what is says on the tub:

"Aquarium Tonic Salt has been scientifically formulated to provide all the essential elements that your fish need to survive in an aquarium. This product contain potassium, Chlorides, Magnesium and Sodium, all of which are required to maintain a natural balance for fresh fish."

the salt i bought first time came in a box with instructions etc and looked very professional (and it was cheaper!) whereas this stuff came in a little tub and what i have written above is actually EVERY word on the whole container!

my tank temp is currently 13 degrees (its freezing here as you know!) and its been lower than that recently...

any other suggestions at all? your help is greatly appreciated!

thanks!
ciao

It looks safe to use.
Some salts are very salt looking others have great big beads in them.

I would assume they all do the same thing.

If the fungus is bad i would use it.

Do you have more than one axolotl in the tank? Do you know the parameters of the water?

Mel

yes i have two axolotls in a 3ft tank - one wildtype and one leucistic. the wildtype caught a fungal infection on his gills firstly, i salt bathed him and got him back to health and then the same axie got an infection on one of his fingers (strange.. think he must have caught is on something..) but now the leucistic axie has a pretty bad infection all over his gills the wildtype is back to his good old self, fungus free! (i hope it stays that way)

ok i will do a salt bath with the new stuff tonight (its only a once after all) and go back to the good stuff tomoro..

i will test the parameters now - to be honest, now you mention it, i havent checked them in a while

can bad ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels cause fungal infections?

Yes, bad water can be partly responsible for fungus.

Mel

Having poor water can make animals stressed, leaving them more susceptible to fungal infections.

it seems you guys have lived up to your expert reputation! my parameters were terrible so i am currently in the process of doing 50% changes until they return to acceptable levels! so thank you guys for your advise.

one more thing - this may seem like a stupid question, but what colour are the feathery part of a leucistic's gills supposed to be?

it looks as though all of the fungus has now gone but the feathery part of his gills are completely white (they are usually pink/red as you know) is this normal for a leucistic when fridged?

thanks again!
ciao

They can be really variable. Some leucistics have dark gills. Others will have light gills. All of them will have redder gills when they're more active, like when they're hunting or fighting with each other. They will be paler when they're 'sleeping' or in the fridge because they'll have lower blood flow; they need less oxygen when they're not moving.

In the fridge, expect them to be paler.

thats what i was thinking - since they dont necessarily need much oxygen with the lower metabolism and less movement etc. then there wouldnt be much blood passing through the gills.. but in your opinion, should they be completely white? i will try and get a decent photo so you can see what i mean...

also, his fingers have also gone dark/dirty looking - is this related to the fungal infection? they were never like that before this episode!

thanks again for taking the time to help little Chico!

ciao

I've never kept an adult-size leucistic, so I fear I can't give you a solid answer.

As for the toes, often leucistics toes will change colors, getting darker with sexual maturity. Sometimes this reverses and they go white again. It's just one of those things.

oh ok brilliant - thanks again for your help!