Gills are practically gone... what is going on??

I am sorry this is so long, I just didn't know for sure what background info would be helpful...

I have 2 axolotls. My wildtype has had issues from the start, and though I feel I have provided him with the best situation possible he continues to have issues. When I first got him he was in VERY poor conditions, maybe 2 inches long missing a leg and a couple feet. I got him from a website, and when they shipped the poor little guy to me there was a heat pack inside the box! That immediately struck me as odd, since I had been reading on this forum for a while before I got him.

So I fussed over him for about a month in a 10 gallon tank until he grew enough strength to eat earthworms and be put into his larger, permanent home.

His gills have been slowly getting smaller since the very start. At first I was bummed, because the pretty maroon feathery parts were gone. Now his actual gills look like they are starting to completely disappear. I can post some pictures tonight.

About a month ago we went out of town, and when I returned the water was in pretty bad shape (my roommate dropped the ball...). My ammonia levels were up, as well as nitrates and nitrites. I started doing daily 20% water changes... finally things are back down to normal.

My other axolotl seems to be loosing some of her gills now too... ugh so frustrated.

So at the worst they were in poor water conditions for a week and a half, then I spent another week or so getting the water back to normal. Temp is steady at 60 degrees, they are in a 29 gallon tank, eating regularly, pooping regularly... no behavioral issues.

I feel so frazzled, I have no idea what I am doing wrong. Please if anyone has any ideas tips whatever... I am at my wits end with my axolotl problems.

All you can really do is get them back to proper conditions and see what happens from there. Keep them on a proper diet, in clean, fresh water, and hopefully things will improve.

Pictures will help but he COULD be morphing. Sounds like the previous owners had no idea what they were doing.

Should be able to tell more from pics. Esp close ups (if you can) of the head/gill region

I got him from Wards science BTW

Thanks guys, I will post some pics. I have the ammonia and nitrite levels back to 0, so hopefully things will improve.

Morphing is an extremely rare occurrence in axolotls so we try not to suggest something like that unless it turns out that we are not talking about axolotls but rather tiger salamanders that are sometimes mistaken for axolotls in their larval forms.

Of course pics can always give great information to us and are always encouraged, but in the mean time, I would agree with Eric and wish you all the best with them.

What type of filtration are you using, and was your tank cycled prior to your trip? It sounds almost like your cycle crashed and started again...

Yes, I have been reading a ton about morphing, I am definitely NOT trying to make him morph, just trying to figure out what's going on with him...

I have had him in extremely good water conditions since I got him, unfortunately his gills were already disappearing before my trip.

I had my tank running perfectly for a few months before the trip. Fully cycled, running a Fluval 205 with it cut down to half flow and a spray bar to reduce flow. When I came back from my trip I was so distraught about my water conditions that i did a 60% water change thinking the biomedia in my canister filter would be able to handle it, but I think it did crash

Well here are the pictures I got last night. I had to use my phone... kinda crappy pictures sorry.







Here is Judy...

Well, you can be assured that neither of your axolotls is morphing. Again, let me re-iterate that morphing is extremely rare in axolotls and most likely you will end up losing an axolotl before it morphs. Misinformation can be extremely detrimental.

Since it is the fimbriae (the soft, feathers on the gill stalks) your axolotls have lost and I don't see any cottony growth, I would suspect poor water quality is the culprit.Given better water conditions, your axolotls should regrow their fimbriae in time. Keep your water parameters monitored and feed your guys some nice juicy nightcrawlers, they should recover. Some axolotls are more sensitive to small levels of ammonia (even .25), causing them to lose fimbriae and/or even their appetites.

Ammonia would be my first guess in your case, but other parameters (nitrites/nitrates) could have affected them. If your cycle has crashed as I suspect, then you will need to closely monitor all of your parameters until you get back on track. Best of luck and thanks for the pics.

I never even mentioned morphing, and have not been misinformed. I was simply wondering why his gills were disappearing... someone else mentioned the morphing thing.

What makes no sense is that he lost his gills far before the incident with my tank crashing, and before that his water parameters were perfect. I had him in a 10 gallon tank, and did full water changes daily with dechlorinated water. When he was strong enough to eat earthworms, I switched him to a 29 gallon fully cycled tank. He began loosing his gills right before his switch to the bigger tank.

By fully cycled, I mean the ammonia and nitrites were at 0. Even though there was not even a trace of ammonia his gills disappeared. I use accurate drip tests, so I really really really don't think that poor water quality could be the culprit.

All in all they had a 2 week period out of their whole existence with me where the water had any ammonia in it.

I guess I give up...All I can do is just keep doing what I am doing.

Please don't give up. I was not referring to your post about morphing but it did worry me to see you mention it in your post - "...I am definitely NOT trying to make him morph..." so I wanted to make sure the rarity of morphing is understood and that one cannot "make" their axolotl morph. I apologize that you took offense, none was intended.

Okay, if water parameters are not the problem when you noticed this beginning. FYI - typically strip tests are not 100% accurate, drop style are much more reliable.

Were the ends of his gills diminishing? From your photo, this is not clear and looked to be a water quality related problem. Your photo is from now, yes? When the gills could be on the mend? Long story short - did they ever look anything like the photos in this thread?

No offense taken
I appreciate you trying to help me figure out what is going on.

Gonzo's gills kinda looked like Judy's do in this picture, and it just got worse and worse



I can't tell for sure what is going on... but it's almost like the gills start to almost have tine knobs on the end of them, and they just are thinning out in general.



I am just so worried that hers are going to end up like Gonzo's!

This is Gonzo when he was a baby, 5 months ago, with his big puffy gills.



Yes, the first batch of photos, and the ones of Judy in this post are both recent. It almost looks like Gonzo has the beginning of the filaments starting to reform.

Oh I forgot to mention I do use the drip test kits, I love testing my water... I feel like a scientist

Heya, I had a similar thing happen with my Izzie... i was quarantining him in a 4L chunky ears box, Fresh tank water every day (similar to the dam water she was in before) and although it was slightly warmer in the water than i'd've liked (22.5c)(ironically cooler than her previous situation, and the mortality rate for his brothers, sisters and fifth cousins twice removed is well below .5%), nothing to really say "you're in serious trouble, mate!". So moved her into a larger 13L, exactly the same setup in his chunky box, and 12 hours later I go to check on him, all the gill filaments are gone...got my water tested up at the shop, nothing out of whack, bar pH at 8.0... Totally freaked, as i'm guesing you did, happy camper. Izzie went straight into the fridge for a week, and his gills began to spike up a little. Three weeks later, he's out in the 4 ft tank with Peta and Bertie and every day I can see some difference.

I suppose i'd best summarise my ramblings: have hope. They're ridiculously resilient, and you obviously love them to bits! I expect someone will jump on me and growl blue murder, but perhaps (as long as he's eating well!) give him a week in the fridge to kickstart the healing process?
All the best!
Caitie/Minnie

Caitie, I think I just went cross-eyed trying to read your post! lol I've considered the fridge option here too so with that in mind...I have more questions... Glad things worked out for you, Caitie.

At this point, water quality issue aside, I would suspect either parasites or the gill infection I gave you the link to. Do you ever see them scratching their gills? swimming erratically? If so, then you could have a parasite issue. Despite our best efforts, these things sometimes manage to invade anyway.

I haven't noticed any scratching of the gills. Swimming erratically the only thing that comes to mind is when they go up to get air they do it kind of crazy like, and nose dive back into the sand. Could just be silly axolotl behavior though

I will keep an eye on it though! Most of the pictures in that link seem way worse than anything I have seen in their gills... But the very last picture in the thread, almost looks like how Judy's look now... almost thicker or something.

gills are usually a good indicator of the overall health of your animal.

I had a axie once who had gills that grew huge in the space of only 3 days, turns out the water was not oxygenated enough.

I think you have a water quality issues. what they are, I don't know.