Illness/Sickness: Xotl looks awful

Okay, if this isn't the last time that something like this is going to happen (I mean the things that makes me go "WHAT IS IT?!") then I'll stop keeping those two axies. They're a pain in my... back end lately.

A while ago Xotl started to become skinny and he had weird poo. Frangipane had the same thing. Their gills were getting ugly and 'frill-less' too. They both didn't eat. After a month of struggling and being desperate I found out that it was (not 100% sure, but pretty sure) an internal parasite problem and I did a treatment.
After that (I guess a day later) I noticed that their gills were growing back and that my thin Xotl was developing a little belly again. They started to eat normally and looked healthy, as well as their poo.

Happy me. I lost two axies before. My golden axie died how Xotl almost died. And a few months before my wildtype ended up all bloated and died. (I don't have gravel in the tank)

I also redecorated their tank. New white sand, life plants (they always had fake plants in it) and 2 Moai-like things they like to climb on (or to knock over)...

But then:
About 10 days ago their gills started to shrink and become less frilled again. They are not eating. They don't react when I wiggle my fingers above the tank. (They usually look up immediately). They are not moving much. And if they move they walk like they don't have enough strength. Just like a sick person that has to move out of bed but doesn't have the strength to actually stand up and walk.

Xotl (who is a wildtype) also developed some white patches on his skin. Around his mouth and on the toes. Also on his 'knee'. It's not like fungus. It's not like those heat stress white patches. It's something in between. It gets bigger, it's pretty thick (the one on the knee looked a bit like a blister, and most of the time it's like... oval or round shaped) but they will come loose and then it's more like a loose piece of skin... mucus, I don't know.
I don't see anything like that on Frangipane, but she's a leucistic and I see more blood vessels in her tail. It looks like something is irritating them. But they're not scratching gills or something (like they did when they had that internal parasite problem).

2 days ago I thought Xotl was about to die. The way he swam. All wiggly and 'tired'. Also hanging on the surface. Now he's just sitting and hiding, as well as Frangipane. Frangipane is also leaning slightly on her right legs right now. Not standing straight...

Other things you might want to know:
I did a water change yesterday and cleaned every ornament. I had a coconut hide that became a little slimy/fungus-ish and I don't use it anymore.

The water parameters:
Tank size. 80 x 40 x 40 cm.
Temp. 19C.
Ammonia: 0
NO3 25 (This was before I did the water change)
NO2 0

I also added new white sand in it. And I'm wondering if that can also cause their skin to become weird and slimish with bumps and stuff.

I added life plants and a moss ball to the tank and it's not rotting. I checked it yesterday.

I have an internal filter. I also cleaned it.

They have another coconut hide, but this one is totally fine.

I suddenly have some planaria in the tank, but it's not that bad as it was a week or 2 ago.

I also saw a little slimy (not really furry, but it looks a little furry but not like that typical fungus) coating on the Moai and I cleaned them again.

Any idea what this might be and how to get rid of this problem again?
I'm getting SICK of this.

I'll post a picture of Xotl how he looks, but he's hiding right now and don't have proper lightning.

i'm sorry you are going through so much trouble with them

could you try the parasite treatment again? It could have gotten into the tank again. I thibk it would be worth a try

Could one of the new plants be annoying them??? Could there be an ammonia spike because of all the tank changes???
A teabath might help soothe the skin

one of my axies had white patches on the skin like you described, the poor guy didn't make it but I have been told that it was a bacterial problem, one that attacks the skin and gills (I can't quite remember the details) maybe your axie caught it when his immune system was low because of the parasite?

i highly recomend almond leaves or a tea bag in the tank, it can prevent nasties living in the water

honestly, if you're having trouble with them I would just take everything you have out of the tank because it seems like something in there is causing the problem. or possibly a better route would be to go buy a cheap clear plastic storage bin from a store and just fill it with dechlorinated water and change water every day or every other day.

personally, I would fridge them both in seperate containers with lids just to be safe. I would take the advice with the baths (as above) and fridge them for up to a week or until signs of improvement.
also if you think it might be a parasite again, then I would treat for this and then also fridge.
but that's just me haha. I'm sure others can offer better advice.

don't get discouraged, it can be fixed :] good luck!

Alright.
I did another treatment, I have an almond leaf in the tank (and took out some stuff)

They're not swimming that much, they're sitting in the same place the whole day and another thing I noticed in the tank were... cyclops. Probably got in there with the plants. As far as I know they're harmless, but can they somehow parasite the skin of my axies?

They also wiggle their butt/tail sometimes, and then it's like a wiggle every few seconds. About 7 times and then it's over (for a while).

So I don't know if it's because something is irritating their tail/back end or that they can't poop or something (but if they can't poop they usually raise their tails and stand in a 'pooping-position', right?)

The water is now yellowish (almond leaf) and I hope something helps.

I'm not into fridging then, because it went wrong two times (and it were the only two times I did fridging) and I guess the fridge is just weird...

Okay. I guess I have to give up now. Xotl swims/'walks' around like his back end is paralyzed (but It's probably not, because I see him moving those legs) and I see Frangipane doing 'slightly' the same.
I just don't know it anymore.

Okay, if there's someone out there who's actually reading this. Please HELP!?

I don't think it's the internal parasite problem again, but it's something totally different.
They 'shed' a bit, they can hardly walk (they won't use their legs, but they can move them), and when they swim up for air they poke their whole head outside the water before they eventually gulp for air, and when they 'swim' back they just land in the weirdest poses (on their side or with their legs folded under their bodies or other weird things). Like their legs are numb or something.

They're in a bare bottom tub now and I cleaned and disinfected their tank and it's cycling again in case they will SURVIVE THIS! (Stupid things, always happening to me this year...)

Added some pictures.
The first one: Xotl and how the white patches looked a few days ago. Their not bumps anymore, but just shedding white things (similar to those heat stress things, but the temp is just 19C) and he's sitting a little weird with his front leg bent backwards (not really visible on this one, but he usually stands like a gator...)
The second one: Frangipane also has her mouth open all the time, and I don't know what it is...
The third one: Also not really visible, but Frangipane leaning a bit on her side. Her other back leg is just bent underneath her (the little 'red' dot you see at her tail is a toe of her other leg) like it's just numb or something.

Please, don't ignore me Help.
I don't want to lose them.

My axolotl is going thru the same thing as well and I am asking my vet frd. If I know any thing helpful, I will let u know !!! God blessed our little kids !!! :S

Aww
I hope (for both of us and our axies) your vet knows what it is.

No one?

Dont give up! and dont stress, axolotls are tuff critters, give them a chance to heal. A few days in the fridge will help. I dont know what else to do. Sorry. Just dont give up.

Elspeth.

Frangipane is dead

I'm so sorry for your loss. Although, I can see that you really tried your hardest with him/her. You should be proud, it's just that there are some things in life that we can't change.

Good luck with the others.. <3

Thanks. Xotl is moving his legs a little more. But he's still... not the old one.

sorry for your loss. With Axolotls it feels like we're in the dark most of the time in terms of how to help them.

So so sorry for your loss, i know its not going to make you feel any better but I know youve literally tried your hardest to keep them going, and thats all you can do without a magic wand!

Id try cleaning out the tank more often to get rid of anything potentially harmful which we cannot see, like fungus and bacterias and things like that.
Can you not keep the tank nearly bear, i know its not good for stress but if weve irradicated everything else and were doing lots of water changes then i cant see what it could be get MAYBE get rid of all the plants and hides and stuff keep changing water everyday little bits and i saw your against fridging maybe keep some frozen water bottles floating in the water so it slows down whatever is happening to them , and its not good disenfecting your tank could that be whats hurting your lotls? . What do you feed your little ones?

I can only suggest keeping the tank decorative and with hides to a bear minimum to reduce the chances of anything in the tank doing any damage, keep them away from windows, keep them dark as you can obviously they need something im not sure wht your shops sells but ive always found cabomba safe, elodea of all types safe and anubias safe. Do you think it is something in the sand maybe keep a bare bottom tank to monitor what is going on? And ive always found moss balls safe too, so it gives them somewhere to hide. Netting out any poops and changes of 20-25 percent or more if you feel comfortable a day? Sorry i know im probably blabbering on but i really want to help, id keep them for you in my tanks to get them better but theres no room xxxx

Thanks for the reply
I have bought a new axie a while ago (it was also a leucistic, looks a lot like Frangipane with the freckles and things. She had no name so I named her Pangifrane...) and I have her in a bare bottom tank, with a jar to hide in and I'm not planning to put sand in it because I don't know if that caused all the problems or not. The good thing is also that it's easy to clean like this.

The plants are cabomba and something else pretty standard for cold water. I don't have them in the tank, but in a tub with water. Maybe I can use them for something else. Maybe for my vivarium-ish project or something like that.

When I see poo on the floor I immediately want to get it out. I'm always afraid that my axies would stand an dance on it until it turned out into pieces of dirt all over the tank.

Thanks for the tips.

Oh, it looks like Xotl is doing better today. He's still in a tea bath because of his patchy skin. But he's standing on his feet again. He won't eat.

Instead of using the evil fridge I can also put him in a cool box with ice packs and a towel on top of it. It saved my babies when the temperature in my room got pretty high last summer.

Yay, he finally ate a worm
After about... 2-3 week.