Illness/Sickness: HELP! Gills are turning BLACK and tail is curling

So my poor little Roosevelt's gills look terrible. Now he seems happy, and is eating normally, but upon close inspection today, I noticed that his tail looks a bit curled at the end -which I read is a sign of stress/problems- and then I saw his gills. I have attached a picture to help explain the situation.

Now in comparison to the photos people have posted here of their precious axolotls, Rose's gills were never long and flowing. They were rather stunted since we got him a couple of years ago. And he has always been small, though he gets fed juicy eathworms all the time. I have just come to accept that he is a small guy, with little gills, BUT, this state does not look healthy to me.

Now in comparison to the blackened side, you can see one of his nice red gills on the other side has yet to be affected, but it may only be a short time before that one goes too. I don't know the specific water paramaters, but every time I get them checked, they seem to be fine. It is time though for his 2-3 week water change. Water temperature is cool.

Is this a fungal infection? Bacterial? I though these culprits are usually they are white in color? Please help a concerned parent!!!!

Next time you get your water checked, you should ask them for specifics. I've had people recommend so many products for me when i mention that i have a tank, that apparently work fine for fish...and when i tell them i have an axolotl, they shrug and say "oh should be fine too". Obviously I'm not getting anything my LFS tells me too without MUCH other research, but they could be telling you your parameters would be fine for FISH but not necessarily axolotls.

Hope your little guy gets better, i hope you get some good experienced replies!

Can anyone out there provide some advice please???? Why do axolotl gills start to deteriorate, and how can they be helped to regenerate without fridging?

Water quality is usually the reason.

You should be doing weekly water changes, filtering, and testing the water weekly (use your own liquid test kit for the most accurate results).

It stands to mention that axolotl also looks rather thin. How often are you feeding? What are you offering?

You should definitely be doing water changes more than once a month. Once a week is common, unless you're cycling, in which case you may have to do them daily.