6 sick juvies - chytrid?

Martin21114

Martin21114

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Hello,

I am unable to post pictures at the moment, but 6 of my little juveniles appear to have some sort of fungal infection. They have raised bumps & light colored fluff on their sides, and 2 of them have small open wounds with a little blood, as if the skin was eaten away. I gave them a saltbath last night because that's how I treated another's fungal infection (on gills, different fungus). This one looks much nastier than the other fungal infection a different axolotl had months ago. I have heard of a nasty infection called chytrid and I really hope this isn't it:(

Now for my questions:
1) Should I continue doing salt baths?
2) How long should the axolotls stay in the salt water, how often should I give them (1,2,3x/ day?), and how many days should I do them for?
3) Is there a commercially available medicine I should treat them with?
4) I'm throwing out all my sterilite bins and getting new ones for everyone w/ back-ups for everyone. no more sharing at all. I used to have a tub I'd put each group in while I cleaned their tub, so I may have cross contaminated the whole group :( Are there other precautions I should take?
5) Finally, should I do anything with their tank mates and all my other little ones that may have been exposed but are showing no symptoms? Preventative meds, salt bath, etc... ?

Please help. I really care about my little guys and am very concerned for them. The sickies are still active and eating, but the fungus looks bad and I don't want to loose them or anyone else. I will post pictures tonight after work once I get my camera back.

Thank you.

Marty
 
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Here's the pictures, PLEASE help. I followed the salt bath tutorial on this site and 1 died overnight and another looks worse. There's a list of "safe" meds on the site here, but then there's a thread where people say some of the "safe" medications listed killed their axolotls so I don't really trust the list.
 

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Oh goodness, that's horrid!
I'd say at the moment your best bet is to keep salt bathing three times a day if you can manage it, perhaps add in some almond leaves, start scrubbing containers (2 parts bicarb to 1 part salt) every time you change their water. Also, it may be an idea to either boil the water or put bleach in it before you dispose of it to minimise the environmental contamination.
Do you have a specialist vet you can get to? If it is CB, they may have access to pharmacy grade antibiotics which may combat it, and if it isn't they may be able to take a sample to isolate what on earth it is. If you can get a whole load of takeaway containers, I'd probably be using them and chucking them every 48hrs. As to the others, it may be an idea to have them in with the almond leaves and/or tea to stave it off if it hasn't already taken hold. I wish I could offer you more help... Hopefully they will pull through.
Keep us up to date!
 
Thanks for the reply. I am doing 2x salt baths/day, I will up it to 3. How long should I wait before each bath? Because of my schedule I can do one in the am, then try to squeeze 2 in in the evening between 7p-11p. Think that would be ok? I also read about almond leaves and am looking to get some, people referred me to e-bay but they all ship from out of the country. I'm going to call around and try to find some today, maybe a little Indian grocery store will have some. Once I get them, all the juveniles will get the leaves added to their containers. What about chlorinated water as an anti-fungal treatment? I read in the sick section it is sometimes used. I was thinking a 20 min salt bath -> 5 min rinse & bath in chlorinated water - > back into dechlorinated water w/ Indian almond laves untill the next bath, repeat 3x per day. Now I just need to find the damn leaves.
 
Some people use black tea instead of almond leaves. I don't think it needs to be decaf as I seem to recall someone saying that the caffine helps tighten the pores in the skin. There is a thread about tea baths somewhere on here.
 
I doubt the disease is chytrid. It is probably more of a husbandry related issue. I would treat with Furan 2.
If it is just fungus methylene blue would be o.k. too.
 
michael said:
I doubt the disease is chytrid. It is probably more of a husbandry related issue. I would treat with Furan 2.
If it is just fungus methylene blue would be o.k. too.
Click to expand...

Yoda has spoken. Thanks Michael. I don't know you personally but I do know you know your $#!t. I and my axies thank you:D

Are those meds similar to API "Fungus Cure"? (active ingredients: 3 mg victoria green B & 30 mg acriflavine). I didn't get this message until after I got back from the LFS with some stuff they had. I bought the stuff I just mentioned and some Kordon Ich Attack that states it's all herbal and "based on naphthoquinones". I'm definetely going to look for the Furan 2 you recomended, but I know the one store I was at didn't have it, so I'm wondering if the meds I already have will be ok if I can't find the Furan at Petco & Petsmart later today.

Thanks again, you really put a smile on my face. I was really bummed after 1 died and was afraid I'd lose them all. Whatever they have is really tearing through them. Hopefully this does the trick.:D
 
I agree with Michael. I wouldn't continue the salt baths; they're really only useful against specific types of fungus. Even if it was chytrid, salt baths wouldn't help. You're doing more harm than good with salt baths.
 
Yup, I saw his message and am totally changing the direction of their treatment. Furan 2 is the new piece of the tri-force I'm going after as soon as I get out of work in 97 minutes.
 
I use furan 2 as a shotgun approach . It is good for gram positive and gram negative bacteria. It is also good for fungus. Other than parasites it treats a big variety of aquatic salamander problems. I have had recurrent fungus problems with one salamander that Furan 2 would not clear up. I used methylene blue for that one. Methylene blue will crash your biological filter. Furan 2 will not. If you can't find it locally it can be ordered from That Fish Place or Foster and Smith.
 
Can I use Furan 2 in conjunction with other meds? I really want to do everything I can to save these guys. I just added the furan 2 to the water a few minutes ago, think I should add something specific for fungus on top of that?
 
michael said:
I use furan 2 as a shotgun approach . It is good for gram positive and gram negative bacteria. It is also good for fungus. Other than parasites it treats a big variety of aquatic salamander problems. I have had recurrent fungus problems with one salamander that Furan 2 would not clear up. I used methylene blue for that one. Methylene blue will crash your biological filter. Furan 2 will not. If you can't find it locally it can be ordered from That Fish Place or Foster and Smith.
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My sickies have no filter, they are in tubs that get a 100% water change daily, which was upped to 2-3 times daily with the salt baths. Now that I stopped those I will still do 2x/day. I'm about to head out to look for the methylene blue. Hopefully i can save these little guys. Both the ones my girlfriend picked out got sick and one died. If Feather (the little gfp melanoid she picked out) dies too she is going to be crushed.

Would putting these guys in a fridge help?
 
One more thing, I have other tubs with other juveniles that appear healthy, but were cross contaminated during water changes before I got each group their own back up tub. Should I leave them alone unless they display symptoms, or should I maybe dose them with something just in case?

I have an excess of the Furan 2 (100+ doses) and will hopefully have methylene blue or another anti-fungal soon. Is there anything else I should pick up while I'm out looking for the m. blue?
 
Just an FYI to anyone reading this thread the "API Fungus Cure" I mentioned above is NOT SAFE. The "victoria green b" active ingredient = malachite green, a strict no-no for axolotls. It is known.
 
Here's an update. After 24 hours they look like this and the smallest has died :(
 

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another update, the furan 2 doesn't seem to be working at all. The fungus is spreading rapidly and lokos about 10x worse :( I think I need to try something else ASAP. Think it's time to discontinue the furan 2 and try the methylene blue? I was reccomended pimafix as well but don't know if it's safe. Any ideas? I don't mind running all over looking for meds, I just want to save my guys.

Thank you,


Marty
 

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It's tough to second guess treatments. I prefer to have sponge filters or air stones with my juveniles. I don't have a lot of experience with daily water changes. I hope they start to turn around. Sometimes some are to ill to turn around.
Good luck
 
michael said:
It's tough to second guess treatments. I prefer to have sponge filters or air stones with my juveniles. I don't have a lot of experience with daily water changes. I hope they start to turn around. Sometimes some are to ill to turn around.
Good luck
Click to expand...

Yeah, after our conversation I'm getting shelves this weekend to set up a group of 10 gallons to keep them in instead of tubs. I think they will be better off and less work in the long run. Thanks again for the advice:D
 
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