ricagudino
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My axolotl's name is Yolia, she is 4 years old, 12 inches, and this year has not been her year...
I moved at the beginning of the year, and that's when all the problems started, I never had an issue before. The move was traumatic for her, her travel bag was too small and she bumped her nose. I was misinformed about fridging and didn't check the temperature of my fridge, thinking it was ok to keep her there overnight while I set up the tank in the new place. I was also misinformed about where to put the tank, and I put her tank close to a bright window. I noticed weird behaviour, she seemed agitated (now I know that is because of sun exposure & temperatures), and in February I noticed what seemed like sperm plugs coming from her bits. Which is weird because she was definitely identified as female. She got her first fungal infection on her gills in May when the temperature in my zone went up drastically. I moved her tank to a darker place and did a series of salt and tea baths, but because I panicked and over cleaned her tank, the parameters crashed and I had to cycle it. I live in Toronto, and we can't access pure ammonia, so I used seachem stability and a trio of minnows as directed by my local aquatics store. Because of high summer temps in my area, I had to fridge her, and this time I adjusted my fridge temperatures to no less than 50 Fahrenheit (following an axolotl breeders advice) and she spent 6 weeks in the fridge. She was fine all the rest of summer once back in her tank, no abnormal behaviour and eating/pooping patterns were back to normal. I kept her cool with ice bottles and water changes (although on hotter days water changes don't help because tap temps are higher), and I didn't let her tank temp get higher than 72. I did notice since the parameter crash that nitrates (NO3) have been higher than 40 ppm, so I tried to increase water changes to 40% every 3 days instead of once a week.
On September 11 she got her second fungal infection on her gills. I repeated salt baths and fridging until it fell off after three days and put her back in her tank. On September 24 she got her third fungal infection on a different gill, so I followed up with daily salt baths/fridging for another three days. During all treatments she still showed signs of an appetite but I avoided feeding her because I read fridging slows metabolism.
NOW she has her fourth fungal infection on her gill as of October 30 and the following day she had a weird white/clear poop (I'm attaching a picture). I've done so much more research and found I am not supposed to be fridging her for fungal infection, so I've tubbed her in a cool dark room in my house. I've done two salt baths so far and the fungus fell off, but this morning I put her in a fresh clean tub after the bath and she's been thrashing around and freaking me out...
I must be doing something wrong, there must be something I am unaware of, it is so clear to me she is in pain. I'm of mexikha descent and she is not just a pet but an ancestral animal, I will do whatever I can to help her, even if it's acknowledging I don't have the skill to keep her... Is this a fungal issue or does she maybe have something more serious like a bacterial infection? Last I checked, there aren't any vets near me who could help with axolotls. Please help!
I moved at the beginning of the year, and that's when all the problems started, I never had an issue before. The move was traumatic for her, her travel bag was too small and she bumped her nose. I was misinformed about fridging and didn't check the temperature of my fridge, thinking it was ok to keep her there overnight while I set up the tank in the new place. I was also misinformed about where to put the tank, and I put her tank close to a bright window. I noticed weird behaviour, she seemed agitated (now I know that is because of sun exposure & temperatures), and in February I noticed what seemed like sperm plugs coming from her bits. Which is weird because she was definitely identified as female. She got her first fungal infection on her gills in May when the temperature in my zone went up drastically. I moved her tank to a darker place and did a series of salt and tea baths, but because I panicked and over cleaned her tank, the parameters crashed and I had to cycle it. I live in Toronto, and we can't access pure ammonia, so I used seachem stability and a trio of minnows as directed by my local aquatics store. Because of high summer temps in my area, I had to fridge her, and this time I adjusted my fridge temperatures to no less than 50 Fahrenheit (following an axolotl breeders advice) and she spent 6 weeks in the fridge. She was fine all the rest of summer once back in her tank, no abnormal behaviour and eating/pooping patterns were back to normal. I kept her cool with ice bottles and water changes (although on hotter days water changes don't help because tap temps are higher), and I didn't let her tank temp get higher than 72. I did notice since the parameter crash that nitrates (NO3) have been higher than 40 ppm, so I tried to increase water changes to 40% every 3 days instead of once a week.
On September 11 she got her second fungal infection on her gills. I repeated salt baths and fridging until it fell off after three days and put her back in her tank. On September 24 she got her third fungal infection on a different gill, so I followed up with daily salt baths/fridging for another three days. During all treatments she still showed signs of an appetite but I avoided feeding her because I read fridging slows metabolism.
NOW she has her fourth fungal infection on her gill as of October 30 and the following day she had a weird white/clear poop (I'm attaching a picture). I've done so much more research and found I am not supposed to be fridging her for fungal infection, so I've tubbed her in a cool dark room in my house. I've done two salt baths so far and the fungus fell off, but this morning I put her in a fresh clean tub after the bath and she's been thrashing around and freaking me out...
I must be doing something wrong, there must be something I am unaware of, it is so clear to me she is in pain. I'm of mexikha descent and she is not just a pet but an ancestral animal, I will do whatever I can to help her, even if it's acknowledging I don't have the skill to keep her... Is this a fungal issue or does she maybe have something more serious like a bacterial infection? Last I checked, there aren't any vets near me who could help with axolotls. Please help!
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