Axolotl fungus on gills

[paul]

i noticed when i came back from holidays that my axie had two white cotton wool ball looking things on his gills, this looks similiar to wat happend to a previous axie i had an then he died........ i believe it to be a fungus which starts in the gills, my water is quite high in temp usually around 25 but got to 28 yesterday, i have cooled it down to 20 today but it will b up to 25 by the end of the day again... any help would be appreciated.

paul

 

[alex]

paul - firstly id get the temp down and steady, put a fan blowing over the water. give him salt baths about 2-3 a day 10-15 minutes each bath. axolotls stress in hot temps which causes less immunity to fungus and other desieses. hope he gets better

 

[sharn]

yes fungus generally tends to rear its ugly head in hotter temps. if you can get it down to a steady temp and give it salt baths it should clear up in no time

 

[christina]

If you can't control the temperature in the tank Paul, you may want to pop him in the fridge until he settles down. You don't want him to get more and more stressed, while you're trying to give him salt baths to help his gills.

Christina

 

[paul]

hey guys, no luck with the salt bath or getting the temp down, the fungus seems to be localised on the top part of 1 of her 3 gills on both sides, i know this sounds cruel and i wouldnt do it without first consulting people on here, but could you cut off the part where the fungus is because they can regrow? i thought this might kill her and obviously cause her alot of pain

neway any help would be appreciated

 

[sharn]

it wont go away if you cant get the temp down... fungus thrives in warm water.

dont cut it off- im sure you will be able to get rid of it without such drastic action! it would cause her alot of pain!

does her fungus look better after a salt bath?

 

[alex]

definintly do not cut her gill. you need to keep at the salt baths. it will take more then one to get rid of the fungus. your going to have to get the water temp down or you will have no luck getting rid of the fungus. fungus grows rapidly in higher temperatures. i advise you keep her in the fridge.

 

[edward]

Actually saprolegnia fungal infections are most prevelant in cool/cold water. It may show up more often in axolotls in warm water as the animal is stressed but sparolegnia typically does not thrive in warm water.

It will take multiple baths and some time to treat and resolve the fungal infection.

Ed

 

[paul]

got her in the fridge now so hopefully she will get better, i dont like giveing her salt baths as she sheds all her skin n gets ill so hopefully the colder water will cut it out

 

[sharn]

you might be making it too strong then, she shouldnt start to peel! how long do you leave her in for? 15 mins is the max

 

[alex]

i dont think cold water will do the job, like ed said fungal infections are most prevelant in cool/cold water.

 

[joan]

They're not most prevalent in cool water. Some fungi survive and even thrive in cool water. Most attack axolotls in warmer water because the axolotl is stressed. Most fungus thrives in warmer climates, but some survive the cold.

 

[edward]

Joan,
Do you have anything to support this statement about pathnogenic fungal infections??? I routinely use increased temperatures to treat saprolegnia infection in Typhlonectes (based on a treatment regimen prescribed by Dr. Kevin Wright (Amphibian Medicine and Captive Husbandry) as saprolegnia (which is the most commonly seen "cottony fungal" infection) grows best at these lower temperatures Kevin Wright again)).

Ed

 

[paul]

well she seems happier in the colder water thats for sure, problem is she isnt eating now, i was thinking i could just dab salt on her gills where the fungus is, its only a small bit on 2 of her 6 gills

 

[joan]

Ed, I'm not sure which statement you want me to support. I basically just said that some fungus grows at warm temperatures and some grows at cold. I don't think it's correct to say that 'fungus is most prevalent at cold temperatures'. SOME fungus is more prevalent when it's cold, but not all, and I was just making that correction to what Alex said.

 

[sharn]

hmmm best not to dab the salt on her, the high concentrations of un-dissolved salt MAY *im not totally sure on this one* be bad for her.

(Message edited by sharn on January 11, 2006)

 

[paul]

the fungus is starting to disapear an she is becoming more active however she is not eating and hasnt for about 2 weeks, ive tried differnt food including, raw steak and sausage, brine shrimp cubes an axolotl pellets but she will not eat an if she does she spits it out, ne suggestions?

 

[alex]

hi paul, good to hear shes making a recovery hopefully she eats soon!. i would definintly not feed sausage to axolotls. hope she eats soon.

 

[sin]

hey paul, give some raw prawn and fish a go, just cut it up into little tiny slivers and dangle it infront of their faces, all mine are picky eaters but seem to love those two.

 

[paul]

yeah i put sum feeder fish in her tank an shes ate a heap of them i think so yeh i gave her a salt bath in the morning an one in the evening the fungus wont move from those two gills, its not spreading but not disapearing, still putting her in the fridge