Illness/Sickness: Axolotl with line of red dots?

[axle23]

Ive got a baby albino axolotl. He seems fine, tank is perfectly aerated and clear with plenty of snails to get rid of nasty bacteria. The tank also has many live plants to hide in and no flowing water to stress him. However, over the last week I noticed a line of red dots on his tail, perfectly aligned. He cut himself on a fake plant (which I removed) and it seems to be healing fine. He is eating like always and the temperature is perfect. Is this just a part of his genetic makeup or is this something like an illness? im treating him with anti-fungal medication to be sure, however i dont know if this is necessary. He also doesnt have an enlarged red leg either so im certain its not red leg.

 

[Bellabelloo]

First off I wouldn't treat for fungus, or anything else until you are sure what it is. I would also be extremely cautious about any medications as some are very dangerous for axolotl.
To be honest, I think I would just keep a very close eye on the tail. If it does appear to have fungus, treat with salt baths. Do make sure the aquarium water is cool and clean.
The other point I need to make is that the stones are unsuitable for keeping axolotl on. Axolotl have the habit of accidentally eating them, these then can be lodged in the stomach and this may prove fatal. I would advise you to remove the stones.

 

[Neil C]

Almost certainly not genetic. It could either be a disease/infection or a physical injury. If you catch your axolotl in a net the edges of the tail are the first places to show damage if the axolotl thrashes around.


Regards Neil

 

[axle23]

He doesn't seem to be showing any different behaviour. So it doesn't look like anything you have seen before? It has been slowly turning brown, which I hope is okay. However the stones are large pebbles which I find my axolotl stresses out without stones as he needs grip, they are larger than his head, i also find they're great at providing and ridding of bacteria, or so ive heard. How exactly are the salt baths used?

Thanks for your help

 

[Olivia97]

Hey, that's what I thought with my baby, but trust me they're tricky buggas! He had managed to swallow them despite being huge and heavy. You're better off going with sand if he doesn't like the bare bottom, sand is also relatively cheap and easy to spot waste/uneaten food good luck

 

[bunny27]

Hey, I agree with Julia not to treat it with anti-fungal medications.

I think this is just some physical injury because I have a leucistic axolotl that got his tail scraped by some leaves or rocks and had these red pattern on the edges of his tail where the cut was.

It went away on its own. If you're scared of infections, you can put him in the fridge while he heals.

As for the salt baths, only provide it if you see fungal growth on the tail as it can damage the "feathers" on the gills. So, just as Julia mentioned.

You can find the directions for salt baths here: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...axolotl/72698-salt-bath-picture-tutorial.html

Hope that helps, just speaking from my experience. Others might have a different opinion about your little guy .

 

[Kaysie]

What's your water quality like? Personally, it looks like low-level ammonia burns.