Axolotl with swollen cloaca

[steve611]

Hi there. So I introduced a new tank mate axolotl into my 3ft tank of 2 axolotls. They had lived together for about a month no problems. All seemed well and they were happy... until a few days ago when my new axolotl randomly died. And I mean randomly in every sense of the word. I checked up on them before I went to work, put ice bottles in the tank and left for work. Everything was fine... literally not a single sign of illness. I came back 4 hours later during lunch break to replace the ice bottles with new ones as I don't like the temperature of the tank to exceed 20 degrees, only to find the new axolotl on it's back dead. On it's tummy it had what seemed to be red cuts, lesions and pimples. I quickly removed him from the tank and checked water parameters.

The parameters were the following:

P.h.: 7.4
Ammonia: Wasn't yellow enough to be 0 but wasn't green enough to be 0.25. Looked like it was in between 0 and 0.25.
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

Naturally I thought ammonia was a little high and that might have been why so I did a 25 percent water change. About 2 days later. . I noticed one of my axolotls had trouble using his hind legs. The day after, the same axolotl released white stringy stuff from his cloaca region and at that point I thought id place him in the fridge. Today I woke up to find his cloca completely swollen. Almost seems to be inside out. Also has one red little blood pimple on it and it was releasing more white stuff. I'm assuming the white stuff is fungus but as the fungus is in the cloaca region, should I still go ahead with salt baths?

Could it have been a disease contracted from the new axolotl?

 

[steve611]

Here are some photos. Sorry for the low quality... it was the best I could do without stressing him out too much.

 

[keiko]

It kind of looks like a prolapsed cloaca in the pictures, but I don't know. Any way I'd suggest taking him to a vet. The other axie might have had some disease. Ammonia under .25 ppm doesn't usually cause any harm, especially not enough to kill an axie.

 

[auntiejude]

Agreed, looks like a prolapse. Time to see a vet.

 

[steve611]

Thanks guys. Looked it up... its definitely that. Except my axolotl has lesions and cuts on his skin. Any ideas how an axolotl gets prolapsed cloacas?

 

[steve611]

I was going to take him to the vet but I don't think he'll make it to be honest. In the space of about 2 hours his condition has worsened. I had to change the container he was in because the water was red with blood. He has lesions... kind of like blood pimples all over his body... what the hell is going on? ??????? I don't know what to do.

 

[auntiejude]

Blood spots sounds like septacaemia - if he's going downhill that fast you either need to get him to a vet ASAP or take the heartbreaking decision to euthanise him.

 

[SilverScales]

To the author of this post----

Have you figured anything out?? I am going through the same EXACT thing!! I just posted about it and am looking for help! I cant understand the blood blisters either!! And mine die just as fast, but it will only affect one at a time?? I'm thinking parasites?

 

[steve611]

He passed away within half an hour of my last post unfortunately. I've never seen anything like it. It went down hill so fast. I hope you have better luck than I did with the issue. I guess the only way to help them recover is to take them to a vet asap. Don't wait... they might not make it even if its just one night. You never know when they'll take a turn for the worse as I found out the hard way.

 

[steve611]

How does an axolotl get septacaemia?? My new axolotl who died first was missing a little chunk out of his tail. Would it be possible he just got an infection from this?

 

[Sweetie]

Any prolapse or wound can result in septicaemia, which then spreads through the entire system and kills extremely rapidly. Only a vet can treat either one, though I have read of someone using a cotton tip in an extremely delicate procedure to treat a prolapse. It's certainly nothing I would consider. Meanwhile, I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[steve611]

I know it's been a while, but just though I'd let everybody know I'm 99.999999% sure the problem was the substrate or the PH level. I removed the coral sand all together and have had a bare bottomed tank since November 2014, and haven't had a single problem with my 3 plump and healthy Axolotls since! They've even bred since then haha.

Anybody having a similar problem, definitely try removing the sand and anything in the tank that could be raising the ph level too high.

Hope it helps!