Axy gills not getting better

[majikninja]

I have a female wild type, her gills have been dissapearing. no signs of fungus or anything just the entire stock will dissapear without any signs of injury and start growing back. then it will dissapear again and repeat. its spread to 4 out of the 6 gills she has. iv tried fridging her, salt baths, tea baths, completely emptied the tank scrubbed it clean and cycled it thinking it was something in the tank and she still hasnt gotten any better. she eats and lounges around like she always has and it doesnt seem to bother her but i dont want to get off work and find a dead axy. i cant get a really good picture with my phone but i might be able to get one with a better phone later.

 

[majikninja]

i got a picture i took from when it started, as you can see she has one gil with a white film on it.

 

[snuggly time]

What's your water parameters like?

ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrates and temperature.
Also, do you use dechlorinator?

Mine had no gills in the pet shop because he was too hot.

Salt baths may make the gills worse if there was no need for treatment in the first place. They're only recommended if the axolotl is suffering with fungus. Tea baths do help their skin though. :happy:

 

[majikninja]

waters fine, i do use dechlorinator but i used that and let it cycle for a week. water is around 60 degrees. the male isnt having a problem though and there both in the same tank.

 

[layna]

Do you use a liquid test kit, if so what are the exact readings PH, Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?
You cycled what for a week, the tank? Did you use media from an already cycled tank?

Sometimes axies gills wont be as fluffy if there is a lot of oxygen in the water but i dont think they would suddenly disappear.
i think its generally is down to heat stress(or bad water quality), was there any time where there was a temp spike, or do you use an internal filter as they can raise water temp.

 

[majikninja]

i dont get exact readings and the temp stays around 60 degrees so i know its not heat stress. the only thing i can think of is back when it first started i had put a couple fat head minnows in there for them to eat. maybe she got something from the minnows?

 

[HayleyK]

You shouldn't be giving salt baths when there's no fungus, it's quite irritating to their coat.

If you don't get exact readings it could well be your ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. Do you have a strong flow from the filter?

 

[majikninja]

i know its not the water because if it was, the male that is in the same tank would be having problems as well. as for the salt baths i only did them for a few days before i stopped due to no change in her gills. as for the filter there is no flow so that would not be the cause iether

 

[Amy82]

Please please please buy a water parameters test kit and get these guys and gals the info. Its the BEST way they can help you. I lost my Lotl Toothless because I didn't have a kit and I was doing entire water changes frequently, salt dips, and fridging to try and deal with fungus and shrinking gills. I have a Gilbert now and we being careful to do partial changes and watch the water parameters. Also when I have questions I go right to the breeder he's amazing with help but can only help me if I can provide him the info he needs pinpoint the problem.