Baby Axies with absolutely no gills, how to treat?

[adizzle620]

So, my friend went and got a baby axolotl from a fish store, which she then gave to me because she couldn't take care of it properly. Since I'll have to have my tank seperated for the new baby, I thought "why not get another?" And went to the pet store she found them in.

Oh. My. God. The poor state of these babies, I could cry. They got put into tanks with other aggressive fish, and they were practically eaten alive. I can't pay the outrageous price for all four of them--otherwise I would have, and brought them home--But one of the shop workers talked with me about it, and seemed really concerned. I told her I'd do some research on how to help them, and I'd be back.

I have NO idea how to help this level of decimation. All four babies have lost their gills to the very roots--I don't think they can even breath from them, anymore. One of the baby leucistic is missing it's front limb, the other one of it's back. Most of their tail is eaten off, and about all feet are damaged. You can see bright red splotches beneath their skin--I assume blood.

I told her to get them into a shallow, clean, dechlorinated tub--that way it wasn't so hard for them to stick their little heads up and get a gulp of air--and put them in the fridge. I wasn't sure if that was okay--I know it slows down their body, but she said they weren't eating anyways.

Was that the right thing to do? I'm so worried for these little guys, I really wish I could have taken them all home with me.

 

[keiko]

Re: Baby Axie's with absolutely no gills, how to treat?

They won't eat in the fridge and they need a lot of energy to recover from everything. I think just separating them in their own tank with clean cool water would be enough. And make sure the environment is as stress free as possible (no bright lights or people moving past them all the time). The more there is water in their tub or tank the easier it is to maintain good water quality, but it would be good to add some big plants etc. in there so they can hang out near the surface if they want to.
Were the red splotches like bruises or maybe an infection or even septicemia? If there is an infection going on or septicemia then they should be seen by a vet that is familiar with axolotls.

 

[seagull]

Re: Baby Axie's with absolutely no gills, how to treat?

they should immediately be placed in their own containers of cool, dechlorinated water perhaps with a little uniodized salt to help the recovery process
i find thawed bloodworms make good food when it is necessary to get them eating and healthy again
i definitely recommend they recieve very low light levels and that they be kept very clean to prevent any further infection