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Beginning stages of Columnaris infection?

Izcx

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Hello everyone,

I apologize for any formatting errors as I'm a first-time poster and writing this from a phone.

I began noticing a bit of discoloration developing on my axolotl's gills over the last week or so. Truthfully speaking, we've only had it (gender unknown) for a month. When we brought it home, it's gills were in a pretty pathetic state, and have been recovering and filling out like crazy. Im a bit of a worry wort and can't tell if these are iridophores, an environmental injury, or the beginning stages of a calumnaris outbreak.

Jörmungandr's water parameters are 7.8 pH, 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrites, 10-20 ppm nitrates. Gh/kh are currently unknown, but the test kit is arriving later today and I would be more than happy to report back with the results if that information would be helpful in an armchair diagnosis. We also have a chiller, so the water temperature is a consistant 64-65 f.

As far as personality goes, nothing out of the ordinary to report that I can think of. It has an extremely healthy appetite, so no worries in that department.

Throwing in a cloaca shot in hopes that someone can tell me what gender lotl I have lol.

Thank you in advance, and sorry again for the formatting/photo quality!
 

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Managed to get a better picture.
 

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It looks like it could be an early fungal infection. Salt baths or tea baths work. Columnaris is a bacterial infection. Since bacteria grow in more temperate climates, axolotls normally do not get columnaris. Tropical fish are more susceptible due to their living conditions being more temperate. Axolotls, on the other hand, get fungal infections more often.
 
It looks like it could be an early fungal infection. Salt baths or tea baths work. Columnaris is a bacterial infection. Since bacteria grow in more temperate climates, axolotls normally do not get columnaris. Tropical fish are more susceptible due to their living conditions being more temperate. Axolotls, on the other hand, get fungal infections more often.
Thank you.
 
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