blacklight fungus treatment

[axolotl nerd]

hello all.
kip is down with fungus, and i'm out of tea, so i'm trying alternative methods this time around. i have a salt bath cooling in the fridge currently, but wondered if UV rays would be capable of killing off the fungus. i did a quick google search, which confirmed my hypothesis. she is tubbed, so i'm not worried about killing off beneficial bacteria/crashing her cycle, but could the light hurt her in any other way? if there's any potential danger to it, i won't try it, but was curious to see if it would be helpful.
summoning @wolfen for their expertise

 

[wolfen]

because the light produced by a blacklight is UV spectrum there is always a risk of skin damage due to prolonged exposure, I don't know whether any studies have been done concerning axolotls and UV but due to them being aquatic and removed from direct sunlight I doubt there is any unless it is to study cellular growth under UV strain, although because of the gfp mutation which was created to study regrowth and the fact that UV was used as a visual aid it can be assumed that short periods of exposure is quite safe.
because fungal growths are thick the UV may kill the outer layer but not the inner layer and because of the speed of growth may make any use of UV ineffective.
as to the fungus treatment, being housed in a solution of light salinity can be more effective and less stressful then salt baths, normal black tea can be used as a bath the same as decaff as caffeine has been found to help with lethargy and is used as such to treat it.
if your axolotl is prone to fungal infections then using any of the different holtfreter/modified solutions to be of benefit.

 

[axolotl nerd]

because the light produced by a blacklight is UV spectrum there is always a risk of skin damage due to prolonged exposure, I don't know whether any studies have been done concerning axolotls and UV but due to them being aquatic and removed from direct sunlight I doubt there is any unless it is to study cellular growth under UV strain, although because of the gfp mutation which was created to study regrowth and the fact that UV was used as a visual aid it can be assumed that short periods of exposure is quite safe.
because fungal growths are thick the UV may kill the outer layer but not the inner layer and because of the speed of growth may make any use of UV ineffective.
as to the fungus treatment, being housed in a solution of light salinity can be more effective and less stressful then salt baths, normal black tea can be used as a bath the same as decaff as caffeine has been found to help with lethargy and is used as such to treat it.
if your axolotl is prone to fungal infections then using any of the different holtfreter/modified solutions to be of benefit.

thank you for the reply.
i had also looked for studies on it, and didn't find anything. good to know that it's probably safe, even if ineffective.
i have been out of teabags, and ergo decided to try a salt bath for the first time. she did two yesterday, the first very mild and the second a bit stronger, and she seemed to "peel" overnight. it's not her slime coat, like i originally thought, but all of the fungus i couldn't clearly see. she had her water changed this morning and is doing well, despite some grumpiness over being moved and a small bit on fungus left on one gill. i will run to the store for tea today and make her some tea baths, as i think i've killed the majority of the fungus so far.
she is not prone to infections/illness, she actually seems to be quite hardy to them. there have been times in the past in which she had a spot of fungus, and i left her overnight to treat it in the morning, and then it disappeared completely.
i may change her tub to have a light salinity, as that sounds preferable to salt baths. what's a good amount per liter/gallon? i'm not sure how much is in her tub, but id estimate around two liters.
thank you,
- ren

 

[wolfen]

add the salt at the same level as 100% holtfreters which would be 3.4g - 3.5g per litre anything below 1.75g - 2g per litre will prevent fungus but isn't as effective in treating it.

 

[axolotl nerd]

add the salt at the same level as 100% holtfreters which would be 3.4g - 3.5g per litre anything below 1.75g - 2g per litre will prevent fungus but isn't as effective in treating it.

thank you!