Confusing Axolotl Medical Case

[vak14]

Hello all. I have an axolotl with a somewhat complicated medical history and am hoping for some guidance.

Prismo is a 4 1/2 year old female leucistic axolotl, obtained from my coworker who was a breeder. A couple of years ago she had a really terrible episode of ammonia poisoning which was resolved by tubbing her for several weeks and use of salt baths and kanamycin treatment.

In November, her tank experienced a random spike of nitrites which caused her to go off food. She was transferred to tubs while that tank situation was resolved and eventually began eating again. At this time she had no other noticeable clinical signs of illness. She remained in the tubs for about 6 weeks while the tank parameters were reconfigured with water changes and the addition of API Stability on the advice of a different local breeder who uses it. Tank parameters returned to normal, and Prismo returned to her tank.

Things were great for about 2 weeks, until suddenly Prismo was found with numerous small blisters all over her body. She was immediately tubbed and she looked so red and she began shedding her entire slime coat. Her tank read 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite, about 30 ppm nitrate, and 7.6 pH. Temp was about 61 - 63 F. After being in the tub about a week, she pooped and ate for the first time again, and is looking much whiter with bright red gills and no longer shedding any slime coat. All in all, she looks good now. She has not been treated with any medication, although I have added an Indian Almond Leaf to her tub for tannins and also because she likes to sit under it. Other than that, the tub just has a bubbler and we do 100% water changes every day.

I have a few questions:
1. What is going on with her? I have considered chlorine poisoning, ammonia poisoning, red leg, but she seems to look a lot better and is eating now, is it possible whatever it was has cleared up on it's own with clean water alone?
2. What is going on with her tank? It is a 20 gallon long aquarium, been up for as long as I've had her (4 years), has 1 sponge filter and 1 submersible filter. She is the only animal in there, substrate is fine sand and there is some Java moss growing in there as well.
3. Is there anything else I can/need to do for her or should I assume as long as she is eating, pooping, and looking okay, she is okay? I am a vet student and have talked to my bosses/professors, but it would take 2 hours to get her to the hospital and I'm not sure what they could do for her at this point if she is seemingly healthy, other than potentially get her antibiotics, but again, she seems okay now. I would hate to stress her out and have her be hospitalized if all she needs is clean water.
4. What can I do with her tank? I am wondering if there is some harmful bacteria existing in there that is causing her ailments and I am tempted to scrap the whole thing and recycle it to start from scratch. Would this be drastic? I can't seem to figure out what is wrong in the tank.

Thanks for any and all advice.

 

[wolfen]

you mention a nitrite spike, nitrites don't show surface damage rather they poison the blood preventing oxygen absorption (condition called brown blood) this is normally treated with methylene blue (will treat nitrite and nitrate toxicosis) but will still leave the animal in a weakened state, if untreated other conditions may arise such as sepsis.
if there was an increase in any nitrogen compound other than nitrates then there is either an issue with the biological filtration (not enough, needs cleaning, damaged bacteria colony) or in some cases anoxic areas have occurred where some nitrates have been reduced back to nitrites, always ensure adequate water oxygenation and that sand is regularly turned over to remove debris and gasses, ensure any closed ended hides ie.. jars are flushed regularly to prevent stagnant water build up.
chlorides have been found to help protect against the absorption and effects of nitrogen compounds (which is why salt has so many uses with axolotls)

 

[vak14]

you mention a nitrite spike, nitrites don't show surface damage rather they poison the blood preventing oxygen absorption (condition called brown blood) this is normally treated with methylene blue (will treat nitrite and nitrate toxicosis) but will still leave the animal in a weakened state, if untreated other conditions may arise such as sepsis.
if there was an increase in any nitrogen compound other than nitrates then there is either an issue with the biological filtration (not enough, needs cleaning, damaged bacteria colony) or in some cases anoxic areas have occurred where some nitrates have been reduced back to nitrites, always ensure adequate water oxygenation and that sand is regularly turned over to remove debris and gasses, ensure any closed ended hides ie.. jars are flushed regularly to prevent stagnant water build up.
chlorides have been found to help protect against the absorption and effects of nitrogen compounds (which is why salt has so many uses with axolotls)

Thanks. The nitrite toxicosis would make sense since she had no outward symptoms of illness at the time her nitrite were high. Right now however, her nitrites are reading 0 and there doesn't appear to be any buildup. Are there nitrogenous compounds that aren't regularly measured that could be building up/harming her? Would the best course of action still be to recycle the tank? There aren't any anoxic areas that I can see and the sand is swirled up every week during water changes.

 

[wolfen]

there are a few compounds that can build up which aren't normally tested for ie.. phosphates etc.. and there are also water parameters that are important to axolotls that aren't tested for normally ie.. kh gh.
because water out of the tap isn't pure there are numerous compounds that are normally undetected.
provided the tank was properly cycled when first used and there hasn't been any major changes then a re-cycle shouldn't be required although it will highlight whether there has been a reduction or damage to the bacteria colony.

 

[vak14]

there are a few compounds that can build up which aren't normally tested for ie.. phosphates etc.. and there are also water parameters that are important to axolotls that aren't tested for normally ie.. kh gh.
because water out of the tap isn't pure there are numerous compounds that are normally undetected.
provided the tank was properly cycled when first used and there hasn't been any major changes then a re-cycle shouldn't be required although it will highlight whether there has been a reduction or damage to the bacteria colony.

I see, so what would you recommend I do moving forward? The axolotl is looking perfectly fine and eating well now, so is it still advisable to treat with methylene blue/kanaplex? Should anything be done with the tank or as long as the ammonia, nitrite nitrate are fine she can go back? Not sure how I could test for phosphates and such. I use the API liquid test kit.

 

[wolfen]

if your axolotl if fine then just monitoring the parameters and keeping an eye on her would probably be best for now rather than treat her for something she has no longer got.
read about using 50% holtfreters + 0.1g/l magnesium sulphate, the chlorides have been found to offer some protection against nitrogen compound spikes as well as correcting water chemistry and helping protect against common axolotl ailments.
info.. Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity
as a vet student the axolotl newsletters may prove interesting.. Newsletters | Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center

 

[vak14]

if your axolotl if fine then just monitoring the parameters and keeping an eye on her would probably be best for now rather than treat her for something she has no longer got.
read about using 50% holtfreters + 0.1g/l magnesium sulphate, the chlorides have been found to offer some protection against nitrogen compound spikes as well as correcting water chemistry and helping protect against common axolotl ailments.
info.. Axolotls - Requirements & Water Conditions in Captivity
as a vet student the axolotl newsletters may prove interesting.. Newsletters | Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center

Wow that's a phenomenal resource! Thank you!