Costia killing off babies

[amy]

i waited so long to have axie babies and when the miracle finally happened, it came at the worst possible time. now weve got over that, the babies started dying in large numbers. i looked under the microscope and saw lots of costia swimming around. what is safe to get rid of them? the babies are only a few weeks old.

 

[cynthia]

Amy - here is a video of costia look at the
Costia in Motion, 1000x Magnification
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:MhrluoEMVToJ:www.koitv.com/+costia&hl=en

here is a good article on costia
http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/articles_details.php?article_id=19

a good article on formalin, which the article above recommends for treatment of fish
http://www.geocities.com/koifla/Formalin.htm

I do not think the formalin sounds safe for use on axolotls.

If anyone here knows about formalin and if it would be safe or unsafe please post any info you may have.

You may want to contact the indiana axolotl colony and see if they have any recommendations or know anything about the use of formalin.

 

[joan]

Formalin is a spinoff of formaldehyde. Although it's safer, it's still carcinogenic. I would definately not mess with it.

 

[jennifer]

How sure are you that it it Costia? Could it just be a moving micro-organism that's feeding on debris in the container? I would suggest moving the axies to a clean container (and total water change) daily and maybe a weak salt treatment. Good luck!

 

[amy]

im 100% sure its costia. i can see them moving around in their little corkscrews. evil things. i think its too late for my babies. i only have a handful let now and theyre not looking brilliant. oh, well. its something to take into consideration next time

thanks for the help