Darker axolotl fungus

[frogenjoyer]

Hi everyone,

Last week I noticed some fungus on my axolotls one gill. I keep her tank at 50% holtfreter's solution with MgSO4, so I gradually increased it to 100% as the week went on. Now I see the fungus has spread to another gill or two. The fungus is much darker gray than fungus I have seen in the past. The area that the fungus is seems to kill what fimbriae are in that area. Her behavior is completely normal, her skin looks good, her appetite is normal, she has no signs of illness on any of her other appendages. Her water levels are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and around 40mm nitrates. I come from an area with high nitrates in the water so I use hornwort to suck up the nitrates but the hornwort in the tank had been dying off leading up to the time I noticed the fungus so I replenished it this week. Would the rise in nitrates be a cause or major contributor? Would getting those levels back down be enough to fend off the infection? What more can I do to treat her? Let me know.

Thank you,
Matt

 

[wolfen]

hornwort tends to have difficulty surviving in water that contains salt.
nitrates wouldn't be the cause unless the fungus is actually an algae, stress caused by nitrates would cause lowered immune system though making your axolotl vulnerable to fungus etc..
the fungus doesn't look like the usual fungus axolotls are prone to (white snot/cotton) although they can also contract mold unfections (which seem to be quite resilient), whilst kept in 100% holtfreters swab area with potassium permanganate.

 

[frogenjoyer]

hornwort tends to have difficulty surviving in water that contains salt.
nitrates wouldn't be the cause unless the fungus is actually an algae, stress caused by nitrates would cause lowered immune system though making your axolotl vulnerable to fungus etc..
the fungus doesn't look like the usual fungus axolotls are prone to (white snot/cotton) although they can also contract mold unfections (which seem to be quite resilient), whilst kept in 100% holtfreters swab area with potassium permanganate.

Is there a KMnO4 concentration I should be using? How frequently and for how long should I swab the area? Logistically speaking, how do you recommend swabbing the gills?

Thank you for your help.

 

[wolfen]

the recommended dilution is 1g to 100ml, gently swabbed with a q tip (cotton bud) for gill areas, there is also permanganate bath which is 1:5000 (1g per 5l) 5mins.
link to info treatment (mold infections).. https://ambystoma.uky.edu/genetic-s...Issues-1-12/archive/Issue 3/09-16brothers.pdf
also added amphibian formulary (see antifungal agents "potassium permanganate")