Does this look bacterial or fungal to you?

[faebugz]

 

[faebugz]

Anyone?

 

[wolfen]

would be better to see with zoomed out photos as well.
with skin issues it is best to use potassium permanganate swabs on the area as the mold that develops tends to be quite resilient to the treatments that are normally used to treat fungal problems.

 

[faebugz]

would be better to see with zoomed out photos as well.
with skin issues it is best to use potassium permanganate swabs on the area as the mold that develops tends to be quite resilient to the treatments that are normally used to treat fungal problems.

Thanks for the response, pics are above.

I have been doing potassium permanganate baths or swabs (sometimes both) for the last 7-10 days, every 24 hours. Baths are .001g/5L and the swabs are .01g/100ml. They don't seem to be having any effect.

I've added holtsfreters solution at 60% to the tank, minus the potassium chloride. I just got that in the mail today, so I'll be adding that now as well.

Regular water changes, and any visible detritus removed daily. These are the parameters:

I'm pretty stumped as to what's going on at this point. He is acting completely normal and healthier than ever, but can't shake this... Issue, for whatever reason.

I've contacted the vet to get an appointment scheduled for a biopsy, we wanted to avoid this as it'll be invasive but at this point unless I can figure out the diagnoses otherwise it seems like the best way forward.

Ever seen anything like this before?

 

[wolfen]

looking at the photo it does look like mold (caused by the same bacteria that causes fungus)
was the holfreters ordered online or made by yourself?, sometimes the holtfreters available online is a modified version which uses less salt than actual holtfreters.
was the holtfreters in the water when the any of the tests performed as the kh is a bit low and the gh is very low, ideal kh is 3-8 higher being better, ideal gh is 7-14 higher being better.
use 100% holtfreters in the water containing your axolotl, which is (all measurements per 1 litre water) 3.5g salt, 0.2g bicarbonate of soda, 0.1g calcium chloride, 0.05g potassium chloride, also add 0.2g magnesium sulphate (epsom salt).
use methyline blue baths for treatment.
swab area with potassium permanganate.
as an added note when making holtfreters add the salt, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium sulphate to 500ml hot water (or 1ltr water depending on what bottle/container you have) and stir/shake till disolved, add bicarbonate of soda to a separate bottle/container of hot water and stir/shake till dissolved, wait till both solutions are cold then add solution 1 (salt, calcium etc..) to the tank (with filter running to allow for full dispersal) wait 30 mins then add solution 2 (bicarb), it isn't unusual to get slight cloudiness, this is temporary and is caused by the bicarbonate of soda combining with the calcium chloride to make calcium carbonate.

 

[faebugz]

looking at the photo it does look like mold (caused by the same bacteria that causes fungus)
was the holfreters ordered online or made by yourself?, sometimes the holtfreters available online is a modified version which uses less salt than actual holtfreters.
was the holtfreters in the water when the any of the tests performed as the kh is a bit low and the gh is very low, ideal kh is 3-8 higher being better, ideal gh is 7-14 higher being better.
use 100% holtfreters in the water containing your axolotl, which is (all measurements per 1 litre water) 3.5g salt, 0.2g bicarbonate of soda, 0.1g calcium chloride, 0.05g potassium chloride, also add 0.2g magnesium sulphate (epsom salt).
use methyline blue baths for treatment.
swab area with potassium permanganate.
as an added note when making holtfreters add the salt, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium sulphate to 500ml hot water (or 1ltr water depending on what bottle/container you have) and stir/shake till disolved, add bicarbonate of soda to a separate bottle/container of hot water and stir/shake till dissolved, wait till both solutions are cold then add solution 1 (salt, calcium etc..) to the tank (with filter running to allow for full dispersal) wait 30 mins then add solution 2 (bicarb), it isn't unusual to get slight cloudiness, this is temporary and is caused by the bicarbonate of soda combining with the calcium chloride to make calcium carbonate.

Even with no fluffiness? A direct swab with potassium permanganate (.01g/100ml) does nothing to remove it.

Holtfreters is made by myself, and yes that's the recipe I've been using sans potassium chloride.


January 11th is when I added salt, baking soda, and epsom at 50% concentration, I have been maintaining that since (brought to 60% now, also with CaCl2). So it's been a month just about.

My tap water is really soft:

How would I raise the gH? My tap water has 0. Should I worry about kH?

Do you think the benefit of 100% Holtfreter's would outweigh the benefit of being comfortable and happy in his tank (vs tubbed)? My only concern is stress levels, and I've gotten the tank pretty nice and planted finally which is doing wonders for the nitrate spikes. Maybe these plants could tolerate 100%?

At what concentration would you recommend for methylene blue baths/how long? I have a 5% solution (aquatronics).

What I've been doing to add the Holtfreter's is filling up a 1L measuring cup with 500ml hot water, adding all but baking soda one at a time stirring to dissolve fully, then adding the baking soda last (also dissolving fully). Then adding 500ml ice cold water, then dumping that in the tank right away pouring all over the surface to disperse evenly. Is this okay? I was never great a chemistry so hopefully it's not messing up how it mixes.

 

[wolfen]

whether the plants will tolerate the levels of salt depends on the plant, some can tolerate low levels ie.. 50% - 100% holtfreters solution and some will tolerate higher levels ie.. ringers solution were as other won't tolerate any.
I will add the amphibian formulary which has the amount required for treating Saprolegniasis (fungus/mold) or dose at half fish dose which is (according to aquatronic directions) 2 drops per gallon (1 drop per gallon for axolotl) for a 30 min bath.
I use 50% holtfreters as standard weekly with 0.1g magnesium sulphate, I dissolve salt/calcium chloride/magnesium sulphate/potassium chloride to the amount required for a water change into a 1 litre bottle with hot/boiled water, this is allowed to cool down overnight, I add the solution into the first bucket of dechlorinated water and add to tank (I do three buckets at 25 ltr each, total 30% water change) second bucket is just dechlorinated water, I add the required amount of bicarbonate of soda to the third bucket of dechlorinated water, I switch the filter on once the first bucket is put in to circulate and mix the water.
bicarbonate of soda will improve the kh, calcium chloride/ potassium chloride/ magnesium sulphate will improve gh, 50% holtfreters + 0.1g per litre magnesium sulphate is ideal for making water conditions more comfortable/ideal for axolotls, 100% with 0.2g magnesium sulphate is used for medicinal purposes.