Don't want to lose Alana's Axie!!!

[lissalana]

The white on the nose came.off tonight and left a raw spot. Whatever it is it got from another axie I just lost with the same problems, loosing gills quickly and then the sore on the nose and almost looking like dead skin that flaked off.

Have this female in a bin on the counter and have been trying to keep her cool with well water at 60 degrees out of the tap, with no chlorine.

I put the last one in the fridge for four days checked on her daily in fact posted a picture last time because her tail looked funny but everyone said she was doing ok. Was giving the other one salt baths daily, but evidently my son turned up the fridge from 5 to 6 and she got too cold And died. It broke my heart because Iit was one of Alana's babies.
And I know a fridge is difficult anyway because you have to keep it a certain temp in order to keep food safe.

So for this girl I have not put her in the fridge or given her salt.baths. just put her in a bin. Have been terrified of losing this girl.because this is also one of Alana's babies.

The aquarium is a 55 gallon. Just did a 50% water change yesterday.

I really need some help..... this is the 2nd axie with the same issues. Loss of gills and sore on mouth.

Nothing on the bottom except some.large round pebbles... but I wonder if they are hitting the rocks as they eat the earthworms, now that I think about it. That's the only reason I can think of that the nose would get sore.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! !!!

 

[HayleyK]

Poor lotl

I'm not sure what the raw nose is caused from but I would keep her isolated with daily 100% water changes, and I would also try tea baths to help her skin. She's still looking plumpish so hopefully no need to fridge or be too worried about weight loss.

Keep offering worms and keep her cool and clean

Maybe remove the pebbles, they trap gunk anyway and mess with your water quality.

Also do you treat the water with dechlorinator? There might be other chemicals in your water ways.

 

[snuggly time]

Is that skin on the gill or fungus (white and cottony)?

 

[lissalana]

I will pull the smooth pebbles today. Yes she is still eating earthworms. I can't tell if it is skin on the gills or a fungus.

I will try a tea bath today.

We checked the water not too long ago and it was fine. We have hard water and the chemicals are great.

Does a fungus cause their gills to itch? Just curious? I have read a lot on funguses over the past couple of months.

Thank you for your posts. When I do water changes I siphon off the bottom so that keeps water cleaner from waste.

 

[Petersgirl]

Fungus definitely causes irritation and can cause them to 'scratch' themselves, either with their paws or by rubbing their bodies against ornaments, tank glass and the tank floor. Fungus is white, cottony and comes off when touched. Dead skin or slime coat is slimy and thinner.
I think what may have happened is that this may be a tankmate's bite, an accident on a piece of tank furniture, or possibly an infection - pink patches often seem to show where bacteria is having an effect. A tea bath is a definite yes to soothe the axolotl, but only if you are completely sure he/she doesn't have fungus, as you will need to do salt baths for fungus, and tea baths lessen the amount of salt that reaches the fungus.

I hope this little baby is better soon. If you are in any doubt as to a diagnosis, a vet may be the only surefire option. This is only my two cents given anecdotal evidence and my own guesses.
I'm sorry for the loss of your other axolotl, but I wish this one a whole and hearty recovery. I know how precious they are to you.

 

[lissalana]

I really Can't tell if it is a fungus off the ends of a couple of gills or dead skin.

Also I put made a tea bath and wasn't quite sure if I put in too much tea or not enough when I have her in the bin. Here is a picture of her if this helps in the tea bath. I changed out her water put in fresh cold water and then put in the cooled tea.

I took out all the large round pebbles in case this is part of her problem.

I also took more pictures of her and gills.

Comments are greatly appreciated!

 

[lissalana]

What is the best way to keep a 55 gal aquarium cool? I am wondering if this may be part of the problem because the temp stays around 68 degrees and I am daily putting in a liter water bottle that I keep in the freezer, into the tank to cool it down.

I expect the temperature swings may be part of the problem although except for the gill problem they don't seem to be stressed.

I did order some almond leaves grade A last night but those are not due in for 3 weeks.

I ordered another API testing kit also last night just in case the shelf life in the stores was off, and my readings might be off.

I am trying to cover all bases because when they are sick I really get worried. These are Alana's babies, and having lost one already and I dont trust my frig temp with children around.

I tend to think the water temperature is my culprit in causing the gill problems.

So any suggestions on how to cool a large 55 gal aquarium would be greatly appreciated. Obviously the current method of ice and adding the liter bottle of ice is not efficient.

 

[Kaini]

What is the best way to keep a 55 gal aquarium cool? I am wondering if this may be part of the problem because the temp stays around 68 degrees and I am daily putting in a liter water bottle that I keep in the freezer, into the tank to cool it down.

Well if you're asking for THE BEST way it's definitely an aquarium chiller, but those are expensive and hard to set up

I use an aquarium fan I purchased on amazon to cool my tank, though admittedly it's much smaller so I'm not sure it would be nearly as effective on a larger tank.
You could try using a regular fan (Aim it so it's sort of 'skimming' the water - never aim it straight at the water)

 

[lissalana]

Does your aquarium fan keep your tank cool? Do you know how much it drops the temp? My house hvac is set on 69 and the aquarium stays around 68.

I can see it being more of a problem this summer when the house is set on 77. That is really going to be a problem.

I guess whatever I find now is the time to do it because it is winter and I am having a hard time now keeping the temp correct.

 

[Kaini]

My fan lowers the temp around 4 degrees in the tank, but my tank is a ten gallon. It's a small fan though, maybe a couple of them (or a bigger fan) would work for you?


If your house is going to be even warming in the winter I'd really invest in a chiller if you can afford it at all.

 

[Petersgirl]

Tea bath dosages are one cup (with one teabag used) per 10 litres of water - which converts to 2.6 US Gallons. Hope that helps!

55 US Gallons is pretty big too. My tank is only 26 UK Gallons (31.2 US Gallons) and I keep it cool with a small black fan aimed at the top of the water at an angle. For summer I have two fans - the small black one and a larger white one, and I keep the window wide open a lot of the time. If you do use fans be sure to keep lots of dechlorinated water on hand because the fans evaporate water to cool the tank down and the level can drop substantially.

Another method - which I call Bek's method because that was the member who introduced it to me - is to dampen some towels and wrap them around the outside of the tank (obviously being very careful around power outlets/plugs/powerpoints). This is a bit safer than constantly switching ice bottles, which requires careful watching.

I am a bit worried about those gills though. Heat stress can lead to shedding of the slime coat, general unusual/stressed behaviour and damage to gills and skin. It also looks like the gill has been eaten away. Just my two cents but maybe he/she does need a salt bath. My test would be to generally touch the white stuff. If it comes off it's fungus. If it's thin and slimy, and isn't cottony, it's dead skin. Dead skin may come off a bit but chances are some will stay on the gills.

Hope this helps!

 

[lissalana]

In the 55 gal aquarium. .. other than the gills there is no sign of stress. Tails laying straight, etc. I am going to find something today to spread the flow on the filter.

As to the gills, I tried to pull off some of the stuff and it does not come off. Just madw the axie mad. So it must be dead skin.

I pulled all the pebbles and it might be when there is feeding time at the zoo that they are getting aggressive with the earthworms. So without the pebbles the worms now wiggle without obstruction at the bottom of the tank AAndit is easier for them to feed.

I know it depends on the size of the worms, however these are red wigglers. How many worms typically get an axie full? I know that is sort of a loaded question, because there are so many variables.

If a gill has been bitten off will the axie scratch at it out of irritation? Or only when there is a fungus? That is more of a general question for my education.

A fan would actually be perfect for the winter as I am only a couple of degrees off from a perfect aquarium temp, however I am worried about this upcoming summer.

As to the water bottle because it is such a large aquarium it doesn't change the water temp but about 2 to 3 degrees. I only use a 2 liter bottle. As you stated I think 2 bottles would be too drastic of a temp change.

As to a vet none in the area can handle an axie. Their suggestions were to google on the Internet lol.

Thanks so very much for sharing your knowledge. .. I always say that a stupid question is one that does not get asked.

 

[Petersgirl]

No problems - it's why we're here. And I agree - the only silly question is the one which is unasked.

Feeding earthworms is a very individual thing. It depends on how large the worms are, the temp of the tank and your axolotl's personal appetite, as well as your axolotl's size. My female is a greedyguts and gets a worm a day, medium sized, and she will eat it guaranteed - she is just shy of 8". My 8.5 inch male eats every day too but has been known not to eat from time to time. My advice would be to watch your baby carefully for his or her preference. Does the axxie prefer to eat every day? Do they ever refuse food, are sick, or display discomfort with daily feeds? Do they snap if not fed? My solution for my female is to let her have a biggish worm, then a smaller worm the next day as she gets snappy without a daily feed. My male gets the same and so far they aren't overweight. Guidelines seem to be that older axxies, say 6" or bigger, only need feeding every other day, but in my experience I like to feed every day.

I am unsure whether axxies scratch even if the gill isn't infected - I should imagine wounds itch and are uncomfortable for them even without fungus. But the tea baths should hopefully stop it getting to that stage. I've got my fingers crossed that it is dead skin. That's not typically a problem, whereas fungus can be a pain.

If your area gets very hot in summer it may be worth considering making your own chiller, or buying one cheaply second hand or off the internet (they are very expensive new). There are guides on here for DIY chillers using fridges and similar. One guy even kept his tank inside a Husky fridge! (Carefully monitored of course!)

Bottles can be notoriously tricky to get right and the temp shock they can cause is a worry, so I always feel safer with a fan. It's what I use during the winter months

Oh dear! Well, I guess it is true what the Masai say, 'one head cannot hold all wisdom.' It's not surprising a lot of vets perhaps don't want to try treating an axolotl if they are unsure as to their care. I wouldn't want to risk harming someone's pet even if my intentions were good and my knowledge strong. I guess it's the same for them.

I hope this information is helpful. Good luck with your baby!

 

[lissalana]

Great info thank you.

The daily feeding issue may be part of my problem... or lack of dsily feeding in my case. I read to only feed them 3-4 times a week for the adults. I'll lay you dollars to donuts that that is part of my problem which would mean the tank mates are very aggressive come feeding days which they are.

In this babies case it would also be why it is dead skin that is attached instead of a fungus which comes off. In my case when I went to take it off a couple of different times all I ended up doing was making the axie upset at me.

I will definitely have a problem come summer. My hubby is mechanically inclined so I will see if we can do some searches on chillers making them yourself.

I greatly appreciate your input on your feeding techniques. I will try daily feedings and see if this stops my gill problems.

Any clue how long it takes for the gills to grow back?

Many thanks for your comments!!!

 

[Petersgirl]

I'm glad the information is helpful!

Daily feeding can prevent snappiness if they seem to be nippy come feeding time - my female is particularly piggy and can snap if not fed every day, while my male seems less bothered.

Gills are tricky too. My male lost a gill and it grew back fused with his second gill (this was before I got him), and his gill fronds will never be luxuriant owing to damage sustained before I got him - it looked like gill nibbling. Some owners report full gill regrowth, others report regrowth with added extras or slight abnormalities (extra gills, trident gills, different coloured gill stalks, etc) and others report that theirs have never grown back properly or at all. In my boy's case his grew back, but fused, and the damage sustained has meant his fronds are permanently damaged. Regrowth can take anywhere between a month to several depending on the health of the axxie and what it is fed.

I hope your babies are flourishing! And how lucky too, to have a mechanically minded husband - I hope the chillers prove to be easy and useful.