EEEEK!!! Morphing Axolotl!!!

[avalon_princess]

Okay Okay, so I'm a soft touch, but I was at the petstore picking up some new fish, and I found down the back this poor axie who'd has his price marked down (from $50 to $15) OMg the poor thing looked so unhappy, half the axolotls they had, had their gills already shrinking, but this guy was the worst of the lot. He'd been marked down because he's got a patch of fungus on his tail...

So the signs
His gills are down to stubs with just a few filaments, and he's breathing air entirely, he spends his whole time with his head out of water
His eyes are different, much bigger and bulbous
His legs are different, their thicker and look like their designed to carry him, not just thin weak legs like axolotls normally have
The membrane on his tail, is shrinking and going down to just the fleshy part of the tail.

He's a solid black axie, he also has a patch of white stuff, which appears to be fungus on his tail.

I only just got back, so he's still in his bag, but I'm about to set up the quarantine tank for him, I waqs thinking of skipping the filter and doing large 90-100% water changes everyday to at least give him clean water, and without the filter that should reduce any stress from current.

I also only have gravel substrate spare which has been cleaned and washed, but I do ahve some ultra fine gravel in a bag that I could use. I thought I'd use it to give him an area to get out of the water? So he can breathe? And also keep the water level low, say at 5-10 cm so he can get to the surafce quickly?

Is there anyway at all I can reverse the morph? or should I just sit tight and hope he makes it? What should I feed him?

Blah I only got my first axie a week ago, but i couldn't leave this poor guy at the store, the store keepers dont even know what morphing is, the poor guy would drown.

As soon as I've settled him in the tub, I'll grab some pics

 

[digger]

firstly i would try to treat the fungus with salt baths before it spreads.
the things you describe, shrinking gills and tail could just be poor water quality, if i was you i would put slightly more water with it to at give him the choice of staying under if he wishes.
i think it might even be better to fridge him for a while to help him de-stress.

 

[avalon_princess]

The water is at about 10cm deep, with a platform at the end in case he wants to get out, he's already been on the platform twice.

How much salt? right now theres about 5g of water in there... I've treated fish with salt before, but I'm not sure on doses for axolotls...

I'm wary of putting him in the fridge, both the fridges we have are full of dyes and chemicals, and smell like their full of dyes and chemicals, I think there'd be at least some toxins which have been released into the air.

If I put him in the fridge, what temperature does it need to be at? and how do I acclimatise him to it?

He's swimming around the quarantine tub now, he does spend some time on the floor like a normal axie, but alot of the time is spent with his head out of water, and when he's under water he's continually blowing bubbles.

Will snap some pics now

 

[avalon_princess]

Just tested the water he came in, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate. The fish guy said they cleaned the axolotl tubs out every day, so this must've been started at the wholesalers, and he's been at the store for over a week....

Head shot, you can see how small his gills are

I brightened the above shot to show his eyes

Side shot, you can see the fungus on his tail

 

[digger]

hi again,
salt baths 2/3 teaspoons in a tub with 1 litre of dechlorinated water for 10-15 mins 2-3 times a day.
im sorry if it sounds im questionong your judgement but, are you sure it is fungus/ is it fluffy cus from the pic it looks like a mark so best to make sure.
secondly he looks no different from my 3 adults who are all water bound, they have small gills due to large amount of plants and aeration in their tank.{ their water quality is checked weekly and has always been spot on}
i should imagine your water is fine as you have just got him but that doesnt mean where he came from was,depending on how many axies they were holding in one tank they could have had limited air.
good luck

 

[avalon_princess]

I dunno bout the wholesalers but at the store they were one per tank, tanks being 3-5g. There definitely wasn't plenty of aeration, since the tanks were unfiltered.

The mark is sort of bumpy, its not fluffy like the fungus I'm used to, but it definitely doesn't look like it's meant to be there, it could be a scar, but I was under the assumption that axies regeneration abilities prevent scarring...

His legs are so thick, and he can walk on them, as he's gone onto the land spot a few times, and his legs can easily hold him up, something I haven't experienced in any axies before, as one of our local petstores thought it was funny to take them for "walks" and those axies slithered like snakes, not walking.

I'm hoping he can return to normal, as he'd make a good buddy for my other axie, he just looks so different.

the membrane of his tail doesn't start till the fleshy part of his tail starts either, and the bulbous eyes as well, which were all classic symptoms of metamorphosis. The gills sit oddly as well, lying back rather then standing out.

I'll start salt baths tomorrow, I'm going to give him some time to settle in first.

 

[avalon_princess]

So, if he does morph, will his gills continue to shrink till their non existent? and the tail membrane will do the same? Are there any other signs?

And if he reverts to to the normal larval axolotl, his gills will grow back in? will the others signs revert to what they should be? or is he stuck with big legs and eyes, and a funny tail?


He seems to have settled in okay, he's not interested in the bloodworms I put in, but he's settled down and is just lazing around like your average axolotl, only difference is he spends most of his time floating on the surface with his mouth and nose out of the water. he can sit on the bottom and walk around like an axie, as he does do it at times, he just seems to prefer floating, probably easier to breathe as well.

Edit- Just went to remove the bloodworms, and their no longer there, must be a shy axie LOL. At least I know he's eaten something.

 

[Bellabelloo]

Hi Emma,
I know next to nothing on axolotl morphing, but as Digger suggests he may not be changing and that his symptoms may be down to previous poor water quality, if that is the case his gills may become fuller, his legs look like my wild type as for his eyes I can not tell( Jeffrey is head first in his cave and not co-operating!) If he is indeed morphing I think you are doing the correct things. The key is not to stress him any more than he is already and to watch his light patch for any changes. My wild type goes through phases of swimming close to the surface, earlier he was poking his nose above, I did the water checks and all is well there ...I supect he is trying to keep me on my toes!

 

[avalon_princess]

Blah, Morpheus has climbed entirely out of the water now, looking very proud of himself as well. His skin is different from the morphed axie pics I've seen though, at least some of it still has the slime coat, I'm not sure on his head though, it does look a bit like the pics.

Should I fridge him? I just learnt we have another fridge (god we have way to many fridges LOl) That Mum keeps her specimens in (she's a natural history illustrator) I can put him in there if needed.

I'll start with salt water baths tomorrow and see how he goes, when I move him, can I pick him up? or do I need to net him? as trying to transfer him from his bag to the tank was not exactly an enjoyable experience using a net.

And should I add a filter? i figured plenty of water changes would be more useful, as their only temporary stress, rather then a filter blowing him about continually.

 

[Bellabelloo]

A mum with too many fridges, I can barely cope with one!..she's going to love sketching your little lad! I have no idea what to suggest other than keep him ( and you ) cool and let him have access to water/ moisture. Maybe the white patch was an area of shed or non shed skin ( hummm..that spelling looks horribly wrong). Keep us posted on what happens next!

 

[niajetze]

that white patch looks like another axie has chomped on his side and it is healing to me any way

 

[Jennewt]

From the photos, I'm not completely convinced that he's morphing. It's possible that he is, and you are taking the right steps in providing a climb-out area. But his symptoms might also be explained as being caused by stress at the pet shop. It's not unusual for their gills to shrink when they are in poor health. With less gills, he's forced to come up and breathe air, but that's not 100% indicative of morphing.

It is OK to pick up an axolotl with wet hands, but the main risk is from dropping - they are very slippery.

If the sore on the tail is still an open wound, then salt baths are a good idea. If it has healed and is just a discoloration, then it's not necessary. What is his water temp?

Has he eaten anything? Keep us posted, I'm curious to see if he is indeed morphing or not.

 

[avalon_princess]

He's eaten some bloodworms, about half a cube.

The temp swings around, since right now we're in the middle of some pretty hot days (it's barely even spring here in Aus, and we're getting 35 degree days) But the lotls are situated almost underneath the aircon, so the temp doesn't go about about 21, it drops to about 18 at night though. We put them in the coolest part of the house which is partly underground, so they should be fine.

The white patch is a bit lumpy, blah wish I could get a good photo, but I don't have any spare glass tanks and I'm don't want to put him in Pendragons tank (my other axie) in case Morpheus picked up some sort of illness.

Am just about to give him another water change, and will do one again tonight as well, should keep him cooler too, as the water from the taps is always cooler then the water in the tanks.

Yay got some pics of his tail while he was sitting in the bowl waiting for me to change his water

Oh, with the salt bath do I prepare the bath first and plop him in, or do I put him one litre of tank water, predissolve the salt and pour it in small amounts to get him used to it? and it is noraml run of the mill aquarium salt we're talking about right?

 

[avalon_princess]

Just for the heck of it, heres Morpheus hanging out on his island, the islands a cm or so underwater, so just his back and head are out of the water (since he still has his slimecoat I was worried about him being stupid and drying himself out)

 

[digger]

you dissolve the salt into the dechlorinated water first and then pop him in, 10 - 15 mins 2/3 times a day.
i use sea salt if in doubt goto axolotl.org. or there are plenty of threads here about salt baths,

 

[avalon_princess]

Aquarium salt isn't mentioned on axolotl.org, will run a search on here then.

Oky dokes, just dissolved two teaspoons of salt in 1l of wtaer (that is a tiny amount of water LOl) Am just about to move Morpheus across, will give him 10mins in it and see how he goes

 

[avalon_princess]

uuuh, okay LOL, I just popped the bolw he's in next to me so I could watch him, and I just noticed the oddest thing.

His head is covered in either tonnes of tiny bumps, or some sort of dotty markings.

His body also isn't the solid black it looks like, some patches look like they ahve a white glaze over the top, like his slimecoats thicker in those areas... It's particularly obvious on whats left off his gills. Will try and get pics.

 

[digger]

ok that would be good.
idont think any are solid black or as smooth as they seem, once you get really close you notice this more.

 

[avalon_princess]

He just managed ten minutes in the salt bath before he started stressing out and trying to climb out of the bowl LOL, he's back in his tank sitting on his island.

His head, you can see the gills are a slightly different colour-

The white glazed patches

 

[digger]

it doesnt look like fungus from here as it does not seem to be fluffy or fibrous,i would just keep an eye on it for a while.
looking at his front toes it looks as if he has had a bit of a mauling so the mark on his tail could be from the same.
there is a thread here [ pretty recent] about someones axie and white slime and it was suggested to do cold tea baths?
might be worth you looking at that, cant remember who posted but am just on my way to work and havent the time.
it is really recent though so it shouldnt take to long to find.
best of luck.