Fungus(?) on gills

[JARVIS]

Can anyone confirm whether this is a fungus? What steps do I need to take to get rid of it? Temp has been a steady 17-18C since we got him (possibly her) and his brother (possibly sister) two months ago and they've both been fine until a couple of days ago when they both started eating less. What conditions would cause this sort of affliction?

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Elise]

It might be on his eyes too. In addition, his skin looks irritated to me.

Is your tank cycled?
What are the ammonia levels in your aquarium at this time?
What are some of your other parameters (Nitrite, Nitrate, ph)?
How often do you do water changes?
How large is the tank?

Also, pictures of the other one would be helpful.

 

[auntiejude]

Yes that is fungus. You need to start salt baths straight away, twice a day until the fungus has gone and the one a day for another 2 days.

If you give us your water paramenters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, temp) we may be able to help you further.

 

[layna]

Hey
As you say your temp is 17-18C, the things that come to mind to cause fungus are bad water quality and an open wound that got infected.
You say your got your axies 2 months ago, but as asked above, did you cycle your tank?
If you didnt cycle your tank you will need to start doing daily 20% water changes to bring any ammonia + nitrite down so its not harming your lottle.

As soon as you give us some more info we can help you out, but your should read the sticky on salt baths and start doing them to get rid of that fungus

 

[xxianxx]

From the colour of the axolotl and the prominent veins I would say that it is suffering from ammonia burns, the white covering on the eye is scaring from the ammonia. The fungus on the gill is probably due to poor water quality. You need to improve your water quality asap.

 

[Elise]

the white covering on the eye is scaring from the ammonia.

I never knew that ammonia toxicity can cloud the eyes and I actually had to go looking to find if that was correct. Almost every time I see a post where there is anything white around the eyes it gets attributed to fungus. Seems it is correct and I've included information below. It was interesting to go back over some older posts where complaints of white eyes also showed signs of ammonia irritation as well (here and here).


The quote below is from a post on ammonia toxicity in axolotls:

Ammonia toxicity in the axolotl can manifest as a chemical insult of the skin and the external gills, cloudy eyes, and infection (normally a secondary opportunistic infection) on the skin of the animal. In the worse case scenario, it dies. Behavioural signs include can include inappetance and unusual 'floating'.

You'll have to expand on what you mean when you use the word "scaring", it almost seems ironic in the context of an axolotl. I'm now wondering, if an axolotl had a fungal infection could it spread to the eyes?

 

[xxianxx]

I never knew that ammonia toxicity can cloud the eyes and I actually had to go looking to find if that was correct. Almost every time I see a post where there is anything white around the eyes it gets attributed to fungus. Seems it is correct and I've included information below. It was interesting to go back over some older posts where complaints of white eyes also showed signs of ammonia irritation as well (here and here).


The quote below is from a post on ammonia toxicity in axolotls:


You'll have to expand on what you mean when you use the word "scaring", it almost seems ironic in the context of an axolotl. I'm now wondering, if an axolotl had a fungal infection could it spread to the eyes?

Idk if fungal infections can spread to an axolotls eye, probably, but you would have to ask a herp vet or one of the more experienced people on here. Ammonia damages the eye making it go cloudy, it is referred to as "scaring" in the posts where it is mentioned so I have used the same vocabulary to describe the damage her. This cloudiness of the eye will go away once the water conditions have been improved, as will the pink tinge and veiny look of the axolotl. The fungus on the gills is probably the result of the poor water quality reducing the axolotls immune system or removing its protective slime coat, it is an opportunistic infection rather than the actual problem itself which is poor water quality.

 

[JARVIS]

So I started doing salt baths straight away and daily 30-40% water changes in their tank and the boys seem much happier and are looking a lot better already.

I had properly cycled the tank before they arrived so I don't understand how, but it seems the tank was no longer cycling as the nitrates and nitrites were 0 but ammonia was at 1!! It seems the cycle crashed somehow. Is there any way I can get it back up and running?

Tank size is 60 ltrs and there's just the two of them in there (12cm and 10cm). I have been doing 25% weekly water changes since they arrived and have been vigilant with the turkey baster too.

Unfortunately my pH tester kit was contaminated so I can't check that just yet.

 

[layna]

Daily water changes of 10-20% until you have 0 readings for ammonia and nitrite again, then back to weekly water changes
How big is your tank ect, and were you adding an ammonia source until the day before you added them?
Sometimes if the bioload is too much the filter wont keep the tank cycled

 

[layna]

I missed a part haha it might be that your tank is a little small for them, i have two axies in a 100L tank and by the end of the week their nitrate is at 40ppm and i have live plants in there along with a pothos growing out of the top, they are very very messy creature

 

[EmbryH]

I agree with Layna. That tank seems to be barely too small. An adult axolotl needs around 40 liters (37.8 = 10 gallons). 60 liters is only about 15 gallons, which is a little short for two adults. It's probably possible to keep them comfortable in there, but it'll require much more work to make sure the water doesn't get out of shape again.

It sounds like you need a tank that holds at least 76 liters (20 gallons) for your axies. Like I said, you might be able to make things work as is, but the general opinion of axolotl keeping is 10 gallons/adult axolotl.

 

[JARVIS]

The older one is 6 months old and the younger is only 5 months old. I plan to move them to a bigger tank soon but I was advised that 60l is plenty at their current size.

They both have their colour back to normal now but I will continue with the salt baths for another 4 or 5 days anyway.

 

[auntiejude]

Yes 60L is OK for now at their current size. I have 8 at 10cm in a tank that size, they are waiting to go to their new homes.
But you will need 80-100L once they are fully grown - you have time to save.

 

[Yevgeniy matsay]

My friend used to have the same thing with his axie and the fungus was all over his gills. He tried salt baths and it didn't work. But you know what did work fish fungus cure tablets! Buy some fungus cure tablets for fish and put in you tank and it will take away all the fungus my friend had a lot of succes with this! You can find tablets on your nearest pet store good luck

 

[auntiejude]

My friend used to have the same thing with his axie and the fungus was all over his gills. He tried salt baths and it didn't work. But you know what did work fish fungus cure tablets! Buy some fungus cure tablets for fish and put in you tank and it will take away all the fungus my friend had a lot of succes with this! You can find tablets on your nearest pet store good luck

Nonononono! Very few fish treatments are safe for axies. Why do you think salt baths are recommended over medication? Because axies absorb chemicals through their skin unlike fish who don't. Would you give dog medecine to a snake? No, they are completely different species.
DO NOT use over the counter fish medicine without talking to a vet first.

 

[Yevgeniy matsay]

Thats the thing we have an exotic vet nearby and his vet said that those tablets would work but i dont rember the company. Ok then some tablets aren't safe but my friends axie is perfectly fine. Maybe the company didn't have any chemicales that could harm his axie,but the vet looked at the ingredients and said it would work. Ask your vet first of you should put the tablets in because some company's have harmful chemicales that can harm your axie.