Gill filaments falling off

[mzkeech123]

Please help me! My axie's gill filaments are falling off on his right side. I am not sure what to do I got him a month ago from a lady who wasn't wanting him she said if someone didnt take him she was going to flush him. I felt terrible and saved him. I researched how to take care of him, but now this is going on. What do i do?

 

[callina]

That could be a water issue. If you got him a month ago by accident, I think, your tank hasn´t been cycled. What are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) and the temp?
You should do a big water change.

 

[mzkeech123]

I did a dip and it says Nitrates (NO3) are 40ppm Nitrates (NO2) 0 Hardness is between 75 and 150 Total Chlorine 0 Alkalinity 120 and pH 7.2. I am doing daily water changes and I made sure the filter was on low so that the water was not flowing too hard into the tank. I dont want him to die or to metamorph.

 

[dragonlady]

Just to clarify - Nitrites are NO2 and Nitrates are NO3. Based on that, I would say that your tank has cycled but the dip (strip) style tests aren't usually accurate. You should try to get the drop style test kits like an API Master Freshwater kit for example. A local pet shop should test your water for free but make sure they have the drop style tests.

I would really like to know what your ammonia level and temp are as Tina requested. Also, are you using any water treatments in your water? City water can have chlorine/chloramines in it and well water runs a danger of carrying metals. Both are toxic to axolotls.

How big is your tank? How much water are you changing? In a cycled tank, weekly 20% water changes should be enough. What is his diet? Do you "houseclean" daily? Depending on the food you use, the chemistry of your tank could be thrown off. Excess food = ammonia...

As far as morphing, this is a very rare occurrence in axolotls...so I wouldn't worry about that. I would worry about proper filtration. Axolotls do prefer slow moving water, but they must have proper filtration too. What kind of filter are you using?

Sorry for all the questions, but we are trying to help. The more information we have, the better advice we can give.

 

[mzkeech123]

i will have to get a drop test so I can test the ammonia. The water temperature is 69 F. The tank is a 29 gallon tank. i am changing about 25% daily right now since i dont know what is going on with its gills. He is eating frozen shrimp from the pet store and brine shrimp. I cant find black worms to feed him. After I feed him I clean up any of the residue that the food left by sucking the top of the sand.

It came with an internal filter that broke so I have a whisper filter for fish tanks that fits the tank size. I dont mind the questions! I appreciate the help as I dont know anyone who knows how to care for them. Also can you help me sex mine?

I also included some new pictures i just took a few minutes ago of its gill filaments. They appear to be fuzzy on one of the gills. I hope he will be ok Any help is appreciated! Thank you!

 

[lea]

There is one photo that looks like she might have a bit of fungus on the gill..You might have to start salt baths. Please waith until you get a 2nd opinion tho.

I think she might be a girl. If you could get a photo shot of her just behind the back legs

 

[virginia]

Your temp might be a little on the higher side. Try to lower it a bit or place your tank to a lower part of your house? (basement)?

Fungus is a pretty common thing here on the threads... sometimes they go away on its own if you maintain good water quality or you could fridge them for a little while to boost the immune system or give them a salt bath... but I hear salt baths are pretty stressful for the axos :/ I have however tried all of these methods on my two axies and they work great! If you need any info on how to do it just search the forums!!

 

[callina]

yes, the fuzzy thing on top of his gills is fungus and you should do salt baths.
Take a look here:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/salt.shtml

It´s probably a girl.

Does she live alone in the tank or are there any other inhabitants?

 

[damien]

I think the culprit is high ammonia, but a water test will make sure. I'm not sure if salt baths are a good thing at the moment, but I can be wrong.
If it ís ammonia the salt might hurt the 'burns' of the ammonia, since it is a wound.

 

[callina]

even high ammonia levels in the tank water aren´t high enough to make open wounds. Ammonia is poisonous and it "works" inside the body. So there´s no reason why mzkeech shouldn´t do salt baths to treat the fungus.

 

[mzkeech123]

Update: The fuzzy thing went away today. The gill filaments are still not growing back yet though. She's the only one in the tank. i am looking for another tank mate as I have fallen in love with their look. i just want to do the right thing and get this one healthy before getting another one. I have a 55 gallon tank that I am setting up according to what everything I have read said to do. i will post pictures of that once it is finished! When that is set up I would love to get some more so if anyone knows anyone selling any please let me know. And thank you all so much for the help I was panicked that I wouldnt get a reply as I am new on here!

 

[dragonlady]

Glad to hear about the fungus. If you maintain that water quality, you should see the fimbriaie start to grow back.

You mentioned having an internal filter, you may want to rethink that as we are not even completely out of Winter yet and you say your temps are already 69...Summer will be a bear (depending on where you are in the US) so the cooler you can maintain the tank now, the better off you will be. The 55 will be easier to keep cool too because of the larger water volume.

Thanks for taking the advice about the drop tests, I think you will be much happier (as will your axie) when you are better able to keep those parameters in check. Good luck! No worries about being a newbie - we all were at some point!

P.S. I think that's a little girl too depending on the size/age.