Gold Axolotl at Petshop in bad conditon

[rheann]

Hey Y'all,

Today while on one of my outings (because I have been feeling better from the flu) my husband and I went to a petstore here in town that we do not go to often just to have a look around.

Turns out this petshop had one sub adult Gold Axolotl. He is nearly as big as my three big ones.

He is very thin and his gills are in bad shape because the petstore kept him in with very large gold fish and a bunch of guppies and other fish.

To top that, the tank also had aquarium gravel in it, and it seems like he has some in his belly.

Hopefully the gravel will pass soon. The Petshop clerk also proceeded to chase around the Axolotl in the tank with his bare hands, which he never washed before putting into the tank. that rather annoyed me because he wasn't being at all gentle but I didn't want to embarrass the poor guy and make a scene. Better to get in and out quick with the Axolotl.
I will keep him in quarintine for 30 days before I put him in with the others. He doesn't want to eat so hopefully he will start to eat soon.

I have put in him a container with fresh declorinated water and will put him in the fridge shortly. I have added a bit of salt to his water just to make sure he will be ok, it does not seem that he will need salt baths at this time, hopefully it won't come to that.

Other than that I think he is ok. He is a good size and I think with a little tender loving care he will be ok.

I'll get a picture of him later. I had to reboot my computer a week or so ago and haven't had time to re-install the digital camera software. Will get to that shortly.

I'll be betting a very large tank soon with a Rena Canister Filter, so I made the judgement call that it would be ok for me to go ahead and try and get this little guy to help him.

If anyone hasn't been to Petsmart lately, go in and have a look. they have some very nice tanks there right now and I have my eye on a doozie.

 

[rheann]

Update:

He ate the worm bit I gave to him as his first meal so their is some progress

. Haven't had him that long and I am happy to see that he is eating.

I am not sure but it seems that he might have possibly a hook worm or something near his front right arm. It's not moving but I can't see it very well. I don't dare try and pull it off with tweezers. There is no way I can get a good picture of it, my camera is terrible. I'll Monitor it to see how it improves.

Just for the record, what is a safe way to get rid of hook worms?

Also, it seems his back top fin is damaged a bit, it leans to the side, and I haven't seen this in Axolotls before. Hopefully it will get better.

 

[jordan]

well its good that he's started to eat.

 

[rheann]

I woke up this morning to find that the new arrival which I have dubbed Bobo, has used the bathroom, but no sign of any gravel as of yet.

He is eating very nicely though and what ever that "thing" was that I thought was possibly a hook worm doesn't seem to attached to him anymore. I also can't find it in his container, so maybe it was just dirt.

The Stress coat seems to be helping him a lot, the bit of salt I put in his water too. I think he's going to be ok, he just needs to get some weight on him, he's so skinny.

These pictures were taken after he ate his breakfast, so his breakfast is giving him the illusion that he isn't thin.

I was lucky this morning and found my digital camera software so I installed it and took some pictures.

I decided to name him Bobo, since my other gold Axolotl’s name is Bort because we need more Bort’s name License Plates, but perhaps I should have named him Bart lol.

 

[rheann]

I need some help.

I cleaned out Bobo's container today and put him in a very small 5 gallon tank. There is no way I can get a decent enough picture of what I am seeing, but what ever that hook/worm/thing seems to be stuck under his gills again. It's bigger too, and more visible. It looks greenish in color, but it just might be my imagination.

It is right behind his gills, two prongs I think attached to his skin. They look like little pieces of miniature grass, but it's not a plant of any sort. They are next to each other stuck in his skin.

I have no idea what this could be, or how to even begin on a search over the net to find out what it might be.

Bobo eats just fine. He has gotten bigger.

I also noticed what I think was blood in his stool. I looked in his container before I cleaned it and their was a small amount of blood settled at the bottom of his tank. When he moved, the blood disappeared into the water.

I am worried for this little guy even though he eats just fine. I never see him swim or make any effort to move other than to take gulps of air form the surface. His gills are getting bigger, but he still takes a lot of air from the surface.

Has anyone ever had similar problems with the green two pronged things? Here are the best current pictures I could get of him. Sorry about the quality.

 

[jordan]

Wow that sounds terrible, i have never heard anyone talk about blood in the poo before. I also have never heard of the green two pronged things. It sounds like he's in pretty bad shape.

 

[cynthia]

Rheann - I do not know what the parasites could be, but you could try a salt bath or 2 and see if they fall off.

Also you might try Nitrofura-G The Richard Gordan lab (University of Manitoba) offers the following: We've had great luck treating skin infections and skin parasites, "fuzz" on the gills and apparent fungus in nip wounds, and red sores or skin irritations with Nitrofura - G, a compound of Furazolidine, methylene blue, and postassium dichromate available from most fish stores. We use it in the dosage recommended by the manufacturer. It goes in the water as a yellow powder that turns the water blue. The animals usually improve rather dramatically over three doses. From http://www.indiana.edu/~axolotl/axolotls/faq2.html

The blood in his stool doesn't sound good, it could be from gravel he is trying to pass or it could be something else.

There is always the vet if he doesn't show improvement.

Take a look at these and see if they look like anchor worms http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~parasite/lernea.html

(Message edited by cynorita on October 30, 2005)

 

[rheann]

Thank you so much, Cynthia

I will the salt baths and if that doesn't work then I go to the petshop and see if they have Nitrofura-G. I think I might have better luck with the Nitrofura-G because I gave some salt baths to him when I first got him, and I thought it helped but I will try again. Also the poor Axie, he was kept in a tank full of both large and small gravel at the petshop. He does use the bathroom, but I never find much waste.

I am very worried for him and though he does eat and use the bathroom, if I see anymore blood or if his health starts to get any worse I am going to take him to the vet.

I only found blood once, and I hope I don't see anymore.

As for Anchor worms, this could be what it is. The darn things are so small and hard for me to see.

Thank you again Cynthia

 

[rheann]

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fe20031225at.htm

What Bobo has is indeed Anchor worms.

The blood I saw laying at the bottom of his tank might have been caused from the Anchorworms, or it could have been from his stool. I am still not sure. I will get some Nitrofura-G and see if that helps.

Poor little guy.

 

[jordan]

I hope he pulls through.

 

[cynthia]

Rheann - salt wont kill anchor worms.

Someone elses axolotl had them and I think she (amy?) ended up picking them off with tweezers.

I know I have mentioned dimilin before it is used on goldfish and koi to kill anchor worms but I am not sure it is safe for axolotls.

Does anyone know if dimilin is safe?

 

[rheann]

Hey Cynthia,

I have a pair of tweezers, but I am worried about pulling the worm off from Bobo. He startles easily and bumps into the glass often.

I would like to know about the Dimilin if I can find out if it is safe or not. I think I will try emailing the Colony and see what they have about it, but any info about here will also help.

thanks guys

 

[jordan]

I would still try it (the tweezer method), because if it helps, its for the best.

 

[rebecca]

sounds horrible.. hope bobo turns out okay,
hes eating so thats a good sign
good luck with the tweezers idea...

 

[jordan]

I researched Dimilin, and it says that it is safe for aquariums, not harming plants, and was reviewed and accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency.

 

[apryl]

Eek,i hope he is ok!those worms look gross,i would be scared of pulling them off too but if there was no other way i guess it has to be done.it seems a few of us have ended up the saviours of axies in the hands of the less informed.good luck Rheann

 

[rheann]

Ok, Some good news. I managed to pull off I think all of the Anchor worms from behind Bobo's gills. Boy there were more there than I knew about!

I had to have my husband hold him still while I got them off. Unfortunately Bobo's skin was a bit damaged from the process, but it couldn't be avoided. He had to be held down and my husband was as gentle as he could be and I was asking for a bit much since my husband won't even touch the worms that I feed to my Axies. Bobo will however be ok and I have given him a salt bath and will give him another one later tonight just to be safe

But I am worried about the anchor worms coming back. Is their any safe methods to keep them from coming back? They are pain in the butt to try and get off, especially when they are right behind the gills!

 

[apryl]

Good on you Rheann!!I hope he will be ok,do those hookworm things eat the axies nutrition?Ik!
Just as an aside to Bobo's worries,that container in the top pics,is it a goldfish bowl?It looks exactly the same as the one Diablo came in,and had lived in for over a year!

 

[rheann]

Ok, Bobo seems to STILL have Anchorworms hidden with in his gills. The only way I could tell is that the greenish colored eggs of the female are sticking out. As much as I had hoped I got rid of them, I was wrong.

It could be that it is just part of his gills. I'm not going to risk the tweezers anymore. I think I will try to use the Nitrofura-G method now.

Now can I pick this up at any petshop? I will get the stuff as soon as possible. He's doing ok except for those darn worms.

He eats ok, but he doesn't move at all, which isn't normal. I think perhaps those darn worms make him weak.

Any further advise would be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[cynthia]

Rheann - You might want to check with the axolotl colony and see if you can use Dimilin for the anchor worms.

Nitrofura-G should be available at most pet shops but read the label and see if it mentions killing anchor worms. From what I have seen in the web it is for bacterial infections and there has been no mention of killing parasites.