Ick on an Axolotl

[Pez]

I noticed my albino axolotls gills look torn and there are some feathers missing and gone with what looks like some with scar tissue. after this i noticed that one of the fish i put in the tank for them to feed off of had ick. I am worried that my Axolotl has gotten ick, but i am not sure this is possible, or if it is really just the fish have been picking off on the gills. Does any body have any ideas to put my worries to rest and heal my Axolotl?

 

[XeryusTC]

I think that your fish has been nibbling on your axolotl's gills and that's the reason why they're partially gone.
Considering the ick I would recommend that you take your axolotl out of the tank and treat the entire tank against ick. Putting a heater in would be the easiest method IIRC but you could also use anti-ick medicine but be sure to completely change the water afterwards. AFAIK all ick cures will also kill your axolotl so be sure to remove him from the tank.
Next time you should quarantine anything you put in the tank for at least a month, especially feeder fish IMO. That way you can spot problems before they transfer to your axolotl. I would personally be more careful with feeder fish as the parasites that they may carry are even more easily transfered to the axolotl if the fish gets eaten.

EDIT:
I don't know how to treat ick that has already gotten on the axolotl but there was a similar thread a while ago and I think the main suggestion was to add some salt to the axolotls water. It should only be a tiny amount so the axolotl doesn't get affected but that the ick's offspring will die when they're not in the host.

 

[twistedfisher]

As i am also a fish keeper this is something we often have to deal with when bringing in new species to the fish room.

It's a bit different tho when handeling an axie:

Firstly remove your axie and do the salt bath/fridge thing while you treat your tank so that it is getting treatment at the same time.

Secondly get a heater in the tank and get it up to 83 degrees. Ick cannot survive above 81 and 83 will wipe out everything including the parasites eggs!

Thirdly treat the water with 1 table spoon of salt per 5 gallons of water. This is why we removed your aquatic friend!

Now the hard part is to wait. Wait for at least 10 days. Changing 25% of the water every 3 days and redosing the salt amount for the new water being added.

After the treatment of the tank is done make sure to completely refill and empty the tank 4-5 times to wash any salt residue outta it. Take a bit of time and scrub and decorations with a brush and any plants should have their leaves gently rubbed under water to clear any salt from them.

Salt will not kill most live plants but they may get mad at ya and turn a bit lighter.

Salt treatment for ick also does not kill the beneficial bacteria that has your tank cycled so there is no worries there for losing your cycled tank status.

Hope this helps you out.

 

[Jennewt]

I have never seen any reliable information about whether or not amphibians can catch or carry ich. Some sources say they can, but I've never seen (in person or in photo) a convincing example of an ich organism on an amphibian, so I have my doubts.

As the others have pointed out, there are other possible reasons for the gill problems on your axie. And you'll have to separate the axie from the fish in order to treat the ich.

 

[bayhicoach]

Here is the link to the thread about ich on an axie. I respectfully disagree with Jennewt on the idea that axies don't get ich.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...canum/f58-sick-axolotl/71529-white-lumps.html

 

[Jennewt]

Here is the link to the thread about ich on an axie. I respectfully disagree with Jennewt on the idea that axies don't get ich.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...canum/f58-sick-axolotl/71529-white-lumps.html

Wow, I had never seen that thread. It certainly does look like ich. But I still wonder... if axolotls get ich, why don't we see it fairly commonly? Considering how often people keep axies with fish, or use feeder fish, it seems like it should crop up fairly often. In contrast, we see cases of anchorworm fairly often, and it's a less common fish disease than ich.

In any case, the instructions from twistedfisher seem to be right on target. Do you know how to do the standard salt baths and fridging for the axie?

 

[Pez]

thank you all, for the suggestions and help, i will try it all out. But no i have never done a standard salt bath or friged an axie, how would i go about doing so?

 

[michael]

My guess is it is natural coloration. I've never heard of a salamander getting ich. If it was ich I would expect lesions and infections. Unless lesions or infections show up I would not treat.