Most Effective treatmeant (gill fungus)

[annmarie]

Hi. I am studying about diseases right now and I noticed many people have had accounts of the gill fungus (even I, a long time ago). It is that stuff that looks like wite little cotton balls or some sort of white film covering the fimbriae. I have read extensively axolotl.org, etc so just sending me a link probably will not help.

Currently I am searching for the best ways to eliminate gill fungus (Saprolegnia?) and/or if columnaris(bacterial pathogens, possibly gram negative) can also a culprit of "gill fungus".

If both colmnaris and saprolegnia do both appear on gills, I would like pictures of both to compare.

Also, what is the probably cause of the infection on persons who have experienced and treated.

Here are a few questions:

What do you believe led to infection?
Prior to an infection being apparent, was there any behavior change?
How did you treat the infection?
Before treated, how fast did it spread? How many gills became effected and did it effect any other parts of body?
Do you do salt baths? if so, with or with out refrigeration?
Is there a difference to healing compared with refrigeration vs. non refrigeration (room temp between 15-20 C)?
Do you use medications along with salt baths, if so, which and why?
Do you use medication without salt baths?
How long to you treat?
What is the ratio between survivals and fatalities while being treated?
Has anyone experienced the infection "curing itself", i.e. no treatment but infection appeared to clear up "naturally"?
Ratio of survival vs. fatality if left untreated?
How often do you feed while treating?
How long did it take to eliminate infection and were there any recurrences after initial elimination?
Did the "fungus" effect the "stalks" or the "feathers" of the gills.

I would like all those who have experienced in either success or failure to treat "gill fungus" to reply with their personal experience.

Feel free to answer only the questions you can, but the more answers, the better a picture is painted.

If you have information not in the questions please share, for the questions do not cover everything. Any links BESIDE axolotl.org and the axolotl colony(ambystoma genetic center) is also appreciated as well as recommended literature about the study, cause and effects of pathogens on axolotls, specifically ones effecting the gills.

Thank you. Wow that was a lot...Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

[sherri]

Ok, I'll try

- My axie Axelina has had fungus plenty of times. I am not sure where she got it from. Possibly from the other axie who I used to have, which I had only quarantined for 2 weeks.

- Axelina had fungus on the hair (feathers)on the gills, not on gills themselves. She mostly got it on 1-3 gill feathers, not all of them. And when the fungus goes, it takes all the hair-feathers with it.

- She also had fungus on both her eyes, her tail, her fin and her toes.

- I did leave her untreated when she first got it, as I didn't know what it was. But she only had a little tiny bit, and cured herself.

- She usually gets it when she is stressed

- I use salt baths for mild fungus, and Methylene Blue for more serious cases, which seems to work very well.But I only use about 1/10th of amount the pack states, and I don't put it directly to her tank.Instead she has medicine baths twice a day in a bucket, half an hour each time. This is a strong medication, so I do it 4 days on, and 4 days off.If fungus persists, I do another 4 days on. This was adviced to me by a vet.

- After she got another serious illness, I had to disinfect her whole tank. This was about 3-4 weeks ago, and she hasn't had fungus since. So I guess the bacteria for fungus was living in her tank water.

Hope that helps

 

[annmarie]

Thanks, its a good start for me.
Can't wait to compare your answers with other.

 

[amber]

I have been incredibly fortunate up to date, I've only ever had two case of fungus.

One occurred when Spyyk came down with anchor worm, probably brought in on some new plants that weren't rinsed properly.

It only hit a couple of fimbriae from the cysts that the parasite caused, and were very quickly eliminated with a daily 12 minute Holt's solution bath. Gone in less than three days.
No refrigeration required, and I used Parazin P to eliminate the parasite. Normal tank temp 20C.

The other was on a poorly axolotl with a chewed foot. The fungus was spreading remarkably rapidly, from a small pinhead patch to a cluster almost 5mm wide in under two days. There was also a patch on the damaged lip.
Fortunately I was able to treat this (and other damage) using Holt's and a half dose of Meth blue in the tank itself.
When it cleared up after a week, the foot grew back well, but the lip had a "chunk" missing for the rest of his life. Again, no refrigeration in this incident, but the room was at about 18C.

Both axolotl were sluggish, Spyyk itchy due to anchor worm.
They lost interest in food for a short time also.

 

[annmarie]

thanks, this is getting good. we need more people to add. every experience counts.

 

[rebecca]

our Sparkyles had fungus when we got her from the pet shop
she was treated in her tank for 1 week with an antibacterial and antifungal treatment from the vet
she also had salt baths 2 times a day for 10 days until obvious signs of improvement were noticed
she lost all filliaments except on one stalk which seem uneffected the other stalks were damaged and one lost entirely
her behaviour was slow an generally unmoving but now 2-3 weeks later she is starting to re grow her stumps and filliament and her behaviour is much more intresting -- more active
she has even let us see her eat for the first time yesterday
she wasnt ever in the fridge but we did cool her tank to about 17 degrees room temp varies from 20 to 30 degrees at the moment though she is never over 20- with regular ice bricks and a fan

hope this helps