Nasty tankmate / sick axie

[lisa]

Ok this is gonna be a long post....
About a month ago 2 out of 3 axies in my 3ft tank started peeling, and fungus appeared on their gills. Did tests, no ammonia, no nitrite, less than 40ppm nitrate. ph was a little acidic, so fixed that within a few days. In the mean time daily salt baths were administered.
The peeling didn't clear up, so I moved them to seperate holding tubs, fresh treated water everyday, continuing the salt baths.
A week later, they were still peeling. moved them to 2ft Quarantine tank.
Finally stopped peeling. Then started itching. They kept flicking their legs around trying to itch at their gills. More salt baths
A month later.... still itching.
And now, just the other day i noticed it now looks like one of the axies has started chewing the other axies legs. (strange, she used to be the timid one, now she's matured, shes being nasty)
Now gary (the chewed one) has stopped eating which i know means the worst, im so scared im gonna lose another axie. could she just be stressed from having her legs chewed on? I'm more worried the wounds have left her susceptable to a bacterial infection.... which i know I cant do anything about.
So gary is in a tub on her own... she's getting twice daily salt baths, but im scared to put her in the fridge.
I dont know what to do, ive been through the hell of trying to get sick axies to eat before, and its heart breaking watching them waste away.
Apart from the fridge, what else can I do?

 

[jordan]

Could you post some pictures?? Its just kind-of harder to tell you what to do when you can't see the problem in front of you. Thanks and Good Luck!

 

[cynthia]

Lisa - Why are you afraid to put them in the fridge?

The fridge will only help them its not going to hurt them.

You may want to treat them with some medication, peeling skin for all this time is not good. If salt baths don't seem to be working after 5 days of treatment it may be time to try something else.

If you can not find Nitrofura-G made by Aquatronics or Furan-2 made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, try some Mercurochrome.

Mercurochrome is an antiseptic/disinfectant available at pharmacies and can be quite effective when treating bacterial and fungal problems. The Indiana University Axolotl Colony recommends adding just a few drops to tint the water orange, and change the water frequently. 2-4 ppm (parts per million, i.e. 2 to 4 grams per 1000 litres of water) is the dosage recommended by Peter W. Scott. http://axolotl.org/health.htm

You could always take them to the vet and see if they can take a skin sample and tell you what is wrong.

I would recommend keeping them in the fridge at the very least.

 

[lisa]

Thanks Cynthia, but all is looking good now. Sorry my post was so all over the place, I was in a state of axie panic and desperation, thinking I was gonna lose her.
The peeling isnt an issue anymore, that cleared up after taking them out of holding tubs, and transfering them to the quarantine tank.
I was mainly worried about Gary, but she ate a worm today so she must be feeling better. I think she must have just been stressed from Steve biting her leg. So I'll keep up her salt baths and she should be fine.
I've been searching for Furan-2 for years! Can't find it anywhere, although I havent heard of Nitrofura-G. I'll keep my eyes out for it, thanks. Hopefully it's available in Aus.
Yeah, I know im being stupid about the fridge thing, since Gary has perked up I don't think it's needed anymore, but I wont be so silly about it next time.
thanks for your replys.

 

[jordan]

well its good that the peeling has stopped.