Need help! I think my Axolotl has a bacterial disease...

[Sapphire00]

Hi guys!

I am a new owner of two lovely Axolotl's <3
I got them three days ago, but unfortunately i think there is something wrong with one of my Axolotl. I've been reading a lot about fungus diseases and other bacterial diseases but I'm having a very hard time figuring out what's wrong with him

Basically he's got small white dots over him. When i first got him three days ago he was very still and not active at all. He also showed no interest in food (I'm feeding them earthworms). So he hasn't eaten in three days now. However, my other Axolotl seem to be doing perfectly fine and eats normally. Today, the Axolotl i sense not doing fine has started swimming around almost frantically and trying to scratch himself with his backlegs. I will post pictures of him down below.

My water perimeters are fine, the ammonia is < 0,5, nitrite is under 0,025 and nitrate is not that high either. PH is somewhere between 7 and 7.8, the water temp. is between 18-19 degrees celsius.

I am kinda panicking because like I said, he seem very distressed sometimes and trying to scratch himself. His gills are also curved, which is a sign of stress Anybody might know what it is and what I should do? I have been reading a lot about salt baths when it comes to bacterial diseases, but I don't wanna take unnecessary measures if that's not what it is... I also don't want it to grow out of control if it turns out to be that. He is also very small, just about 10-13 cm, so i really wanna try to help him!

Any suggestions or thoughts are greatly appreciated <3

Pictures of him:
https://imgur.com/a/QvdjI
https://imgur.com/a/GBTdU
https://imgur.com/a/kxNNH
https://imgur.com/a/OYDcE
https://imgur.com/a/QX1WT
https://imgur.com/a/YnYIY

 

[Sapphire00]

And I also wanna add that he is swimming up to the surface and gulping air quite alot.. He is floating around sometimes but does not seem to have any bigger problems staying on the ground aftwerwards.

 

[Wyvell]

Do you have them in the same tank? If so I would separate them to prevent the other from getting sick. it looks like some kind of infection, be it bacterial or fungus.

I would recommend salt bathing starting once a day for 10-15 minutes, I use a plastic 5 gallon bucket for this with cold water and 2 tablespoons of aquarium salt in 4 gallons of water. Make sure the water s the same temp as the tank and continue to salt bath for several days after the infection has seemed to disappear.

You may decide to fridge in conjunction with salt baths. This is not a bad idea as the axolotl will heal faster and be less stressed in cold water. Water temp (not air temp) in fridge should be no more than 8 degrees C but no less than 5 degrees C. Using a large plastic container wrapped in a towel is best so as not to expose them to the light. Be sure to put water in the fridge and test the temp before putting your axie in.

Be sure to clean your tank really well before adding them back in. I would remove decor if possible and let it dry as well as sand vacuum and wipe down the inner walls. Several large water changes would be good too. What kind of filtration do you have on the tank?

I hope I have helped you out and I hope your little guy gets better soon! keep us updated on his status.

 

[Sapphire00]

Thank you for your reply! <3

Yes, I do have them in the same tank.

I was afraid of that I'll see what i can do. I have read both guides on how to salt bath and fridge, and seeing as he's probably stressed already, maybe friding would be a good idea to cause him less stress during the process. I have bought an aquarium salt called "Ektozon" which is specifically for fungus and parasites treatments. Do you think i could use this? Or what kind of salt would you recommend to use?

I will make sure to do several good water changes! I am using a Juwel filter called Bioflow filter.

 

[Sapphire00]

Update: I took him out from the fridge after having him in there for 3 days and i did black tea baths inbetween doing the daily water changes. Whatever the white things he had on his skin seem to be gone now, however he's become very skinny. He is still not eating and i fear, since he is so small, he wont have many days left if he still refuses the food i give him (I try with both frozen bloodworms, frozen beefheart and earthworms..)

 

[Sapphire00]

Final update: He passed away today...

My guess is he died from starvation, but i can't be 100% sure..

I did a 50-60% water change as soon as i noticed he was laying on the ground and not moving. I tried to nudge him but he did not respond. As i picked him to put him in a container i noticed he was gone as he did not try to struggle.
I also took out all the decorations, washed them in hot water and scrubbed them. I also scrubbed the walls of the aquarium. I'll do another water change tomorrow or the day after and make sure to keep a close eye on the water perimeters.

My other Axolotl seem to be doing fine and doesn't seem to be affected from the spike of ammonia i had. I think i managed to take him out and do the water change before it got too critical.

Rest in peace Sapphi <3