Illness/Sickness: strange looking gills

[julesy]

Our albino axolotl, Nogada underwent a little bit of stress when we orginally bought him and moved him to his new home. This was a few months ago, and while his gills shrank slightly, they've since grown back to their normal, feathery selves, and Nogada seems happy and healthy. However recently, we've noticed that while his gills are still very long and a deep red colour - they've lost all, feathery/fluffiness...

Does anyone know what this could be? We thought it may have to do with temperature change - as we enter into Summer here in Mexico and our house does not have AC we've been having trouble cooling the tank. We've placed a fan over the top of the tank and each day place treated iceblocks in the water...

WE're so confused because its not as if they have shrunk...do these long, thin, non-fluffy gills mean something bad? Or is it just some kind of phase? Ha!

If anyone can help... thanks!

 

[ianclick]

Hi Julesy,

The loss of gill filaments can be caused by a variety of things usually related to water quality. In the absence of fungus the most common cause seems to be an abundance of oxygen. If there is alot of oxygen in the water the gills need less surface area so the filaments reduce.

If this is the issue then there is no harm to the axolotl it will still be able to extract oxygen. Have you checked your water parameters? Could you post a photo?

Mexico City must be a scary place to be at the moment unless its all media hype.

Good Luck

 

[Jacquie]

Hi Julesy,

Loss of gill filaments (feathers) is usually caused by stress in the tank environment. Water quality is the usual culprit. Have you tested the tank parameters for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and pH?

You mentioned you had been 'having trouble cooling the tank'. How warm has the water temperture been getting?

I used to use dechlorinated iceblocks to cool my tanks, but I found that the blocks would disintergrate too quickly, and that the temperature would fluctuate quite dramatically. Fluctuations in water temperature can cause a great deal of stress to an axolotl.

I switched over to ice bottles which lasted longer and cooled the tank more gradually. Insulating the tank by use of styrofoam (or other insulating material) will help the bottles last longer too. Information on the use of the ice bottle method can be found here. This article has a lot of good ideas for keeping an aquarium cool as well.

Another member had some success using 'bubble wrap' to insulate the ice bottles:

What works for us is to freeze partially filled 2 litre coke bottles. We use de-chlorinated water in the bottle just in case it leaks. Our trick is to first wrap the bottle in 2 or 3 layers of bubble wrap and secure the bubble wrap around bottle with elastic bands. The advantage of using bubble wrap is that it insulates the cold bottle and prevents the water temperature dropping fast and ice in the bottle lasts longer. So the temperature is held reasonably constant right through the day even when we are not home.

(Caity's suggestion can be found in this thread)

If the water temperature has been climbing above 23 degrees celcius, these high temperatures can kill an axolotl very quickly. Warmer water temperature also increases the toxidity of Ammonia.

If you are unable to keep the tank cooler than 23C, I would advise moving Nogada (nice name!) into the fridge. One of the many advantages of fridgeing is that the water is kept to a consistent temperature which helps the axolotl relax and destress.

Could you post a photo of your axie and the tank setup?

 

[julesy]

Hi!

Thank you all for your help. I will definitely get started on those bottled ice cube things! Fortunately we've managed to keep the temperature from fluctuating too much (the highest we've seen it get is 20degrees, and we got it back down pretty quickly). We also change the water twice a week and the axolotls are eating pretty keenly... They don't seem to be showing any other signs of stress. I have a feeling it could be this problem with the oxygen. However, I was reading through a few other posts and I started to worry that perhaps one of the other axies could be biting Nogada's gills?

We keep three axies (two wild types and one albino) in a 150litre tank, with plenty of hiding spaces and no other animals. They get pretty aggressive when we feed them, but we try to keep them separated out of each others way. I hope this isn't the case - and if it is due to the oxygen problem, is this something dire? Will it generate trouble with the axie or is it more of an aesthetic problem? And do you know how I can go about fixing it?

I've attached a few photos for you to see... Thanks again!

Oh! And yes, I'm here in Mexico City and it is a pretty scary time right now...everything has shut down, schools and workplaces closed, leaving nothing to do but keep indoors and watch the axies swimming around in their tank!

 

[Jacquie]

Hi Julesy,

If the other axolotls were biting Nogada's gills, the stalks would be bitten off as well (axolotls will lunge and bite - they don't nibble).

I can't see any airstones or other aeration devices besides the filter, so I don't think excessive aeration is causing the problem. The gills look as if they are 'shriveling', not just receding back due to an abundance of oxygen.

Have you tested the water for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and pH? Gill shriveling is usually caused by water quality issues.

 

[Darkmaverick]

Hi Julesy,

I assume you keep your three axolotls in the same tank. May i ask how are the gill conditions like for the other 2 axies? Normally, when an environmental factor is involved, all axies kept in the same tank will demonstrate varying degrees of being affected.

Cheers.

 

[julesy]

Hey,

Yeh, we don't have any other aeration devices in the tank other than the filter. Today I popped down to our local aquarium, and after the pet shop - but thanks to this swine flu craziness, everything is closed in Mexico City! As soon as it reopens I'll buy a ammonia and pH tester and let you guys know what's going on.

As for the other two axies - well their gills are another story! The gills of our oldest axie, Mole, are absolutely fine. Fluffy and grand! The other little one, Chipotle - when we bought him we think he was under some very stressful conditions, perhaps on the verge of morphing into a salamander. As such, he didn't really have any gills, more like.. the beginnings of very tiny gills! Here in Mexico, ironically, it is hard to come across axolotls, and the only 'legal' places you can purchase them from are one of two universities, who run like a 'background check' almost on perspective buyers, or from a very select bunch of pet stores. We bought him from the latter, coming complete with a certificate and everything, but I don't think they were necessarily caring for him properly. Either that, or it was a genetic mutation or something... anyway, as such we've had him since November last year and his gills have never grown (nor shrunk). I don't think he is under any stress - out of all our axies he is the one that seems to have the least trouble with water temperature changes or anything like that.

Its very bizarre, as Nogada (the albino) seems 'happy' in all other respects. I don't know, these little creatures cause us so much worry! Thanks again!

 

[julesy]

Oh! sorry I forgot one other thing (in case it makes a difference) at the moment, we're also doing daily water changes to make sure the water is in optimal conditions.

 

[Darkmaverick]

Hi Julesy,

Actually the gills don't look shriveled or deformed in any way other than the lack of filaments. If there are no other signs of stress or illness, there might be a genetic component involved. Some axies just have less gill filaments. If nutrition and tank conditions are right, filaments should regrow (to its genetic potential).

Cheers.