Theres a cut on my axie!

[aaron]

theres 2 cuts/wounds on my axie. it looks white and it has a wavy things attached to it (probably a piece of skin.) one of them looks like some flat tuna can (but with wavy things on it). is it a fungus? HELP!

p.s i'll have trouble giving you guys a picture.

 

[kapo]

Aaron, here's a copy of a recent thread with an axie with fungus on its gill area. www.caudata.org/forum/messages/793/80701.html?1174803826

Does it look hairy like that or just threads of skin?

If it is fungus, the best treatment is saltbaths

2-3 teaspoons of salt (non iodised table salt/sea salt or aquarium/tonic salt) per litre of dechlorinated water.
Bath for 10 minutes, no more than 15 minutes max.
Do twice a day until a week after it clears.

If not, did you notice the wound at the shop or at home, if at home is there anything he could have scraped himself on?

 

[aaron]

OMG it looks like that! better give it a salt bath!

do i have to put it in the frigde...my sibling and mum doesn't like my axie,

it sucks to be a kid

(Message edited by mrpetrock on March 25, 2007)

 

[row]

I would put him in the fridge Aaron, I don't know what your temps have been like, but it is still quite hot up here.
If your tank temp is stable and low you could keep him in there and take him out to do the salt baths, but the fridge is very beneficial for calming them down and the fresh water everyday helps with the fungus too.
I was met with and uproar when I tried to put mine in the fridge too, but as the little guys started getting better, and the stress (to me!) lessened, it was generally seen as a good thing to do. The only problem was convincing them to close the door quietly!!!
Good luck....could you manage any pics? Any idea what caused the cuts in the first place? Could he have rubbed up against something?

 

[kapo]

He's had it less than a day, so may very well be something that happened prior to Aaron buying him

 

[aaron]

ummm guys... do axolotl's wounds heal in less then a day? cause i think mine did.

.

THE FUNGI is gone! but i did give her a salt bath (just in case) and i brought the salt from the pet store in meblourne , it's called Amazon.

theres this guy who keeps an axie too ^^

 

[kapo]

keep up with the saltbaths for a week. The fungus does drop off but can appear again within a few days.

 

[aaron]

Sorry of the crappy quality. But as you can see , she looks healthy.

i think i found out where the fungi is from.
The end of mudkips's tail got cut off!
dang!

(Message edited by mrpetrock on March 26, 2007)

 

[sarah]

Take out the gravel if you can and use sand or nothing as axies can and will eat the stones an they get inside them which can cause alot of harm.

 

[aaron]

i can't afford it. i'm broke from buying everything else! It will take a week before i get my cash.

 

[kapo]

Regardless if you can afford to buy sand or not, remove the gravel completely. You don't have to have substrate but you do need to remove it. If you don't your axie will swallow it, it can block him/her and at worst lead to a prolapse and death; or spend the next year/s constantly swallowing and pooing out gravel which won't be good for its body at all.

Our adults have been pooing gravel for over a year since they've been on sand.

Damn this must have been one thing you didn't ask on your list of ?s otherwise i would have told you to not use gravel unless it was permanently siliconed down so it couldn't be swallowed.

Did you manage to buy any test kits for your tankwater testing? As your tank won't be cycled and your axie has fungus, possible pending temperature problems, you have to be pretty good about cleaning uneaten food and doing daily 30% waterchanges since it isn't cycled; otherwise your axie could get sicker than just having a fungal infection and would need to be put in the fridge for recuperation.

I guess you must have just been excited and rushed out and got everything after your parents agreed to it.

That may be the case just make sure you try and look after her/him as well as possible, even if it means removing gravel, daily waterchanges and if need be fridging her/him. Maybe you shouldn't have got an axie at all if you family aren't happy at the idea of it being fridged. This works better and sometimes cheaper than forking out for fish medicines. My mother freaked out when she visited and opened the icecream container in the fridge thinking I had leftovers only to be introduced to 2 of our axies. Won't touch any plastic containers in our fridge now but she has warmed to our axies.

 

[aaron]

theres several to choose from theres , ph , ammonia , etc BUT I Can only buy one! they cost $30 each!

btw my axie is starting to breathe abnormally after it yawned it was cute =D.

can i use river rocks instead of sand.. my garden has full of them.

(Message edited by mrpetrock on March 26, 2007)

 

[kapo]

I;m pretty sure I advised you to get the ammonia one first then the nitrite when you can next afford it. That seems excessive? Over here just one of those is $15. You can get the overall Freshwater Master test kit sets, that include everything but they cost between $55-$75 (dependant on if they're bought through an auctionsite or petshop).

Aaron you may not have the tests but do make sure you do the daily waterchanges - 30% maximum, no more. Your tank is fairly small and will be prone to water quality and temperature conditions so need to really make sure it's a safe cool (below 24C) place for your axie to reside to keep it healthy and happy. The waterchanges will keep any ammonia/nitrite toxins at a safe enough level for your axie to reside as well as let your tank cycle to establish a good cleaning bacteria.

I wouldn't worry too much at this point on her breathing unless she is gasping; floating oddly or looking sick and as long as you keep on top of the daily waterchanges (you can't be slack) and keep the tank cool she should be ok.

 

[aaron]

Due to the drought, i'll have to 1 per 2 days. Is that ok?

oh and i found where the fungi have fall off will the wound give it an infection? I did give it 2 salt baths for 12mins.

and the person who said that the guy selling axies in carribean market was...kinda like false ad. HE TOLD ME TO USE GRAVEL! and not to bother about conditioning the water!(I did condition the water)

The axies he sold were in bad condition. He just put them in a tub , and some of them already had fungi and a lost limb! I wanted to buy them all but i didn't have sufficent space for them and i didn't have the experience anyway

if anyone knows about him , hes an asian guy and he on the far right side of the market.

(Message edited by mrpetrock on March 26, 2007)

 

[kapo]

Every 2 days is fine, since you're in drought periods, I do know what that's like having lived half my life on a farm that has constant droughts.

Just continue the saltbaths till end of the week and see how it goes and if no recurrence of fungus then stop them.

If you're having probs with temperature don't be surprised if s/he gets fungus again.

You will come across many people, breeders /petshop assistants included, who aren't interested in what's good for their axies they're just out to make a quick buck. We have a few very good breeders known round the country for the care they take of their axies and many pass this site as well as www.axolotl.org site onto their buyers.


One rule of thumb when it comes to sick/axies in bad condition. Never buy them no matter how much you think you're rescuing them. You are just gencouraging the person who's selling them (petshops included) that there is a market for them no matter how sick they are and he'll continue the cycle of selling sick/poor conditioned axies. It also doesn't help that you live in drought conditions, probably don't have the space/time to care for many sick axies to bring them back to good health. Can you imagine your family's face if you brought home all the sick ones and asked to put them in the fridge!

You could just report him to the rspca or spca whichever you have in Oz.