Illness/Sickness: White cotton stuff on gill

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stebo88

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I got an axalotl off somebody that couldnt look after it. Ive had it about four months now and he has been fine. I just got home from work and went to feed it and noticed one of ots gills had white fluffy stuff on. It kind of looks like cotton wool. As i have only had it a few months i dont really know much about them. I got it out of the blue so havnt had much chance to research about them. Honestly, i hadnt heard of them until i was givin it. Can any one help me please i have grown quite fond of dobby (my axalotl) and really dont want it to die. Thanks.
 
Check out the salt bath tutorial sticky on the sick axolotl section.

With not that much research - what are you feeding him and how much? What are your tank parameters and temperature? How big is your tank and what are you using to cover the floor space?
 
The tank is about 3 foot long. I feee it prawns and chicken mostly as thats what i was told by the previous owner. I have tried it with worms but it wont have them. The floor of the tank is gravel as that is what was in the tank when i got it.
 
Remove the gravel immediately! This is URGENT, you cannot keep Axolotls on gravel. They will swallow it and get impacted, which is potentially fatal.

Also that diet is not very good. Axolotls do best on earthworms and Axolotl/Salmon pellets if you have to. I would really recommend switching it over to earthworms - it WILL eat them eventually if you keep trying. It'll get hungry enough.

I'll reiterate the questions Haley asked - What is the water temperature? Axolotls need to be kept cool - around 16-18 C (60-64 F) or they're more susceptible to disease. Do you test your water for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate?
 
The temp is 17ºC and yes i check for ammonia,nitrite and nitrate as i keep tropical fish. I didnt know about the gravel so i will change that as soon as possible. What is the best substrate for it? And i will also keep trying the worms.
 
Hayley * - this is the second time I've seen this, it's in front of you. Lol.

Have you tried blanching the worms? Run them under hot water for a second or two then under cold. This will kill the worm, preventing the bitter taste they excrete AND keep it fresh enough for the axolotls to enjoy. Prawn is too salty, chicken is not as nutrious.

As for the bottom of the tank opt for bare bottom, very fine sand or slate pieces. EDIT: with sand you will need to hand feed or use a feeding bowl/jar

Fungus infection is caused by a breach in their slime coats so he's either nicked himself or your water quality isn't the best and it's too warm for him. If your tank isn't cycled check out all the posts in the tank set up threads for some help.

Once you salt bath your lotl and he seems fungus free, it would hurt to add tea to the tank to help his coat.
 
I havnt tried that with the worms so i will try that tomorrow. Is there a way of keeping the worms so i do t have to dig them up every other day to feed?

I will take the gravel out tomorrow and try a bare bottom until i can get sand. I already feed it by hand so thats no problem.

I will look into the salt baths tomorrow. Also what do you mean by tea?
 
I would be salt bathing ASAP to avoid it spreading and worsening.

Black tea produces tannins which help heal, soothe and tighten the slime coat making fungus harder to penetrate. You can add it straight to the tank (it will go yellow). Boils cup of normal black tea, wait to cool and then add it to 10L dechlorinated water.

Maybe get a container (add a few tiny holes to lid) and dig out a few and add dirt. It's better to set up a worm farm in the long run. Check out auntiejudes thread about worm farms
 
Kaini said:
Oh gosh I'm so sorry, I was typing quickly and I have a friend who spells it that way, Sorry!

Here's the thread about worm farms: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...-farming-almost-everything-you-need-know.html
Click to expand...

Haha that's ok! It's just gets a little irritating - my whole life everyone had spelt it Haley or Hallie.. It's HAYley! :lol: Don't worry even some people I've known for years still spell it Haley. I think thats the American way of spelling it?

And p.s thanks for attaching the link!
 
I would start salt bathing now but it is 02:54 am here and i dont have anything in that i need. Plus im up in a few hours for work so i will have to try getting what i need tomorrow if i get the chance.

What do i need for the salt baths?

I will have a look at that worm farm thread now thanks.

Sorry for all the questions i really appreciate the help.
 
So i have bought some aquarium salt and some tubs for the water and i am going to start salt bathing dobby when i get home from work. I will post in a few days and let you know how dobby is doing. Thanks again for the info its much appreciated.
 
So dobby is in his salt bath as i write this. He looks very unhappy and looks like he is gulping for breath is this normal. Please help im scared that im hurtin him
 
My axolotl didn't like it either, it is salt water. As long as you followed the guide I.e. Amount of salt to water ratio and the length of time it'll be okay.
 
Ok thanks hayley. Dobby is now in the fridge ive changed 50% of his tank water for wen hes back in it.

How long will i have to do the salt baths for?

Hopefully he will be ok thanks alot for your help.
 
Don't forget that in the fridge he needs 100% fault water changes of the same temperature. Keep doing salt baths until you can't see fungus anymore + 2 days after.
 
Dobby is in his second salt bath now after being in the fridge for 12 hours. His infenction seems to have gone after one salt bath but il keep him in the fridge for a couple more days and keep salt bathing him.
 
Dobby os looking alot better tonight just had his third salt bath. Thanks for your help hayley.

Another question, could i use the water out of my tropical fish tank for dobbies tank as his ammonia levels were a little high? I dont want to have to do a whole new cycle. Also i have took the gravel out the tank now and want to use the sand that i have in my fish tank will this be ok?
 
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