White fungus? salt bath? stressed!!!

[felicity]

Hi there,
My sick Sam who hasn't eaten for a long time (see past posts) now seems to have developed a kind of white 'fluffy' stuff coming off her tail. Is this fungus? I'm sorry I don't have a digital camera so I can't upload photos. There's not a lot of it and it's only on her tail - it's like a very thin white mucous fluff. What should I do? She also often puts her tail high up with the little hook in the end like she's stressed.

Her water quality is almost perfect - I had comprehensive test done at the pet shop - the only problem is that nitrate (or was it nitrite?) was a little high but i've been doing 10-20% water changes every second day and it should be a lot lower now. There's very little water movement from the filter and the water stays at a stable 16oC. She is on sand.

She did go through a horrible ordeal a little while ago when I left her with my cousin to look after while I was away - the water quality was terrible and rarely changed. She hasn't eaten very much for the past month or so and is very very thin. But the water quality is better now and I think she may have had a few worms (either that or they swam away in the night and are hiding somewhere in the tank). Could the problem be that the food I leave in there is decaying?? (i need to leave something in there all the time so she has the option of eating during the night. I try and remove it all when i put new food in, but it is hard to get it all).

I really want to try and avoid a salt bath if possible - she's in a very weak skinny state and I don't know if she will be able to handle the stress of it. Also there's not a lot of fungus (if that's what it is). But if salt bath is the only option - how do i do this?
Thanks for your help...

 

[kira]

If it is white cottony type stuff (like cotton wool) then it is fungus.

You will need to put Sam into the fridge because the fridge can help with the fungus (slow down growth), it can also help with building up your axie's immune system.

Just remember, Sam will need to have her water changed daily with fresh dechlorinated water. You will need to keep bottles of dechlorinated water in the fridge, these will need to be used for the water changes to keep the temperature consistant for your axie so that she doesn't suffer temperature shock.

When your axolotl is in the fridge, you should also put a towel over their container to stop her getting stressed out over the light going on/off when people open the fridge.


While Sam is in the fridge remember, she probably won't want anything to eat or she won't eat often.

Regarding salt baths; they should be done three times daily(if possible) and use a container that is the same length if not longer than you axolotl. Mix 2-3 teaspoons of uniodised salt per litre of dechlorinated water. Make sure you dissolve the salt, because salt can burn your axie if you just put them in on top of it. When you first put your axie in their salt bath, they will probably find it really irritating to begin with. It is also a really good idea to put a timer on for 10-15 minutes so you know exactly when to take her out. Empty the salt bath after each use and make up a fresh one each time.

Because your axolotl needs to be in the fridge, make sure to use the dechlorinated water from the fridge in the salt bath, so it's the same temperature as the fridge water to avoid fluctuating temperatures which can be just as stressful to the axie.

I would also continue with the salt baths for around 4-5 days after all the fungus has disappeared to make sure it doesn't come back.