White on gills

[karen]

Hi All

This is a bit of a long story but pease stay with me for help. A couple of months ago I got my son an axolotl. We knew nothing - after about a week it got sick - white fluff on gills. After a few days I found the forum & got help. But after 2-3 weeks in the fridge and salt baths 2 x day it died.

I then bought another axie - birthday gift No 2. everything seems to be going well so we buy another No 3- but it seems that disaster might be striking again.

The following info is known.
No2 is a white/pale pink colour with black eyes, pink gills a some black freckles.
We live in Sydney Australia and for the past week or so the temp here has been in the 30 deg C range. We have mostly kept the tank at about 20 deg C, using frozen cooler things.
the tank has a neutral pH.
the tank was cycled fully. ( but not fully cycled for No1 which could have contributed to it's death)
the axie No 2 was eating well - worms & raw prawns.
No 2 & 3 ate last night.
noticed white tip on gill of No2 last night.
No 2 is now hanging around the top of the tank, "flipps his gills" less often.Gills laying back towards body rather than out from head like a fan.
This arvo noticed the underside of some gills on the other side of it's head have turned white also.
toenails have turned slightly black.
the whiteness is not fluffy like cotton wool as was No 1's problem but rather they are just white in colour like white chalk.
His tail has gone a bit pinker than before.

I have decided to put him in the fridge. and will give him salt baths 2 x day.

what I want to know is - could the bacteria/fungus be in the tank?
Should i have cleaned the tank before getting another axie?
will No 3 get sick too?

Hope someone can help
Sorry about the "budget" description

 

[kapo]

Tails on leucistics tend to go pinker when the temp warms up, also thru stress and/or activity. I would say based on your description temperature (ours are starting to get a little pink on tails at 20deg cel. temps) and/or bit of stress.

The black toenails are usually a sign that its maturing. If he is hanging round the top of the tank, he is likely to flip the gills less as he will be getting oxygen from top (gill flapping is usually how they get oxygen without swimming to top). BTW the warmer the water the less oxygen there is; cooler temps have more oxygen so it's good you've been able to keep it cool during your heats.

Fungus usually tends to develop when a axie gets stressed/sick and their immune systems are down; which could have been a symptom of yur tank cycling as you mentioned. We had 3 axies develop fungus when their tank temps kept fluctuating while we were away - sister was axie sitting.

Keep an eye on the other axie and if it develops it may be due tank temps rising. Do they have any other companions in the tank or have you added anything recently to tank? (this can also have an impact on occupants/tank quality).

Also, do you test your tank regularly/weekly for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates? How long did you have your 2nd axie before buying the 3rd one and most importantly did you quarantine your 3rd axie in a separate container or tank for 30 days? (It's very easy to get caught up in buying another axie but if it's not quarantined for at least 30 days to ensure it is healthy, it could appear healthy but pass something onto the resident axie/s)

As for the white bit on its gills are the gill filaments (the frilly/hairy bits) still pink or are they white?

 

[karen]

just checked levels
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 20ppm
2nd axie had about 2weeks before getting No3
and we didn't quarantine - we only have the one tank

they both seemed well but i suppose we only got No3 on Monday
I also got a snail yesterday

the frilly bits are mostly still pink but some have gone the chalky white colour

 

[kapo]

Leucistics (and I assume white albinos as well) do tend to go a chalky/whitish colour in the fridge, depending on how cold (ours is 5-6deg c)

When you do eventually take your No.3 out of the fridge get a container (like one of those big plastic storage ones and use it as a quarantine tank and keep him separate for next few weeks doing daily waterchanges.

So many people have eagerly acquired new axies (understandable) and have failed to quarantine them, either because they didn't have a spare tank like yourself or assumed it would be ok as the axie looked ok, only to find their older resident has gotten sick or poorly (even if the new one hasn't shown any signs of illness).

We keep a couple of storage bins/plastic fish bins and use them as our quarantine tanks (also on occasion when one of our tanks cracked and leaked; so they're quite handy).

 

[karen]

thanks will give it a try

 

[sherri]

My golden albino Orangina has also developed white tips on 3 of her gills

(her gills are usually pink). Could it be stress related, as I have to change the water in her tank a lot (Tank wasn't properly cycled when I got her). I have never had a golden or albino before, so am not quite sure if I should give her salt baths or just let her be???

 

[kapo]

Hi Sherri, if ur doing enuf waterchanges to keep levels safe I doubt whether that could be the issue. How old is Orangina, could it be pigmentation and do her gills still go pink when she eats/moves?

I would let her be and just keep an eye on her.

 

[sherri]

Thanks Kapo. Her gill tips are back to normal colour now, apart from she had a bit of fungus. But 2 mild salt baths cured it, so all is fine now