Illness/Sickness: White spots and loss of gills

Varrick

Varrick

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I have three axolotls, one wildcolor/blackish one and two leucistic ones. They are close to 6 months old. The black one has devoloped white spots over the past few weeks:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/members/varrick-albums-sick-axolotls-picture21133-white-spots.jpg

http://www.caudata.org/forum/members/varrick-albums-sick-axolotls-picture21132-white-spots.jpg

I did not really worry about it because he was eating well. But in the last couple of days his gills started to get much less 'feathery'. This is also happening to the two leucistic ones. They don't seem to have white spots however, but I am not sure because of their own white skin.

I checked with the petstore and there is nothing wrong with the water, except that the hardness is a little to high.

What should or can I do about this?
 
From the picture the white spots look like iridophores, which is just a natural shiny pigment. It might just look that way because of the picture though; a lot of axies have them. Er, I guess the only way to tell is if they are a bit shimery when you look at them? Do they appear 'flat' against the skin?
I haven't seen anything like it (if it's not iridophores) and I've read the forum a lot, hehe...I guess there's a possibility of fungus but most fungus are very cotton-wooly. So I think it's just shiny pigment...my wild is still developing little speckles here and there...
I wouldn't worry too much about the gills, they look fine to me. As long as your water parameters are ok then there's nothing to worry about. Even things like how much oxegen is in the water can affect gill size and featheriness.
Hope this helps a little :)
btw, he has such gorgeous colouring. I love his green sides. :)
 
That looks like ich to me. Axolotls can get ich.
 
Ah, I didn't see in the previous pictures how tiny the gills are. If the axie has ich then this is probably the primary cause of the gill loss, and if you sort this they may get more feathery again. I think ich is reasonably easy to tackle...I'm sure I read that a series of salt baths can help/get rid of it.
I believe it is a parasite

Here is a good guide to salt baths:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...axolotl/72698-salt-bath-picture-tutorial.html

I think you could probably also keep your axie in the fridge (if you have space) because it will make this process less stressful to it.
The other reason to pop him in the fridge is because I believe ich to be a water parasite, that drifts in the water until it attatches itself to an animal. While he is in the fridge I would do quite a few water changes to get rid of the parasite or a general clean of the tank :)
So I would try salt baths and then if it doesn't work, research to find if there are any aquatic treatments that you could use. Bear in mind though that lots of fish treatments etc are very harmful to axies, but I have read about a few being used without causing harm.

I hope your axie gets well soon :(
 
Allright, thanks for the information.

I have another question. I've read that almond leaves have the same effect as salth baths but are a lot less stressful. Is this an option?
 
Today they started throwing up there food. Should I treath them all, even the leucistic ones?
 
Hi there my axie is also going through the same problem Not sure what is wrong with her very worried please let me know your thoughts on the matter. She has white spots has completely lost gills on one side and the other side isnt far behind, she also hasnt eaten in 9 days. PH level in tank is fine as well as temp is average to what it always is.

seffy-albums-sick-axie-picture21148-p2260008.jpg
seffy-albums-sick-axie-picture21145-p2260005.jpg
 
Because it is a water parasite and they are sharing the same tank?- then I would expect the other one to show signs or to eventually show signs of the same thing. So yes, treat both. And probably wash all tank decor and substrate thoroughly.
I've heard good things about the almond leaves and think they work as a disinfectant. I will try and find some links from owners with experience of them for you :) Never used them myself though.
 
Today they stopped throwing up and ate normally. How much water do I need to change while they are in the fridge?
 
Okay, I ordered almond leaves and tonight the fridging is going to happen. So the final question: What should I do with the main tank while the axolotls are in the fridge? How much water do I need to change? All the water? Do I need to do something else in the meantime?

Thanks again for all the information!
 
Hi again. I'm glad your axies have stopped being sick. While in the fridge you will need to do 100% water changes everyday with fresh dechlorinated water. You want to stick the water you're going to use in the same fridge so that tey don't get big swings of water temp. as this can stress them out.

I think you can possibly maintain the tank as usual because the almond leaves are a disinfectant so should kill any parasites... I would perhaps do a 20% water change every other day...I wish I had more experience with the leaves because I am not quite sure. I'll try and find some more information for you.
 
Okay, the axolotls are in the fridge now for the second day and seem to be responding (relatively) well to the salth baths.

In the mean time I read a litte more about what the white spots may be, and I came across this:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...canum/f58-sick-axolotl/71529-white-lumps.html

If it is ick, do I need to treath the main tank with a salt solution? I so, should I treath it with a solution or is it also possible to do it with the same salth as the salth baths? (I do those with 100% sea salt).
 
Ich has a fairly long life-span in the tank. If you didn't treat your tank, your animals will likely get reinfected.

You could try the salt. Another option is to dismantle the whole tank and disinfect everything with vinegar and/or saltwater.

If your axolotls are in the fridge (and staying there for a while), salt the tank at the recommended dose and let it run. You can use sea salt for that. You will probably have to replace your filter pad and do a really good cleaning of your substrate, but otherwise your beneficial bacteria shouldn't be harmed too much.
 
Todat I started to notice that there also seems to be some white fungal growth on a plant and on the glass. I'm not sure though, it could be something else. What should I do about this?
 
So it's been a while and I tried a lot of things. In the end I had to dismantle the tank, but it broke in the proces, so I bought a new one. One of my axie's is all better now and it looks like the gills are growing back. The other one, the black one that is, still has some white spots after more than a month of treatment with both salth baths and Sera Mycopur. I'm starting to think the white spots left are just natural colorings. So now I have to decide what to do with this. Shall I take it out of the fridge into a separate tank and watch if the white spots spread? Or shall I continue to give salth baths untill they are all away?
 
I would separate and observe. If things don't change in a couple of days, then they're probably normal coloration.
 
Thanks for the advice. I wonder if anyone can post some pictures of blackish wildcolor axolotls with white spots that are natural, so I can compare them to mine.
 
So it has been months and months now. One of my remaining axie's has recovered just fine, but one has still white spots. If tried many methods, including the fridge/salth bath thing, almond leafs, 2 grams of salth per litre in the normal water, and recentyle methylane blue, yet nothing seems to work. Then, I found this article:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...82589-do-some-axolotls-have-white-flecks.html

So what I thought was ick could maybe just be iridophores. Note that my axie's gills grew back perfecltly fine months ago after the fridging and his apppetite is very good.

Any thoughts on this? Could it be that the white spots are iridophores? I think the white spots changed places through time but this could be because my axolotl grew much (he is about 10 months old). The spots are concentreted on the site, the bottom of his head and his 'armpits', and a bit on his gills. Are this usual places for either ick or iridophores?
 
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