White spots on gills. Possible fungus?

E

Elise

Guest
I have a 3.5"(88.9mm) axolotl and over the past week she started developing a white spot on the tip of two different gill stems. Her appetite and bowel functions are both normal and she isn't showing any signs in her behavior that something might be wrong. Right now it's only two white specs that have me worried. She is very comfortable around the turkey baster and while she was eating today, I hovered it over one of the specs and applied some suction. The spec stayed put and that was the extent of me trying to remove it.

I have a million questions but I'll just list the main concerns/questions/fears I'm having.

1.) Is this a fungal growth and if so, what are the next steps I need to take and how soon should I do them.

2.) If this is fungal, do I need to do anything to correct her tank to prevent this happening again?

3.) She has really beautiful gill frills and one of my biggest fears are that I'll damage them if a salt bath is necessary.

4.) She is really small and I'm concerned a treatment listed for an adult axolotl would be too strong/intense for mine.


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Today

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From behind.

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One week ago. I circled one of the gills that has a spec on it now.

Also, I've been reading this site for a couple years now and finally felt ready to get my first axolotl a few weeks ago. Without this forum I would be so lost. So thank you guys!
 
She is really small and it's hard to tell. They did start off looking like flakes of debris that were stuck to the frills. Whatever they are, they seem a bit more opaque and solid now but again, it's hard to tell.
 
My own tends to get white-looking bits on the ends of his gills, but it turns out to be nothing. I think it's just maybe the gills are growing? I'm not sure. Anyway, if it doesn't look cottony or anything, I don't think you'll need to do the salt baths. Normally I would advise on trying a salt bath or two and seeing if it goes away, but because your axolotl is so small I don't want you to risk damaging its gills or slime coat. Keep an eye on those areas, and if they even begin to look just a little cottony or wispy, do a salt bath.
 
My suggestion would be to try the 'torch trick.' Find a working torch and shine the light beam on your axxie's gills (be warned; they don't like it). If the 'specks' shine back at you, they're iridophores and completely harmless. Iridophores are natural and common on most types of axxie and can be white or golden.

If they are cottony I'd definetely do what Patch suggested and look into fungus routes, but the specks look so tiny I can't help thinking they're iridophores.
 
That first picture looks quite like fungus to me. I would do a salt bath anyway, at half strength and at room temperature as your axie is still very little.

If it's not fungus you won't do any harm. My leucistic tends to go very pink after a salt bath but there is not lasting damage to her skin, gills or slime coat - so don't get alarmed if she looks a little pinker.
 
auntiejude said:
I would do a salt bath anyway, at half strength and at room temperature as your axie is still very little.
Click to expand...

I think I will try this as I'm starting to think it might be fungus. Forgive the newbie questions but I want to make sure I don't screw up the salt bath.

  1. So what I need to do is scoop her up out of her tank with a Tupperware container, then physically grab her and place her into another container containing the half strength salt mixture?
  2. Does the temperature of the salt water need to match the temperature of her tank?
  3. Should I cut the 10 minute recommended duration of the bath in half also because of her size?
  4. When I'm all finished with the bath do I just drop her back into her tank?
  5. Should I do this salt bath once or a few times?
 
There is a salt bath tutorial in the stickies, but the basics are:
Scoop her up in a tub.
Transfer by hand into a salted tub (use sea salt, not table salt or iodised salt), I'd say 10 mins is fine at half strength. She may squirm - don't worry, it's normal. Cover the tub with a towel so she's dark to reduce stress.
Put her back in the first tub for a rinse, and give her a check over. Fungus may come away if you brush it gently with a finger.
Put her back in the tank using the tub.
Water should be at room temp.
Do this twice a day (if you can) until the fungus is gone, then once a day for 2 days after.

If you're not happy handling your axie you can use a net, but you need one she can fit in comfortably.
 
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