HELP!! Axolotl gills white

[Maggie.D]

My leucistic axolotl has developed white gills seemingly overnight. His gills aren’t pale, but look as if they have some sort of fungus? I do biweekly water changes and test the water frequently. He hasn’t eaten all of his food the last two times I’ve fed him (although he’s been occasionally refusing pellets since I’ve started feeding him worms) and I’m planning on seeing if he’ll eat a worm tonight. Added Fritz Aquatics Maracyn Oxy to tank after researching and seeing nothing bad for axis. His ammonia is .25 after a water change yesterday and his nitrates and nitrites are both zero. I had an axolotl prior to him who died because of poor water conditions (and an uneducated owner) and I’m noticing the signs with my new axolotl that I noticed with the one previous. I’ve had my axi for five months now and have had minimal problems since then. Any advice would be appreciated!!

(These are the best pictures I could take since he seems to not want to face the front of the tank.)

 

[wolfen]

add 3.5g/ l non- iodised salt to the tank water, check ALL water parameters including kh and gh if possible .. ideal levels here.. Water Quality Explained: How It Can Affect Your Axolotl's Health - WSAVA 2015 Congress - VIN
if by bi-weekly you mean every two weeks change to weekly, if you mean twice weekly then carry on but increase bio-media level (also ensure good oxygenation)
always wait 24hrs after a water change before testing as the conversion of chloramines tend to produce some ammonia giving erroneous test results, test before water change or at least twenty four hours after one.
i assume the tank was cycled, how was it cycled.
may also be a good idea to give methylene blue baths.

 

[Maggie.D]

Thank you for your response!!

I’ve given him two tea baths and most of the fungus has seemed to flake off. It’s been falling off in little fragments; is that normal? I’ve decided that if it doesn’t completely go away by Sunday (it’s Wednesday) I’m going to do a methylene blue bath. The ammonia has risen to .5 since the last check, which was yesterday. I change his water every Monday and Thursday, so I’m going to do a water change tomorrow. The water is hard (not an exact number, sorry) and the pH is chronically low (I have crushed coral in mesh bags to help). The ammonia has been a pretty constant problem since we got him; the cycling agent used was aquavitro seed.

Here’s a side-by-side of his gills the last 24 hours:
When I first noticed the fungus:

After the second tea bath:

 

[wolfen]

to cycle an axolotl tank properly a source of ammonia needs to be used to encourage and grow bacteria which will do the job of removing harmful nitrogen compounds.
although you have added bacteria to the tank it will only help with cycling not cycle the tank, to ensure that there is adequate filtration axolotl tanks are normally cycled at 4ppm ammonia.
what is happening is that because the filter/tank wasn't cycled properly as your axolotl has got bigger your filtration is struggling to cope.
as for ph slowly add enough bicarbonate of soda to bring it up to 7.4-7.6
because as he grows the ammonia levels will continue to become unstable, this may require an increase in biological filtration size.

 

[Maggie.D]

Is there any way to safely cycle the tank with him in it? And how do you suggest I increase biological filtration? Thank you so much for your help.

 

[wolfen]

because of the level of ammonia required it would be deadly to cycle the tank properly with him in it.
what type of filter are you using, also what size?
if you are using a hob you can increase the biological filtration by putting bio-media into it (may need some of the sponge media removed though), it it is an external canister filter adding bio-media is easily done, with an internal power filter some of the sponge will need to be removed and bio-media used instead, with sponge filters there isn't much that can be done apart from ensuring it is large enough for the tank ie.. 40 gallon filter min for 20 gallon tank or replacing it for a multi stage filter.
by increasing the biological filtration the cycle will start to stabilise but until it does use 2g/l non-iodised salt in the water, test daily, if there are traces of ammonia or nitrites do a 50% water change (make sure that the water is dechlorinated before adding to tank, make sure waters ph is 7.4-7.6), after a week even if ammonia and nitrites are 0ppm do a 50% water change, whilst you are trying to stabilise the cycle monitor the ph (use bicarbonate of soda to increase if needed) and ensure the water has good oxygenation.
bio media tend to be ceramic balls/rings, alphagrog, volcanic rocks etc..