Silly Axolotls
HOW TO GIVE AN AXOLOTL A SALT BATH
Salt baths are given to sick axolotls with fungal infections. Fungus appears like cotton wool; white, fluffy and fuzzy. It can appear anywhere, but is most commonly seen around a wound or injury. This is a step-by-step guide on how to make a salt bath for your axolotl. A salt bath should be given twice a day, for 10 minutes at a time.
Step 1: Separate
The picture above shows a bad fungal infection, with more of a stringy cotton look than fluffy.
First of all, your infected axolotl needs to be quarantined, so separate it from the main aquarium and other inhabitants. It needs to be kept in clean water daily, that is nice and cool. Avoid the fridge unless you can't keep the tub water at a safe temperature.
Step 2: Prepare the Bath
The first thing you need is salt. Do NOT use ordinary table salt. You need non-iodized salt. You can use either sea salt, aquarium salt or kosher salt. It is best as fine as possible, but larger chunks can be used too. Just let the large chunks sit in the water for awhile before mixing.
Fill a container, preferably one or two litre capacity, with dechlorinated water. If your axolotl is in the fridge, make sure the bath water is the same temperature as the fridge water to avoid temperature shock when you put the axolotl in. It is useful to keep an extra container or two of water in the fridge for baths, and then transferring the axolotl back into clean water.
Mix the salt into the water, using 2-3 teaspoons per litre. Mix it in well until it dissolves.
Step 3: Transfer Axolotl into Bath
Once the salt is all dissolved, quickly but gently scoop up your axolotl and pop him in the salt bath tub. There is a basic guide to handling axolotls here. It may freak out, so gently cover the container either with a lid or your hands until calm. A salt bath should be done twice daily, for 10-15 minutes at a time. No more than this, as it dries out their skin. It can be easy to forget about your axolotl so put a timer on or don't start doing anything else while you wait.
Fungus will often come loose in the water, so it must be changed. You can also try gently rolling a cotton bud/Q-tip in your fingers, against the fungus to try gently removing it. This often doesn't help, and you have to be careful not to rip it, as well as some skin, off your axie. If it tugs, or the axolotl squirms away, don't continue.
As a rule, I start salt baths off at 15 minutes for a few days, cut it down to ten minutes for another few, then to once a day for 10-15 minutes after a week. It is not advised to keep up salt baths longer than a week or two, but if it is necessary, then do, but less frequently if possible.
Once the fungus has come off, and the wound is beginning to heal, you can probably return your axolotl to the tank. However, keep an eye on it and make sure it is healing, to reduce risk of infection to the water or other axolotls.
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