Sand

i have read that sand is the best to put on the bottom of your fish tank for the axolotls is this correct ?}}

I don't know what is BEST for axolotls, but mine has rounded small gravel on the bottom of his tank, which he seems to get on well with.

if you are not using sand, the substrate MUST be bigger than the axies mouth, as any gravel that the axies can swallow will block up their insides.

Zoe - Welcome to the forums

Here is a link to caudata's sister site that is full of useful info on axolotls you might want to check out : http://www.axolotl.org/

I agree with Lisa, if you are using aquarium gravel that fits in their mouth... they will eat it. Rocks and gravel can really bind them up.

He doesn't seem to touch the stuff. Its smooth round gravel, bit big for him to swallow. If he grabs a bit cause food has fallen to the bottom of the tank he spits it out.
My boyfriend got it for me, he works on tanks across england, small to big and has done for the last ten years. He said its perfectly safe for him.
Thank you for your advice though.

This is what your site said about sand / gravel:

"There are pros and cons to using gravel. Axolotls have a nasty habit of getting small-sized gravel in their mouths, and occasionally swallowing it. It is possible to train them to take food at the surface or from your hand. For convenience most people prefer to feed them sinking food, so gravel-swallowing could be a problem, unless it's large (much larger than pea size). If you use an external filter like me, gravel tends to let debris accumulate in the tank, and so the filter has a hard time keeping the the bottom clear of solids. Since axolotls are messy, the filter may have its work cut out to deal with the excrement and waste food that accumulate in gravel. If you do use gravel, it's advisable to siphon the waste out of it - a "gravel cleaner" is ideal for this purpose.

I recommend pebble-sized gravel, about 2 cm or greater in diameter. Alternatively, sand is also a good substrate, as it will not clog the digestive tract if ingested. It has been my experience that axolotls can't "grip" the bottom of a glass tank. This can be somewhat stressful over time. Plastic tanks don't suffer from this problem so much because no plastic is as smooth as glass.

The gravel used in the photographed aquarium is an "aggregate", coated with a polymer to prevent it from leaching minerals into the water. It comes this way and there are many types and sizes available."

I agree with Lisa and Cynthia, they will indeed eat gravel. I recently reverted back to gravel with axies that have been exclusively hand fed ( I brought them up like that) and sure enuff, they have gravel in their poo. We can't be watching axies 24-7 and as they are nocturnal this is when they are most likely to be sniffing around and eating! I have never experienced a fatal gravel ingestion, but I personally feel it's better to avoid the worry. Just a thought.

When one of my axolotls was pretty small she swallowed this rock. I had moved them to small containers because I was changing the substrate in their tank. While she was in the little container she puked up this rock. I had no idea she had eaten it. It was nearly the size of her head.






I have used small gravel in the past and no one died from gravel blockage, it was apparently small enough that they could pass it.

The idea is to use something small enough to go through them or big enough that they cant swallow it.

(Message edited by cynorita on June 14, 2005)

Wow, that's one big stone to swallow!

Ditto to what Anne-Marie said. I switched from small blue gravel to white pebbles and lo and behold, blue gravel poop began to appear after a couple of days. I couldn't believe how much she has swallowed of it!

I've switched to sand now, plain off-white kiddie playpen sand, but I have to wait till the new tank finishes cycling before my axies can test drive the new substrate.

Hello! new here. I've had my axolotls for bout 6wks now, but was wondering if anyone could help. My leucistic (white) one seems to be getting little black spots on her face. It looks dirty. Is this normal. water and temp are good. Massive pebble by the way Cynorita.

Don't worry about the black spots on her face Kerry It is completly normal. My white Axolotl also has little black spots on his face. It is just some pretty coloring they pick up from their parents. It developes overtime and sometimes the Axie ends up with a lot of black. I like the black especially on the face, because it looks like freckles

That is a Huge Rock Cynthia!! I can't believe she swallowed that.

Cynthia ~ Yeah i agree with monica, that's a huge stone!! My leucistic axolotls have those black spots on their face too kerry, i think they look kool.

So it is ok for Axolotls to have sand at the bottom of the tank? Please reply soon as I am at school

(Message edited by axolotl_girl on August 02, 2005)

I think it is fine to have sand in the bottom of the tank, it would be much beta than gravel cause if the axolotl accidently gets sand in it's mouth it can either spit it out or pass it quite easy (more easier than gravel, gravel can get stuck in the axies belly for ages as i have found out). A few people in this forum use sand, I am thinking about using it as well.

Hi all,
I am new to axlotls & am keeping mine in a tank with sand on the bottom, I just read in this forum that the sand must be stirred up regularly is this true. How often? and how hard i dont want to create a sandstorm and kill my new friends.

It doesnt have to be stirred up, Do weekly or every 2 weeks siphon/vacuum. You can usually see dirt on the sand depending on the colour of it of course.

hey thanks,
that is what i have been doing and they seem happy. Just wanted to check with someone who knows what they are doing.

I dont mean to cause trouble or argument, but I read that you do have to stir up your sand every week or so.

Quote: "If you never disturb your gravel/sand, then your gravel will develop anaerobic pockets can will likely produce toxic gases. If this happens, then disturbing these anaerobic pockets can have disastrous results for your aquarium as the toxins are released into the tank at large. However, the development of these anaerobic pockets is actually an indication of poor aquarium care in the first place. The gravel should be stirred regularly to ensure that these anaerobic pockets never develop, because if these dangerous anaerobic pockets do develop, they do not necessarily need to have the gravel disturbed to release their toxins. For this reason, among others, vacuuming part of the gravel should be a part of your regular weekly 10-15% water change in every aquarium."

I presume the same is true for sand. Just want to know if anyone else has an opinion, because if im stirring my sand up for nothing, i'd like to know.

Not true, secondly axies will kick around your sand, your sand is not glued into a clay hold in your tank is it? When you siphon or vacuum the sand it is still moving to some extent. I have 25 lbs of sand in one tank why would i want to stir it weekly i'll go crazy, not to mention my sand is in layers. Stirring sometimes is an easier way of getting dust/dirt out if you have been lazy and not keeping up with water changes or if you shake the sand once a month cause you are just paranoid about the hidden or sunken dirt.