River rocks VS. Sand

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andrew

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Which is better large rocks or sand? I have kinda big rocks right now but it seems like the little guys are having a hard time walking over them.... Is sand better for the little guys?
 
Just fine gravel should be good nothn over 5mm easy to keep clean an you get a good bio filter
 
no they will accidently eat that sized gravel if their food is not placed on a dish (yours is isnt it). i used to have large river rocks in my tank but it was way hard to clean. so i changed to sand, its normal coloured and makes it easier to clean up the poops
 
I had large river pebbles, it was great for a bit, but then it became impossible to suck up all the waste that fell between the rocks. So I changed to sand, any waste is sucked up with a turkey baster or by syphon, very easy.
Plus they leave little marks and footprints in the sand.
 
I love the little foot prints they leave in the sand
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a bare bottom's just fine. Some find this a little hard to grip, but mine were raised in bare bottom (with a few large rocks) for a long time before I put a substrate in.
 
whats a turkey baster ?? ive heard it mentions in a couple of threads.
 
thanks heaps. i need one of them i think. ive been using a net for most of the bigger things like plant leaves but havent been able to get the other stuff without stirring the water alot and stressing my poor axolotl. you can buy them from any aquarium or pet shop?... anywhere else?
 
The grocery store... I bought mine for $0.99, a pet store suckybulb would probably cost 4 or 5 times that, because it's "pet friendly". Waste of money. Just like decoration. PVC and legos work just fine :D
 
thanks ill keep that in mind when i go looking. also thank you alot joan for all the help you've given me. wow ive had my axolotl for 3 weeks now i cant believe it seems like so much longer... i still need to name it!!
 
lol its a female. well im pretty sure. what is/are your axolotl(s) name(s) lol. did you pick it straight away?.
 
I named mine after vacuum cleaners because of the way they eat. Kirby, Hoover, and Bissel. lol.
 
aha thats so funny. good idea, and so true how they eat. ah i just looked over to my axolotl and it let out a huge air bubble. kinda looked like it burped... is that normal? hehe. they are fascinating animals.
 
Mine do it all the time. Especially after they go up for air.
 
just about the sand. i have sand in the bottom of my tank and i think its good. i havent had rock or anything though. i was worried my axolotl was eating the sand and now that ive moved her into a plastic container until my tank is cycling properly ive noticed there is alot of sand in her....poo. lol. i always see her suck up the sand when trying to get the little bits of blood worm. is that ok for the axolotl. its alot better than them eating gravel. but would it affect them long term? alot of sand wouldjnt be too comfortable in their stomaches.
 
Shane, Try and find a safe small feeding bowl for your axolotls so that they can eat the worms from there, rather than eating the sand along with their meal. I would think the sand would be uncomfortible in their tummies, but I'm not an axolotl so i couldn't say for sure lol. just use a small plate that wont cloud or dirty the water, either glass or ceramic, metal I don't think would be good. You can also try those small terra-cotta pot water drain offs they sell in nurseries usually next to the terra-cotta pots. they look like small dishes, flat with a little bit of an edge to them, and some are pretty small and they aer very cheap, only a few cents at the most for the small ones. Most Terra-cotta these days I don't think contain any harsh minerals or chemicals, as I know that some have. I hope this helps
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