Plain glass or rocky bottom?

D

declan

Guest

• Jan 24, 2005

• #1

\I've been getting contrasting advice on what should be on the bottom of the tank, It currently is bare glass which Alex obviously cannot grip, though it doesn't seem to bother him too much. I know that small gravel is a no no and bigger pebbles could be a pain to keep food and waste out of, What about a layer of Slate for example?
Also plastic floating plants or real plants?
}

 

C

cynthia

Guest

• Jan 24, 2005

• #2

I always vote for real plants, but they depend on your lighting situation.

I like sand as a substrate.

 

R

rachel

Guest

• Jan 24, 2005

• #3

i use bare bottom in all my tanks, its SO much easier to keep clean! i also have alittle pen plax battery gravel vac to skim along the bottom to pick up debris and waste, it makes tank cleaning a snap! in my Xenopus tanks i use a lot of floating plants and pices of driftwood. they dont even seem to notice substrate either way.

rachel

 

D

declan

Guest

• Jan 24, 2005

• #4

Good info Thanks, Drift wood I can get off the beach But I guess this would be a bad idea re Salt.

 

E

eric

Guest

• Jan 24, 2005

• #5

Just rinse it off and it should be fine. Use boiling water to kill any organisms living on it too. Axies don't mind a bit of salt and it does keep infection at bay.

 

D

declan

Guest

• Jan 25, 2005

• #6

Isn't that a different "salt"?
Cynthia, What sort of filter do you use with the sand? Mine has a power filter on the tank side.

 

C

cynthia

Guest

• Jan 25, 2005

• #7

I use a fluval 204 canister filter (with a home made baffle), the aquarium is 40 gallons. And I too have one of the battery vacuums to pick up small debris between weekly syphon/vacuum changes.

If you are using a filter that hangs on the tank and drops water "down" into the tank and makes a lot of current you may need to baffle it to cut the current, or use a spray bar.

 

J

jarred

Guest

• Jan 25, 2005

• #8

For substrate I have tried gravel, large river rocks and sand. Sand, in my opinion, is the best substrate. Small gravel can be swallowed and can take along time to pass through the axolotl causing it stress and river rocks are a pain because their waste and sometimes even their food slips into the gaps between the rocks and is very hard to clean. Sand has none of these disadvantages and can be cleaned quickly and effectively using an ordinary gravel vac.

 

J

jarred

Guest

• Jan 25, 2005

• #9

Oh and I prefer real plants though they can be messy.

 

D

declan

Guest

• Jan 26, 2005

• #10

Thanks All

 

M

mik

Guest

• Jan 27, 2005

• #11

I have on e tank with real plants ,mostly elodea, and one with plastic both are fine. But the real plant tank tends to be a little bit green. But both are very healthy set ups.

Bare glass botoms can be stressy for axies they cant grip so easy when mooching about. I use undergravel filters so I have no choice about the base but then again I have have no problems.

 

D

declan

Guest

• Jan 29, 2005

• #12

Thanks Mik,
I thought under gravel would force the issue of subtrate, I think big gravel/ small stones will be the choice, but then again!!!

 

V

vanessa

Guest

• Jan 31, 2005

• #13

Hmm... I would use smooth rocks because I think Axolotl skins are a bit easy to scratch on really rough rocks. But I use gravel because it looks so good.

 

D

declan

Guest

• Feb 4, 2005

• #14

Not too small I gravel I assume, knowing they have a tendency to swallow anything small enough!

 

V

vanessa

Guest

• Feb 6, 2005

• #15

Yeah... just as some people here said that some Axies swallowed gravel and took quite a while to pass through the digestive system.