Help please... buying two 2moro and gravel or sand?

... so fine gravel...round 2 mm in size (looks like shell grit but is gravel) is that a bad thing for them?... should i get aquarium sand?...(sorry i am also new here and am picking up 2 2moro so i thought i should check... just in case i should pick up some sand with them...
thanx guys
kel

No gravel. Either large rocks (big enough to not be swallowed) or sand (make sure it is pure aquarium sand, most people find pool-filter sand a lot easier (not quite so fine)).

Have you got your tank set up already? Have you given it enough time to cycle?

I have sand... works a treat! no problems so far!

Dear all,
this is my first post, so please bear with me.
Our juvenile axol (5inches/12cm) has already swallowed some gravel. There is an obvious bulge in her stomach area, and she seems to be laboring to when moving.

Should we stop feeding or decrease food until she passes the gravel ? She usually eats 4-5 pellets in a once a day feeding. Since feeding increases the risk of “bacterial activity that leads to gas buildup beyond the blockage�E(John Clare), does this mean no food, period ?

We've lowered the water level, and have taken out the remaining mouthsized gravel. We've not yet made the move into a bare bottomed container as is suggested by John Clare. Is it confirming rock expulsion the only reason for this? Does a BB container also
1) prevent further accidental rock eating ?
2) prevent possible skin damage as it seems to be weighted down by the rock and is swimming and seems to be landing heavily on other rocks ?


Has anyone else out there had this experience? What happened? Any suggestions?

Hi Randy, welcome to Caudata.org. As long as the axolotl accepts the food and isn't floating, keep feeding it. The bare-bottomed tank is to confirm expulsion of the gravel and also to prevent it swallowing any more while it has the rest still in it. It can take up to 3 weeks for all of the gravel to leave the animal's system, assuming it isn't a permanent blockage. Most of it should be expelled in the first 5 or 6 days though.

You say you've removed the remaining mouth-sized gravel. Axolotls will eat surprisingly large pieces of gravel, so be aware of that.

And yes, I experienced it way back in 1998 when I kept my first axolotl. I never used small gravel with them again. Either use sand (not my thing personally), small pebbles, or no substrate. Right now, I'm using the last of those 3 for various reasons.

Good luck,

-John

I'm still fetching bits of gravel out of my tank 3-4 weeks after putting Muff in with Snork .... Snork has always had sand, so the only place the gravel could be coming from is Muff's digestive tract
I'll keep an eye on it and let you know how long before it's all 'gone through'!

That'll be interesting .