A couple of questions before I start aquascaping!

I'm well into researching where to get and what plants to get to start my project this weekend, but I've come upon a couple of queries.

Do all plants need to be quarantined? If so, for how long? I assume they would need basically the same conditions as they would have in the axie tank, temp, light etc. Would it be OK just to submerge them in a seperate tank for 24 hours and remove any snails and such like that show up?

What aquatic plant fertilisers are safe to use with axies? Is it essential to use fertilsers in a planted tank?

I would like to try to tie some plants onto the bogwood I have already in the tank, do you think it'd be a good idea to attach them while in quarantine (in the seperate tank) or just leave them loose 'til I start putting the plants into my axies tank? Also what's the best thing for attaching plants to wood? I was thinking fishing line?

Sorry for all the questions

For plant choices, have a look at this: http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/aquatic-plants/46560-plants-ideal-low-light-low-tech-aquaria-3.html

for getting plants, id reccommend a LFS or aquabid.com.

Ive never heard about quarentining plants, I dont do this, maybe someone else could chime in with better advice.

Mark

Hi Kerry,

Quick answer yes, but if you know the plants are coming from a safe reliable source then it may be ok. Many cross tank infections are transfered in on plants. This having been said many people don't quarantine plants and don't have problems.

I have read too many threads on the negative aspects of not quarantining not to.

Kerry1968 said:

Do all plants need to be quarantined? If so, for how long? I assume they would need basically the same conditions as they would have in the axie tank, temp, light etc. Would it be OK just to submerge them in a seperate tank for 24 hours and remove any snails and such like that show up?

Click to expand...

I would suggest that you clean them thoroughly and de-snail them, then they should be ok to go in your tank. I've never personally had any issues with new plants causing anything except snail-fest, but my plants all come from a very trustworthy source.
It certainly won't do any harm at all to keep them separated for a while to make sure they're free of carried nasties.
If they came from a tank that's got fish or any other animals in it then definitely quarantine, however most stores keep their plants in an animal-free tank, greatly reducing the risk of diseases and parasites... doesn't seem to stop the bl**dy snails though!

Kerry1968 said:

What aquatic plant fertilisers are safe to use with axies?

Click to expand...

"Flourish" by Seachem is a great plant food and won't harm the axies, I use it in my tank in conjunction with Fourish Excel - a carbon supplement. The Axies produce quite a bit of carbon on their own so the Excel isn't essential, I found it helps though.

Kerry1968 said:

Is it essential to use fertilsers in a planted tank?

Click to expand...

No, but you'll find that without some sort of plant food you won't see much in the way of growth, and you may even find that some of the plants will die off.
Using a plant food will give much better results and you'll end up with a lovely lush garden in there.

Kerry1968 said:

I would like to try to tie some plants onto the bogwood I have already in the tank, do you think it'd be a good idea to attach them while in quarantine (in the seperate tank) or just leave them loose 'til I start putting the plants into my axies tank?

Click to expand...

Your new plants plants will be fine loose for a while. they don't have to be attached to something all the time.

Kerry1968 said:

Also what's the best thing for attaching plants to wood? I was thinking fishing line?

Click to expand...

Fishing line is a good choice, you can also use a hairnet if you're trying to hold down something like Java Moss or Riccia

Hi Kerry,

I agree with Ian. If you´ll get the plants from an aquarium or petshop, the probability for introducing parasites is nearly slow. But if they are from a pond, there could be different parasites which could harm the axies. For that the plants should be quaratined before putting in the tank.

Some days ago, I got a hint from a friend of mine. I´ve got some plants from a petshop and the plants have been full of planaria. Planaria aren´t although harmful to axies, but they are unlikely seen. By putting the plants in a bucket filled with sparkling mineral water for 1 hour, the planaria will die soon.

-Tina-

Kerry1968 said:

I'm well into researching where to get and what plants to get to start my project this weekend, but I've come upon a couple of queries.

Do all plants need to be quarantined? Yes! If so, for how long?

Click to expand...

Yes! for at least 30 days is best.

Kerry1968 said:

I assume they would need basically the same conditions as they would have in the axie tank, temp, light etc.

Click to expand...

Most likely not. The list of readily available plants that do well in axolotl tank conditions is limited. Many easily acquired aquarium plants are need warm water conditions at least part of if not all of the year to thrive. Many of them generally need lots of bright light too, which can be a issue for an axolotl. Make sure they have plenty of hides for when the plant lights are on. Best thing to do here is some serious Googling for cool water plants that can do well in low lighting. You will find a few of them at the LFS, but many will have to be purchased online.

Kerry1968 said:

Would it be OK just to submerge them in a separate tank for 24 hours and remove any snails and such like that show up?

Click to expand...

Not nearly long enough, especially for snails. Easiest suggestion I can make here is do a forum search using "plants, quarantine, and snails" as keywords, there are quite a few very informative threads on this topic.

Kerry1968 said:

What aquatic plant fertilizers are safe to use with axies?Is it essential to use fertilizers in a planted tank?

Click to expand...

None that I know of. Most of them (in my knowledge) are not caudate friendly due to high levels of iron and the presence of copper, however, back when I used heavily planted axolotl tanks, I found that fertilizers really were not needed. This may have changed nowadays; it has been quite a few years since I used anything but java moss in my axolotl tanks.

Kerry1968 said:

I would like to try to tie some plants onto the bog wood I have already in the tank, do you think it'd be a good idea to attach them while in quarantine (in the separate tank) or just leave them loose 'til I start putting the plants into my axies tank?

Click to expand...

I would leave the wood where it is at, and quarantine the plants separately. Once they are done with quarantine, I would attach them to the wood.

Kerry1968 said:

Also what's the best thing for attaching plants to wood? I was thinking fishing line?

Click to expand...

I agree with you here. I used fishing line with great success in the past. I have used plain cotton kite string with success also.

Kerry1968 said:

Sorry for all the questions

Click to expand...

Never be sorry for asking valid questions. Just think about how many other folks were wondering the same thing! You have helped yourself and many others!

Defiantly Quarantine them for short period and wash them through under the tap! Once you get snails they are a nightmare to get rid of, as snail removing chemicals cant be used with axies.

All of my tanks are heavily planted and I don't add anything at all to fertilize them. I stick with very hardy tough plants like Anubias and Java Fern, although I have some crypts and other plants.

My general opinion is that the fish poop and nitrate from the fish poop provides enough fertilizer. I also consider plants to be a biological filter system, as they consume the accumulation of nitrates and other wastes produced by tank inhabitants.

I do have a trick for getting rid of snails and quarrantining your plants before moving them into your tanks. Set up a 10 gallon tank as cheaply as possible and add one clown loach. Every snail will be gone within a few days.

I also keep Malaysian Trumpet Snails and Red Rams horn snails in my tanks as they play another critical role in keeping the tank healthy. The MTS snails dig around in the substrate eating decaying organic matter, and the red rams horns eat algae and decaying plants but do not eat living plant tissue. Only those nasty grey/brown olive shaped snails are the ones I hate. But the clown loaches get rid of them real quickly.

I anchor my plants to rocks and driftwood with brown or black COTTON sewing thread. By the time the thread disintegrates, the plants will have attached themselves to the rock/wood.

Good luck. If you want to see some of my tanks, you can see them here.

Oh, and if anybody in the US wants either type of beneficial snail, I would be happy to ship them for free as they are never sold in pet stores to my knowledge (you pay postage).

Thanks for that Yucca,

I've now put the plants in my tank. I ended up getting Java fern, Java moss, some other unnamed moss (both given to me for free) some Anubias and a Pennywort. I have all of them tied to the bog wood in my tank with black cotton (I'd already done this before I read this post!) The Pennywort came in a small basket type pot so I've tied that to the bogwood too to stop the axies chasing it round the tank, which they do with the potted Elodia!

So now I just wait to see if (a) they start to grow and fill out the tank or (b) I kill them off like I did the last lot of Java fern!

Watch this space!

I'm not a big fan of elodea, hornwort, and similar stem plants. When leaves break off, they have a tendency to clog the filter inlets. But they do grow fast and help clean the water by absorbing waste.

I also keep some amount of duckweed in my tanks. I'm always scooping out handfuls of it (and yes, it clogs the filters too.