Is this specific sand safe?

I was told it was, but I would like to double check, just in case!

National Geographic™ Aquarium Sand | Gravel & Sand | PetSmart

Would love to know ASAP

Unfortunately I'm not too experienced. I would check why it claims to increase the growth of beneficial bacteria. If it's just because it gives bacteria more place to accumulate on then that's fine, as long as it's not something that is added in the sand.

Cacique said:

Unfortunately I'm not too experienced. I would check why it claims to increase the growth of beneficial bacteria. If it's just because it gives bacteria more place to accumulate on then that's fine, as long as it's not something that is added in the sand.

Click to expand...

It says "Adding a substrate... increases the growth of beneficial bacteria, while adding to the aesthetic of the tank" so I don't think they add anything."

However, I'm reading its some people say its more like gravel than sand, so maybe not so good. Do you have it there? Does it look like sand?

It is pretty small, it fits threw the netting on a fish net like this!

http://m4.sourcingmap.com/photo_new/20110727/g/ux_a11072700ux0146_ux_g03.jpg

Yeah I think at that grain size it should be safe, sounds about the same as the black sand I had.

I tried it and my axololt started acting weird and I made sure to keep a close eye on him... he became very disorientated... almost like slow motion walking, and can hardly swim.. I don't think he can even make it to the surface. So I am taking them out, and he is now in the fridge. I'm sure he ate some and now he is sick... would not recommend to anyone... unless some how something else has happened the day I put in the sand..

I'm sorry that your axolotl is acting weird and disoriented. The weird walking could be due to the sand being a new feeling on his feet and belly. Can you describe by what you mean he can hardly swim? I'm not sure if fridging him is necessary but hopefully someone more experienced will chime on.

Is your axolotl under 5 inches? On the many threads where substrate is discussed it is recommended for axolotls under 5 inches to be housed bare bottomed, but sand is fine after 5 and they will eat it, they just pass it without any issues. My axolotl has been on sand since I've had him, first on a similar black gravel sand and now on pool filter sand. I haven't experienced any problems, but he does swallow a bit of sand if he's trying to eat something off of it.

I did a search on the sand and I couldn't find anything about it making anyone's critters soon. I hope that it is nothing serious and that he just wasn't used to it. I hope he feels better soon.

Yeah lets see... he was just moving around A LOT less, which is what made me keep an eye on him. I noticed him like really wobbly almost, and couldnt manage to swim to the top. When I scooped him up and put him in a tub for the fridge, he naturally freaked out from being scooped up, and like... I don't know it was almost like he couldnt use his arms, and just flung his head left and right to swim.. not sure, ive only seen one other thread who described what mine was doing, and when i contacted them they said the problem just seemed to go away.. he also just seems like he's kind of heavy the way he moves, which makes me think he ate the sand :s

Ah, mine is only 3.5 inches.. didn't know they had to be a certain size :s

I don't know what else it could've been, he only started acting strange the day I put the sand it :/ Perhaps he accidentally swallowed a large amount and couldn't handle it.

I would try to stay calm. My axolotl was a bit smaller than yours when I first got him and I unfortunately didn't find out about the sand until he was over 5 inches and nothing ever happened luckily. The way he swam after he freaked out reminds me of how my axolotl swims sometimes when he freaks himself out too, so it could have just been a harmless fright.

My axolotl will sometimes get all over the filter, only to scare himself with the water out flow. It only happens sometimes, not all the times, but when he does he'll shoot off like that. His legs stretched backwards and full body motion just to swim at full speed.

Is he still moving heavily in the container he's in? Was it more heavy than slow motion? When I first put my axolotl into his new tank, he moved around really slowly until he got used to the new environment. If you're really worried you could take the sand out and just save it for now until he's 5 inches, then you don't have to worry about it and you also shouldn't have to wait too long. The description of the walking still kind of sounds to me like the texture freaked him out a bit, but I really am no expert.

Yeah i took all the sand out yesterday and cleaned out the tank. I am putting him back in in a little bit... maybe you're right and I'm just over thinking it...

I just measured and he's 4 inches, not that i makes a huge difference lol.

I just got a weird vibe from the way he was acting... but maybe I was just looking for something to be wrong since I added something new :s

Oh and another thing that is making me feel better is that his tail is never bent... BUT yesterday he definitely was acting weird.. so I'm just confused!

It could definitely be first parent jitters lol. I'm constantly looking into my tanks when I wake up in the middle of the night just to make sure everyone's ok. You can always play it safe and just wait a month or so until he's bigger, might be even less time.

Maybe.. I feel like I am always freaking out about something XD

Thank you for your help! I really hope I'm just being a weirdo lol.

I think I will wait awhile before I attempt sand again lol

I agree with the over worrying. I was the same way. I actually compared both at petsmart and they are basically the same according to the packaging data. Only difference is the price tag because it's by national geographic. So in short only difference is the name brand and price. The great economy at work. Lol.

When I put my axis in the first day they acted funny but it was only because it was a new feeling. They got use to it and went back to their regular ways after a week. I know someone who did a half and half setup. Bare bottom on one end and substrate on the other to get their lotls use to it. If you wanted to try sand in the future maybe try that. Hope that helps

I really hope so.. but I don't know.. something seems off! Normally he swims up to me if I am by the tank.. now he doesnt :s

Your lotl could be stressed out from all of the moving and changing of his environment, which might explain why he has decided to not move around as much.

I know that whenever I do water changes on my tanks my guys tend to hide for a little bit afterwards and sometimes won't even eat. They perk back up the next day though!

No my axolotl did eat a lot of the sand causing him to not be able to swim to the surface and act odd. He is in the fridge, I just checked and there was quite a bit of sand in his stool. I feel bad for him :/

That is the same sand I had my guy Mulder in for a year. He hadn't had sand before, and he ate a whole lot and then got completely constipated for a while. I too had all the new mommy crazies and fridged him. He was totally fine once he passed it all and when I put him back in, he didn't eat the sand again. It might be a little more concerning for a smaller axolotl, but I don't know.

There are definitely finer aquarium sands out there, you can even get like play sand, but there's nothing about this specific sand that should cause more problems than other coarse aquarium sands.