Theory on Impaction

Hi Jen et al.,

I am skeptical, too, and really just having fun. I had actually thought more people would refute than agree.. Am currently working on a new theory about the effect vibrations of an air pump have on aquarium inhabitants but it is still at the larval stage.

"Fact" 4 comes from the same place I have all my other "information" - internet forums. I actually ordered a real book on axolotls - Developmental Biology of the Axolotl by Armstrong & Malacinski, but haven't started reading it yet (another theory that its knowledge will pass into my head by osmosis if I keep it on the nightstand). Hopefully I will learn something valid from the book, although that might seriously crimp my love, dare I say talent?, for unfounded theorization.

-Eva

ferret_corner said:

so um what is a safe creature to put in our tanks that will crawl through sand but isn't harmful to the newts or axolotls? Aren't there underwater worms that do this?

Sharon

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The simplest answer is don't use a thick sand layer or a thick gravel layer filled with sand. You need a decent depth of sand, maybe an inch or more to get anaerobic pockets.

Abrahm said:

The simplest answer is don't use a thick sand layer or a thick gravel layer filled with sand. You need a decent depth of sand, maybe an inch or more to get anaerobic pockets.

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Ok that much I know and my tanks have quite a skimpy layer of sand. But I was curious if we could get a deeper layer and keep it safe. lol silly axolotls like to surf through the sand and I wind up with deep "drifts" I have to jab with my baster every couple of days to disturb any "pockets" that might be forming.

I had this vision of sand dunes.....

I don't believe sand is an impaction risk, it seems a bit far fetched to suggest it sort of forms a cement with swallowed gravel.

The axolotls stomach can hold large stones which cannot make it into the intestine, but then when the axolotl grows the intestine is of larger diameter and they can move on and create the jam which is the impaction. There may be a huge time gap between the swallowing and the fatality.

Because axolotls do root around in the substrate covering up gravel with sand only reduces risk, not prevents it. The usual loose aquarium gravel is about the worst risk possible, in nature pebbles will often be partly embedded in mud and bound by roots.

I run several heavily planted tanks with a very thick muddy bottom. They are full of anaerobic pockets, as are most outside ponds. There is an occasional bubble of gas from the pockets. You only get problems if you try to stir things up (when I was about 10 I thoroughly stirred a goldfish pond to try to retrieve a heavy rubber ball and all the fish came up to the top in great distress).

The tanks have no filters but are wonderfully stable and never show more than trace levels of ammonia and remain nitrate free, even after 2 weeks without a water change (I usually do a 1% daily water change as otherwise the water gets browner and browner). I never syphon anything out or clean up anything but the front glass so that I get occasional sight of the axolotls!

It is unconventional but a really thick substrate left undisturbed works as well in tanks as in outdoor ponds.

Which is why after going through all the various sites and reading everyone's opinion, I now have a bare bottom. Haha. But honestly, I think it is far safer than sand. I have several large "glass shells" for decoration, but that's it. It makes clean up easier too!

This was a pleasure to read nonetheless. ^_^

I hope you don't get too cold with a bare bottom! Sorry I couldn't resist!

blueberlin said:

Sand can even pass out from the mouth through the gill slits during feeding.

-Eva

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NOW I am confused! Gill slits?

Heather

blueberlin said:

Am currently working on a new theory about the effect vibrations of an air pump have on aquarium inhabitants but it is still at the larval stage.

-Eva

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Interesting - I was wondering about this today as I have a very small & slow stream of bubbles in one corner of my small tank of 10 new hatchlings - there is a constant small vibration from this - rather huge compared to their tiny size. Most unnatural.

Heather

Hi Heather,

Yes, if you look at an axolotl's gills from behind, they are open gills, like with a fish. Sometimes when eating, if an axolotl grabs a mouthful of sand, the sand will shoot out the back of its head, through the gills, as well as from the front of the mouth.

As to the vibrations, I have a membrane pump for a Matten filter and I know that the noise it makes sure drives me nuts. Right now i have it on a folded towel on the floor next to the aquarium cabinet. I had originally wanted to put it into said cabinet, but the thought of putting it into a hollow wooden box makes me think it would be even louder to me. Which got me thinking about the vibrations travelling through the wood and the water surrounding the axolotl...

-Eva

Very,very interesting read. However, has somebody actually had problems with their axie eating so much sand it has become a problem and caused an impaction? Please tell!

sherrisixxx said:

Very,very interesting read. However, has somebody actually had problems with their axie eating so much sand it has become a problem and caused an impaction? Please tell!

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Nope, not I. Never heard or read of it happening, either.

-Eva

I'm a little late but this is an interesting theory. If axolotls have peristalsis(sp?) wouldn't that keep the sand,worms(which have dirt in them) moving forward(or is it backward?),even if there was a piece of gravel in the way? Maybe it isn't impaction(foreign body that is stuck), that is the culprit, but erosion of the digestive track (as the stone moves through) that leads to what we think is impaction. How many people do a necropsy on their beloved pets to find out the real reason for the demise? I know I couldn't. All I could do is list symptoms then make a quess for the death.

Darkmaverick said:

Hi beth,

A mixture of rocks and sand will create all these nooks and crannies that can trap accumulated wastes and uneaten food which can foul your water quickly. They are also harder to clean out.

Eva/Sharon - I agree with your gravel and sand hypothesis. Logical.

Cheers

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I have been lucky enough to never have an impacted axolotl. (I chalk this up to being born without wisdom teeth, no impacted teeth, no impacted caudate).


But seriously, in my early axolotl keeping days, I used heavily planted wildly aquascaped tanks. My substrate was a layered mix of that special aquatic plant gravel stuff (I cannot recall it's name for the life of me), regular small sized aquarium gravel, sand, and polished river rocks.
As I became more experienced, I slowly phased out the heavy plantings and the substrates, more for ease of egg collection than any other reason.

Please do not attempt to interpret this as a statement of "...this doesn't happen...". It does. In fact my axolotls were defecating small bits of gravel for months after I moved them to substratless tanks. This helped me decide to never use a substrate again, only because some for the gravel I had was dark green. By the time it was deposited in the empty tank, all the dye/paint had been removed to show the natural color of the gravel (white). This worried me greatly for months.

I did have issues with water chemistry, in part to my inexperience with axolotls and the temperatures and water chemistry required for the type of plants I was using. Cleaning those tanks was a long, labor intensive chore.

I too agree with the theories above.