My Axi-tat (boooo, that's not even clever!)

Hiya everyone,

I thought I'd chuck up some pictures of the home our three Axies live in.

It's got the large stones on the bottom so that the little guys don't swallow the gravel, the plants are a bit of a mish-mash of Anubias, Java Fern and Pongol - all growing happily with the aid of Flourish and Flourish excel.
Filter is an Aquarworld 1200 with a spray bar at the back to keep the water motion to a minimum - our Axies sometimes swim up and play in the jets though, very un-axielike of them!

The heater in the back corner is there just to make sure it doesn't get too cold for the plants in the winter time - summertime in Melbourne means it's not even on and it's a battle to keep the water cool and stable for the Axies.

Hope y'all like it!

Looks very nice! What lighting are you using?

I'm envious

Hi Madfrankie,

Really beautifully set up tank. Suitable live plants as well. Its good you are watching to prevent excessive currents and monitoring the temperature.

I believe fluorish excel is used to add organic carbon to promote healthy growth of aquatic plants. However i do not really think it is really necessary to use this product as your axies will produce plenty of 'carbon' of their own, mainly through carbon dioxide during respiration.

Also, its ok to use those smooth large rocks as a footing layer as long as you are willing to put in the extra effort in siphoning up detritus and uneaten food as well as perform regular water changes. I am concerned however of the presence of gravel. Even though you line the rocks on top of the gravel, there is still the risk of gravel impaction. It is best to remove the gravel.

Also how many hours a day of light do you provide for the tank? Only 6 hours will suffice for the plants. Also do remember to provide hiding places to provide shelter and shade for your axies. You should at least have 6 hiding places.

Cheers.

Frankie!

These pictures are beautiful! Please tell me what lighting you are using, it makes the tank look a bit like a tropical jungle!

Thanks

Zoe

Love your tank and your axies.

Hi All, thanks for the fantastic feedback on my setup

Rayson - as always, very useful feedback, cheers!
Flourish Excel: don't really know the science of the situation, but I know that the plants all went completely nuts as soon as I started using it.
Stones/Gravel: It does make it a bit harder to keep clean, but worth the effort for the look of it. The small gravel is a concern for impaction, you're quite right, however I hand-feed my axies exclusively and they don't ever scavenge on the bottom of the tank - feeding time is when the big hand pops into their little world. I am a little worried about accidents though so I might follow your advice and take the small stuff out.
Lighting: The light goes on from 5pm to 11pm and the tank is in a pretty dark little corner of my house so it's rather dim in there during the day when the light's off.

thirdeye96/Zoe - The light is an Atman AL-8 which casts that lovely muted glow - enough for the plants but not too bright for the Axies.

Hi MadFrankie,

The tank looks lovely. You definitely have the touch for aquatic design!

As Ray wrote, the pebbles are a danger. The axolotls will root through them, whether there is food or not. They can't help it; it's what bottom feeders do.

I also worry about heating the water in winter. Although axolotls survive in warmer water, they thrive at cooler temps. Cooler winter temps are certainly a reward to an axolotl that survives summer (particularly in Australia). There is a surprising number of aquarium plants that are not tropical and can therefore handle cooler waters - I can give you a list of some that I know, if you like - and they offer a good variety of form and color. Otherwise, I am afraid you would have to decide if you have an axolotl tank with plants as decoration or a plant tank with an axolotl as decoration.

The logs will need to be watched, too. Since (I assume) there are no animals (shrimp, catfish) to clean the logs, they might rot if left too long. If you take them out, say, once or twice a year, and give them a good scrubbing, they should do fine, though.

Having aired my worries, I want to get back to gushing about how pretty the tank looks. What a beautiful setup! It looks natural and interesting and healthy. Thanks for the photos, I really enjoyed them.

-Eva

Thanks Eva. Glad you like it

Please do tell the plants that like it cooler (though that heater never ever goes above 18C) as I'm working on a compromise at the moment to keep everyone in there happy.
I do have to say that the residents appear very happy in their conditions - full of energy, eating happily and no signs of stress or upset at all.

The driftwood is well aged, but I'll keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't get all skanky.

Cheers!

Hi Madfrankie,

Eva might have a different list from me in terms of plants. I would recommend the following plants because they thrive well in cool waters and low lighting conditions. In addition, they are rather hardy. Some of them can be acquired already affixed to driftwood or a rock and would be even more lasting as they cannot be 'uprooted' by the axies.

My favourite plants are Anubias, Amazon Sword plants, Elodea, Java Fern, Java Moss. If you provide about 6 hours lighting per day, you can also grow things like banana lilies. Duckweed can grow well too but i don't really like them. They are tiny floating plants that can provide cover for feeder fish, axie larvae etc. They are however rather messy looking (at least to me) and might interfere with your filter.

Avoid cuttings of immersed/land plants sold under the guise of aquatic plants. They do not thrive well and frequently die off rather quickly and can foul your water.

Here is a link showing a guide of plants you can consider. Note that not all plants are easily available or permitted in certain australian states so do ask around your aquarium shop.

http://faq.thekrib.com/plant-list.html

Cheers

My currently favorite plant is Valesneria, particularly Valesneria spiralis. This grows and spreads very quickly and the axolotls enjoy moving through it. Yesterday I discovered "giant Valesneria" but it is still soaking, so I can't report on it yet.

Similar in shape although much shorter, sold here as a ground cover, is Lilaeopsis brasiliensis. This does not seem to grow as quickly as Valesneria, but is very pretty.

I find Anubias very attractive. It has sturdy leaves in a dark green that is difficult to find in aquatic plants. Anubias cannot be rooted in substrate; it should be tied to a porous rock, into which it well then send its roots.

There are many types of Cryptocoryne in various shades of green, purple, red, and in various sizes. So far, they all seem to do well in cold water tanks. You can ask where you get your plants about the specific temp requirements.

There are several types of Hydrocotyle (pennywort). I get conflicting info on them - they are generally considered to be difficult but mine (Hydrocotyle verticillata) are doing quite nicely so far.

I have added a variegated Shinnersia rivularis and it is growing like a weed both upwards and outwards.


I like Elodea, too - particularly because it can be used as either a rooted or a floating plant. I am having a difficult time finding floating plants that will survive the cold water.

Similar to Elodea but with finer needles is Ceratophyllum demersum. I have decided I do not like this plant because although it does ok on its own, it s very delicate. When the axolotl crawls through it, it breaks off pieces that then brown quickly and rot, making for higher maintenance than I prefer.

Little floating plants like duckweed or fairy moss are good on one hand because they absorb an amazing amount of salts, but - as Ray wrote - a lot of it will wind up in a filter. Also, once you put some in your tank, you will most likely never get rid of it again.

There are also many types of mosses - I have perhaps four different kinds, and they all do well. Those moss balls are also apparently great, undemanding and excellent water filters, but I don't have any of them.

I have some other plants, but they were given to me as gifts and so I still have to figure out their names.

Hope this provides at least a little start for you.

-Eva

Thanks for the suggestions guys, will definitely check them out. All of the plants in there except for the pongols are various different Anubias and that's Java Fern at the back. I was led to believe (was I lied to?) that they'll do ok in cooler water but not much below about 18 degrees. I picked the ones that are there based on the fact that they were the ones most readily available to me hereabouts in Melbourne that would take the cooler temps.

Will they do ok in cooler than 18C?

Oh yeah, Ray, totally with you on the cut bunches. Been there. Nasty.

madFrankie said:

Will they do ok in cooler than 18C?

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My tank averages 18°. It dips to about 16° when I change the water because the pipes are currently icy here in winter. So far, no problems with the plants.

-Eva

Awesome, so you'd say 18C is ok then? I don't ever let it get above that, but the heater just stops it getting below that, it gets pretty freakin' cold at my place in the winter. I know the Axies wouldn't mind at all if I let it drop down but it would then heat back up again during the day (stupid bl---y Melbourne weather!) and, to the best of my knowledge, it would be a better option to keep it a little warmer and stable than let it fluctuate wildly with changes in the weather.

madFrankie said:

Awesome, so you'd say 18C is ok then? I don't ever let it get above that, but the heater just stops it getting below that, it gets pretty freakin' cold at my place in the winter. I know the Axies wouldn't mind at all if I let it drop down but it would then heat back up again during the day (stupid bl---y Melbourne weather!) and, to the best of my knowledge, it would be a better option to keep it a little warmer and stable than let it fluctuate wildly with changes in the weather.

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Hi MadFrankie,

18C is within the axolotls optimum temperature range, it's a nice temperatue as it encourages appetite and is nicely cool to be more than comfortable for the axolotls.

Kept at a constant 18C is far better than fluctuating temperatures which can cause stress.

Hi,

nice tank, I like the colors. A quick note on plants: Apart from their temperature demands, different plants have different needs on amount of light. Especially the red ones mentioned by Eva need more lighting to thrive so in my opinion there are better choices. In my personal experience the most hardy and non-greedy plant is Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus).

There is one thing on your pics that looks a little imperfect to me. Maybe you wrote something on another thread I haven't read so far on this. The leucistic Axolotl looks rather skinny and "unhappy" to me, especially in comparison to the golden one. What and how often do you feed them?

Hi Daniel,

The Leucistic is just a lot younger than the others - we've only had her for a week. We'll soon fatten her up a bit. She's a very happy little dude, always motoring around and trying to eat fingers.
They get fed Earthworms every 1-2 days.

Hey Frankie...

I'm back to pick your brains again...I put Atman AL-8 into google but nothing came up. I know it's a lot to ask, but could you fink a link to them on the net so I can have a look? I would be eternally grateful!

I have the flourescent tube lights in mine and have seen blue ones for them, but never a purple like that...

Thank you!

Zoe x

Hey Zoe,
Will PM you what I can find.