Question: Do you need to use live plants on an axolotl tank?

[InMemoryOfKoNa]

Title pretty much says it all ! I was wondering what the pros/cons are to using live plants vs fake plants or no plants.

[Killian J]

Fake plants may injure your axolotl because of the hard plastic, live plants may stimulate them and keep them entertained because they may search for food and such around it, plants aren't a requirement


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[InMemoryOfKoNa]

Thank you so much! will definately look into live plants! What are some good low light plats that are safe for axies? Do I need a flourescent light for plants or will an LED light or just the general light of the room be enough for them to grow properly?

[Laura]

When looking for plants, look for low-light plants that can tolerate cool water, are suitable for your water conditions (pH), are tough (axolotls will snap at moving leaves/stems), and can tolerate low light. That eliminates most plants in the aquarium trade ...

Anubias are tough and low light, and can be mounted on a rock to keep them in place. Marimo moss balls are low light, but once in a while, an axie will damage one. Duck weed is a good floating plant that will cut the light reaching the bottom of the tank, and some keepers love it, but my axies eat it (accidentally, I think).

Pros to plants are that they absorb some of the nitrates (but you still need to do regular water changes). Cons are they are another living thing in the tank, and decaying plant matter (if they die) is another source of ammonia etc.

If you want a bare-bottom tank, then you need plants that can get mounted to something like a rock. (Some plants need their roots in a substrate.)

[NaterPotater]

Live plants are not necessary, but they're great! It's kind of fun to watch THEM grow as well. Anubias do really well in cold water with low light. I don't have a tank light at all, and they do fine with just the overhead light in the room (on for maybe half the day). Like Laura said, you just tie them to a rock or something. Mine are tied by the roots to pieces of driftwood and rocks with white thread. My axolotls love hanging out on them. The best part is when the plants are floating up a little bit, so the string is fairly taut like with a helium balloon, and the weight of the little axolotl on top isn't enough to push the plant down. It's really cute :) I've never had one since I don't have an substrate, but I think Amazon Swords are another great plant for low temp and low light, but they need to have some kind of substrate for the roots.