Post pictures of your axolotl setups

C

carl

Guest

• Aug 3, 2004

• #1

please can you post pictures so i have somthing to work off also would a one foot tank be big enough i have a 3 foot one but my draws might not hold the weight once full

 

J

jenny

Guest

• Aug 3, 2004

• #2

how many axys do you have?

 

K

katy

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #3

considering an axolotl can reach up to 1ft when full grown, i wouldn't recommend it. it'd be fine for a young one, though.

 

C

carl

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #4

i dont have any but i am looking into buying just one

 

J

jenny

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #5

use that 3 foot tank you have. u can have 3 in that. or do you already have your newts in it?

 

A

andre

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #6

Here are pics of my setup for 4 adult axis.

180 L. Aquarium; Ground : 0,5mm Sand; Plants are all real for oxygene production.

(Message edited by jamc on August 04, 2004)

 

K

kim

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #7

This is a picture of my set up.

I dont have many plants in it and they are mainly planted to the sides as both my babies like alot of room to swim around, oh and they dig them up!!

 

C

carl

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #8

hi all your tanks are great they look just like a real pond but just in a tank lol i bet your axies are happy

 

J

jenny

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #9

ill get a pic of my tank its fairly new from my tiny lil one foot tanks i had! but its on the floor and am waiting for my mum to clear out the chest of drawers she said i can have to put the tank on. my room is pretty small its hard to get a decent pic of it on the floor. my tank is real dull though. i got pebbles like, garden ones cos didnt want small ones so they wudnt swollow em and i got 2 rocks of slate one with dif shades of green on and one dul red one and they real big and sorta rest to make a hidy spot then this big plant which by the way carl, get! its a tenner from pets at home! its so good! and so big! (plastic though)

 

L

leah

Guest

• Aug 4, 2004

• #10

Andre- how is the sand for cleaning? I love the look of it, can you tell me a bit more about the tank, specifically how you do maintenance without stirring everything up too much? Looks great!

 

L

leah

Guest

• Aug 5, 2004

• #11

Also, what is your experience with snails? I can see quite a few in your setup, but I've read conflicting reports... My plan was for a single apple snail and some Malaysian trumpet snails- trumpet snails for the plants, apple snail because I think they're really cool. For plants I was looking into some tough low-light ones that I could anchor to some driftwood.. any thoughts?

 

K

katy

Guest

• Aug 5, 2004

• #12

Here's my tank, newly outfitted with plants I bought today.

Leah, I use sand as well as river stones for appearance, but the sand is really easy to clean. I use a gravel vac, and the sand is much heavier than the rubbish I'm vacuuming up, so pretty much stays where it is. When I do water changes, I just drizzle the water in really slowly over a rock until the level of the bucket is the same level as the tank (ie. put the bucket into the tank as far as it'll go) and then just sort of slide the bucket out from under the water - no pouring, no sand everywhere!

Also, I hate snails - most people around here will agree, though not all. There have been too many instances of snails chewing at an axie's mucous coating, or even their eyes! Little ones probably can't do much harm, but I doubt they'd do much good either.

 

A

andre

Guest

• Aug 5, 2004

• #13

Hi Leah,

I'm cleaning the sand with a standard gravel cleaner which can be bought in any fish shop. I'm not struggling to get the sand absolutely clean, I'm just removing the bulk of the axis poo that tend to accumulate in one corner or the other.

There are about 6 apple snails and the axolotls don't bother them being in the tank. ... Their main job is to eat up the leftovers from the axis food and do some other 'cleaning job'

As for the plants, I have most of those that are listed/described on this site. The page is in german but I guess it's possible to figure out their english name from their scientific name

.

(Message edited by jamc on August 05, 2004)

 

L

leah

Guest

• Aug 6, 2004

• #14

Hey Katy/Andre,

Good to know that the gravel vac won't suck up the sand, that's what I was worried about! Where did you get your sand? Anything I should be worried about if I go any old standard kind of landscaping place for sand, or should I buy it through the fish store, just to be safe?

 

L

leah

Guest

• Aug 6, 2004

• #15

Should probably clarify that- Has the sand available in aquarim/fish stores undergone any special cleaning that sand from a landscaping place might not have had? I'm mainly worried about chemical residues that may cling to the sand even after a good wash.

Also, how long have you had your snails with the axolotls in that setup Andre? The snails don't look full grown yet... they've never tried munching on the axis? I don't think mine would try to eat something that big, he's way too sensible

He might try to eat the trumpet snails though, and IF I do change to a planted tank, I like the trumpets because they burrow and really help with the airation and health of the roots (just my experience...) Can axolotls digest snail shells?

 

A

andre

Guest

• Aug 6, 2004

• #16

I got my sand from a company that sells all sorts of sands. Specifically, the one I'm using is 0.5 mm grain quartz sand.

Before dumping the sand in the tank, i washed it throughly with water until the cleaning water was clear of any visible residues.

The snails have always been there with the axolotls and co-habitation has been peaceful ever since. Snails won't go after the axolotls and besides, I've never seen a snail taking a ride in the aquarium. Sometimes a snail would fall from above on a axi and that's about everything that happened.

When I first got the axis, they would try to eat the smaller 'baby-snails' but I guess that if they are getting enough food, they'd have no reason to eat up the snails I don't know if they can digest shells though.

 

K

katy

Guest

• Aug 6, 2004

• #17

I got my sand from an aquarium shop, described as 'aquarium sand'. i didn't want to take any chances i guess!

 

L

leah

Guest

• Aug 7, 2004

• #18

Ooh, I'm getting excited about revamping my tank now!
Just one last thing, hopefully a few people who DON'T use sand will chime in here as well: What about an axolotl eating sand? The particles are so fine, do they just pass it with no problems, or does it have the potential to build up and cause impactions like gravel?

Actually, one more question. Does anyone use any fertilisers or iron supplements to enhance their plant growth? What about mixing something like flourite in with the substrate? It's safe for fish, should I have any reason to think it wouldn't be safe for axolotls?
Thanks

 

C

carl

Guest

• Aug 7, 2004

• #19

also please could you answer my question if i have a normal filter will it not suck up all the sand from the bottom or will i need a special filter

 

K

katy

Guest

• Aug 7, 2004

• #20

i used to use just river stones of an inch or more in diameter, but found waste and food got trapped in between them too easily, so needed a filler. gravel - even fine gravel - gets eaten and in my opinion has more of a chance of causing a problem than fine sand. it also depends on how you feed them - i always hand feed, so have very little problem with my axies ground feeding and eating substrate. if you drop food in for them to find, i'd avoid both if at all possible.

i have never used a plant growth thingy - haven't found the need. just get some hardy, well-rooted plants like elodea, and you'll be fine.