aquarium plants

[debbie]

I spoke to the guy in the pet store and he said that i wont be able to keep plants alive in my axie tank without good lighting
none of my plants seem to stay alive as i dont have any lighting i use this leaf zone stuff which gives the plants food but they just keep dying and the axies keep up rooting them (just to annoy me) does anyone know how i can keep the plants alive and stop the axies from digging them up thanks.
debbie

 

[pete]

I plant my plants in the sand then place stones and logs over the roots and they very rarely come loose. You'll definitely need good lighting though.

 

[Bellabelloo]

With regards to plants axolotl do enjoy rooting around them/ climbing / replanting etc it is a kind of sport for them . I ended up planting mine with sand into terracotta pots, and then weighting them down with stones. My last batch of plants have been so abused by the axolotl I am now just left with some free floating java fern ( I think). I now use plastic plants for decoration, but occasionally lapse and try something else that might survive axolotl. !

 

[dancas]

is that the java moss? i pulled mine out in case it was helping to cause an ammonia prob. maybe i should go get some more.....

 

[kapo]

The following things can be contributing reasons why there is a buildup of ammonia in tank, despite regular water changes, and combined with the fluctuating excessive temperatures you're experiencing:

Hidden waste - beneath sand, decos, gravel, tunnels - we lift our decos/tunnels out completely every fortnight when waterchanging/siphoning - (they go in a bucket of tankwater) to ensure there is no hidden waste in those areas. Sand also needs to be regularly stirred to ensure pockets of anaerobic gas doesn't build up.

Decomposing plants, if any. - Our java moss, what little was left, was only removed when it was totally torn to bits and started to decompose; otherwise we'd have left it in the tank.
Amount of axolotls and size of tank - the smaller a tank the faster it's prone to fouling (ie ammonia and nitrite buildup) and and warming temperatures more so than a larger tank. Amount of axolotls would also impact on it and how much you're feeding them (ie 1 in a 45cm tank or 2 in a 2footer).



Another thing is if the tank is on the small side, you're more likely to find an ammonia/heat problem (ie one axie in a 45cm tank; 2 in 2foot long tank - etc....)

 

[oceanblue]

You do need lighting for plants to succeed but a single fluorescent tube for 12 hours a day is adequate for many plants. Two tubes for 16 hours a day is better! You need to be aware of the heating effects but in the UK in an unheated room you can often get away with this level. (In a cellar my tank is currently 13 Celsius, rising to 19 in the hight of summer). Try floating plants and experiment. Java moss came with my young axolotls and festered and died. Water cress thrives and forms a congested floating mass of roots and shoots needing regular thinning. A bagful from the supermarket was a lot cheaper than anything in the pet shop and rooted well. A few sprigs of mint also look promising. I find plants grow better with axolotls than fish, I suspect it is the heavy ammonia output.

 

[dancas]

commonly called aquaponics!!!! my husband had a throurough veggie garden growing solely on fish excrement alone.. 10 goldfish in a deep pit with a pump to pull the water out and into "hydroponic" setup then clean and filtered by the roots and back into pit... worked a treat, the best veggies we ever had.....

hmmmm mint??? i might give that a try.....

 

[oceanblue]

I have to admit my axolotl tank looks like a hydroponic garden with a couple of axolotls in it! I was inspired to try mint by a thread a few months ago mentioning the European water mint, a very pungent plant and one parent of the hybrid spearmint, which is probably what I'm growing, again from a supermarket, this time cut from a pot "cutting grown, especially selected for flavour". It is still early days for these cuttings but they are rooting in the water and staying green, healthy looking and growing.