Pebbles or Sand ?

[jopet]

I am such a dope

I just posted this on someone else’s thread (sorry guys I am new to all this)
anyway here is my original post...........
Hey new member here I am currently working on getting a tank and then a couple of axolotls,lol so expect a few dumb questions to pop up from me

anyway my first one is Pebbles or Sand??? I would love to know what you all think and the pro's and cons of them both.
Cheers.

 

[rheann]

I left a post on the other thread that you should get sand, not pebbles. Pebbles will cause problems. The Axolotls will eat them and it will or may cause problems. Just stick with sand, unless you can find big rocks.

 

[jopet]

Thanks for the response

I am talking about the really big pebbles like the garden ones, do you still not recommend them ?

 

[claire]

i have large rocks and pebbles and im changing to sand soon once i get my new tank. this is because i feel that the bacteria needed to turn ammonia and nitrites into the less toxic nitrates, is taken away when i siphon between the rocks. also after a water change, there always seems to be bits flying around the tank from in between the rocks.bacteria will grow in the sand and poo can be removed fromthe surface of the sand . so id recommend sand. .

 

[justin]

You can have a mixture of sand and gravel to help maintain active bacterial cultures in your tank. I've maintained my axolotls in a tank with sand-sized to base-ball sized substrate for years with no problems. Axolotls are fairly good at sorting their food while positioning it in their mouths prior to swallowing it...Most of the time they will spit out any unwanted items such as gravel/dirt/sand, and if they don't they will usually spit the material out in a few days.

 

[joan]

The problem with gravel is not bacterial culturing, but impaction upon ingestion. If your axolotl eats a pebble, and it gets stuck, it could die.

Also, the bacteria live ON the rocks, not between them.

 

[hayley-jane]

Definitely sand - much healthier for them...looks nicer too

 

[cynthia]

Hi Jopet - welcome to the forum.

If you haven't found these resource already, I recommend reading these links:
This one on cycling an aquarium:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

And caudata's sister site:http://www.axolotl.org/
is a great place to start for info on how to care for axolotls.

I like sand as substrate in my axolotl tank. If you decide to use gravel make sure it is small enough to pass through the axolotl or too big for them to swallow (bigger than their head).
You don't have to use a substrate at all if you don't want to. There are members here who keep axolotls on bare bottom tanks.

 

[jopet]

Thank you all for your answer's, I really appreciate it, I just want to get all the information I need before I bring any axies home

 

[lisa]

Heya, welcome to the forum. I have used large river pebbles, and sand.
Personally I think it's all just aesthetics. If you like the look of pebbles, go for pebbles. If you like sand go for sand.

Pebbles look good, and are easy to clean. No worrying about turning the tank into a sand storm when doing water changes. But after a long period of time it can be difficult getting all the little bits of waste sucked out from between the pebbles. Just make sure the pebbles are larger than the axies mouth. I know lots of aquariums in aus use and recommend small gravel to house their axies, but if you ever see an axie with a belly full of gravel you will soon know why everyone on this forum is so against it.

Sand looks great, the axies leave little footprints and tail marks in it. You just have to make sure you rinse it really well before it goes in the tank. It's really easy to clean, just suck the waste from the top of the sand with a turkey baster. Just be careful when doing water changes to not turn the tank into a sand storm by pouring the water in too fast. The only down side is that sand has to be "stirred up" every week or so, to stop the sand becoming anerobic (no circulating oxygen in the sand, leads to build up of toxic chemicals.)