Safe Substrate for Axolotl and plants

[Duhend]

So I have someone giving me a 55 gallon aquarium, along with a canister filter, bio-wheel filter and live plants. Naturally this will be a great new and luckily cheap home for my axolotl. I've been using sand in my current aquarium for her safety, and we talked to the lady at the pet store about plants growing in sand. She said it would be better if they grew in a substrate such as Seachems Flourite Black Sand instead. I've looked around and saw that someone asked this question a few months back but didn't have much luck with responses so I figured I would re-ask. I have zero experience with planted aquariums so I figured I'd ask every one if they have used the Flourite or if you all have had good luck just planting the plants in the sand. The flourite looks pretty small but I figured since I had the resource I would ask. I want the plants to live but, the safety to Queso is much more important. Does the flourite leach chemicals into the water that are harmful for the Axolotls but not fish?

Thanks in advance for any responses!

 

[blackdog]

I have no real experience with flourite, so take my comments with a grain of sand

I dont think you need worry too much about any special substrate for plants.

You are creating a very low light environment for your axies, so you can only use low light , hardy plants any right? So, by nature they are tough plants, and dont need much special care.

Adding a sand that adds nutrients to the tank is asking for hassles IMHO.

I use a black tahitian moon sand (not coral based), which by all accounts is useless for plants. None of my plants stay planted anyway because of the axies trashing everything, so all my plants are floaters if they are not attached to the rocks.

I use Seachem flourish regularly (which is good for plants and bad for algae apparently) and my plants are, well, flourishing

Id use whatever sand you feel like, IMHO one that is neutral (doesnt add anything to the tank like nutirents) and then just dose the tank with flourish or another carbon additive everynow and again

The plants should do just fine

bren

 

[SludgeMunkey]

After working with Axolotls for nearly a decade, I feel that the best bet is to not bother with substrate of any kind (inside the tank) for axolotls.

Currently, I use two different methods to increase the aesthetic quality of my axolotl tanks:

For my rearing and breeding tanks I merely spray paint the EXTERIOR bottom of the tank black. This makes it very easy to keep clean as waste is readily visible. (Personally, i feel that Ambystoma mexicanum is less stressed by this color too.).

For my fancy display tanks I print our high resolution color photos of interesting substrates, and tape/glue the pictures to the exterior bottom of the tank.

either method has proven superior for both the health of my animals and the ease of cleaning I require.

But, if these do not sound like valid options to you check out this article:

Caudata Culture Articles - Aquarium Substrates

and this one:

Axolotls: The Fascinating Mexican Axolotl and the Tiger Salamander

And if you a feeling really froggy and want to take on an "expert" level project:

Axolotl Sanctuary

Good Luck, and make sure to show us pictures of your finished set up. I myself am an amphibian photographic junkie, as long as they are someone else's photos.

 

[ZoeT94]

Most of us use sand, either play sand or crazy sand. Some plant straight into the sand and others, like myself, use pots, cups, or mugs and plant the greenery in there. This means that the axie's can't dig them up and kill them, and it also means that you can clean the roots and stuff easily.

 

[Duhend]

Well I thank everyone for your responses, I think I will just stick to the sand. The flourite does ad chemicals and metals once I dug a bit more, I talked to the guy I'm getting the plants from and he uses a additive as stated before, so I think I will just try that like was suggested. I'm going with some form of a slate and sand bottom to cut down on the likelihood on sand ingestion in general. So I will feed her on the slate and she will have her plants to play in.

And to address Blackdogs questions on the ligh level plant wise, I'm not sure their need, but the light will accomodate the Axolotl and any plants that don't survive I shall replace them. He is just giving them to me so I will feel bad if they die but Queso's comfort is more important.

Thanks again for the responses and we shall see how this goes.

 

[Kaysie]

Like the look of sand but hate the mess? Try this! (Johnny, this is right up your DIY alley!)

 

[Aquacraze]

Like the look of sand but hate the mess? Try this! (Johnny, this is right up your DIY alley!)

Thanks for sharing the link... I just might try this! :happy:

 

[lea]

kaysie that link is fantastic i love it. That would work in my cherry shrimp tank.