Charlie back to normal and tank setup advice

[nrmns14]

Firstly my axolotl Charlie has stopped floating after about 4 months! :happy: He's back in his cycled tank and all is well.
The only thing is that his tank is a bit boring looking. It has a plant pot as a hide and a jar for feeding and that's all. I've removed the sand and instead have used backgrounds to brighten the place up a bit.
Any advice on the best toys, ornaments and plants to put in it? I've never been very good at decorative stuff
Thanks for all the help guys :happy:

P.S. It's not usually as bright as that in the tank. I just turned the light on to take a quick photo!

 

[daremo]

good for charlie!

I would add live plants, they're great and axolotls love them

Anubias, elodea, java moss they all work good in axie's tanks

maybe some biiiiiiiiiig river rocks too

and why not add more water to give him more place to swim if he's back to normal now I don't think you need to have the water at such a low level

 

[nrmns14]

Are live plants hard to care for? What would I have to do to keep them alive? Also do they have to go into sand or gravel or something - the bottom of my tank is bare besides the background?
I'm going to put the water level up soon just wanted to make sure Charlie is definitely back to normal before I do it. He gave me quite a scare.
Yeah some rocks would be nice Thanks for your input!

 

[daremo]

some live plants are not hard at all, those I named I have in my tank and I don't do anything at all and they live happily

What I do for anubias is plant them in a jar, with some sand in it, you can also attach them to rocks or any decoration, they don't need substrate
java moss also doesn't require any substrate, I attach them to big river rocks with a rubber band, and elodea just float freely (and the axies use them to stand high in the water!!)

 

[nrmns14]

Ok thanks for that!
I found this set of 46 plants for a fiver :
5 x Elodea Densa
1 x Aponogetum Crispus
5 Eleocharis Parvulus (dwarf hairgrass)
10 x mini Amazon Sword
5 x Bacopa Monnerii
5 x Twisted Vallisneria
10 x Sagittaria Natans
5 x Rotalla Indica
Would that be any use?

 

[daremo]

I would use them all

I guess worse case they'll die and you can take them out

 

[MereB]

I;m so glad he's doing so much better!

I found this set of 46 plants for a fiver : Well done
5 x Elodea Densa ------------------------------ Prefers high light to keep it growing properly. It will grow in low light but the bottom leaves will tend to rot off.
1 x Aponogetum Crispus --------------------- Might be ok. while it will grow in low light it does need some nutrient supplementation in the substrate to grow well which is a no-no with axies
5 Eleocharis Parvulus (dwarf hairgrass) - Likes VERY high light conditions, sunlight even and will die off completely before it starts to grow again.
10 x mini Amazon Sword -------------------- Should do ok with Medium light but they prefer higher light conditions AND temps of 20 and above which will mean yours will grow slower.
5 x Bacopa Monnerii -------------------------- Should do well in low light with little or no care
5 x Twisted Vallisneria ------------------------ Should be ok but there are 2 varieties and one is quite demanding for nutrients and may not do so well.
10 x Sagittaria Natans ------------------------ A floating plant that will do well but as it spreads will steal the light from the other plants at the bottom. Leaves go yellow when there is a lack of nutrients.
5 x Rotalla Indica------------------------------- Also know as rotala rotundifolia and likes LOTS of light
Would that be any use?

Most of them should do just find. Some will not grow as well as they could and may look straggly but mostly they should grow with very little effort from you.
Most of them will grow fairly tall as well so fill her up

 

[nrmns14]

Wow you certainly know your plants MereB! I think I'm just going to go with that and hoping at least some grow like you said. I'm ordering from plantsalive website so hopefully they'll be of decent quality. I'm glad there is a floating one in there as I want one
So how long do I need to put the plants in a seperate tank for? I do need to do that eh...?
thanks so much for both your help!

 

[daremo]

Elodea will do fine floating, mine is not thriving but serves well and axies love to climb on them

anubias do very well in low light and cold water, also java moss

 

[MereB]

I would hope so, we grow and sell the jolly things.

You'll find a LOT of plants will grow floating but most prefer to be anchored or planted. Elodia given time and the right conditions when planted will grow pretty quickly to the surface and then spread across it. If you want an even faster growing one that looks similar to the Elodia that LOVES the conditions of an Axie tank have a look into Ambulia. You could also try some of the other, bigger vallis (Vallisneria americana and Gigantica for example)
The beauty of Ambulia and Elodia, and most of the stem plants, is that when they get too tall you can cut the tops off them back to the height you want it and replant what you cut off.

I believe the generally accepted quarantine for ANY living thing or anything from another unknown tank/water source is 30 days which to me has always seemed excessive for plants from growers/shops but it's the normally recommended time frame on the boards here. I could understand it if you were getting it from the local lake but most of these plants are grown hydroponically and shops will usually have the plants on their own in a closed system that is not exposed to any of the fish nasties that could be present.
Really depends on how cautious you are with your axies and given he has only just recovered perhaps a little caution for now is not such a bad thing :happy: