Gill ansd Sallys' new set up almost done

[sdhuz36]

The first pics I put up of Gill and Sally showed their tank with pebbles, I took out the majority of the pebbles and added river stones from Bunnings (those from Australia would know Bunnings well) on top, after cleaning their tank, 60%, because all their food waste had accumulated in the stones. Sally still swims around the top, whilst Gill is a bottom dweller. Here are some more pics!

Cheers, Sharon

 

[Lisa]

I too used stones from Bunnings after removing all the gravel from my fish tank. Ours seems very happy, is eating etc tho have only had him for a few days. But the day I got him, he pooed out neon coloured gravel he'd eaten at cityfarmers!

 

[Kaysie]

Just be prepared for a lot of elbow grease during feeding and cleaning. Those large stones trap a lot of waste.

 

[Bellabelloo]

Out of interest are these the pics befor or after?
I agree with Kaysie with regards to the stones. I have 3 in my tank and now that is the first spot I clean during the weekly water change ( 20/30 %) I now have a small patch of sand with the stones to hold some plants down and there is always gunk swished under them. I now also clean the plants every couple of weeks too as debris gets trapped there too. I spot clean as and when I see anything that needs to go and that is fairly regularly as the axolotl are in the kitchen with me.

 

[sdhuz36]

These are the after pics, I left some of the pebbles in the bottom, but covered with large stones. Yep cleaning is a chore, once a week, siphoning off 30 - 40% of water, pulling out all bad food, the photos showed before I cleaned inside of the glass. It's worth it all though! I'm putting in some floating plants next week, as Sally loves hangin out at the top, she has always been a floater, doesn't struggle to swim down and sit on the bottom though!

Cheers
Sharon

 

[Kaysie]

When you change the water, do you also siphon the substrate? This is where most of the waste is trapped. Also, you should know that there's still a risk of gravel ingestion. Axolotls have a natural 'rooting' reflex, which will cause them to nose through substrate, allowing them to reach the small pebbles below.

 

[sdhuz36]

Yep,I siphon off the gravel when I do water changes, the river stones are quite heavy, I have seen Gill attempting to root down into the gravel, I'm adding more river stones and I have put in some floating live plants to give them something to paly about in.

Cheers

Sharon