Help planting an axolotl tank...

[Olivia97]

Hi guys I've had a little trouble with a planted axie tank, I haven't wanted to use any fertilizer and they're just in my sand substrate. They're all dying! I've had, crypt red, milfoil, baby tears, bacopa and amazon sword. The only one that's really growing is a hair grass bunch. Does anyone know a few great plants for my tank? Also, if I want to add a plant growing substrate to my sand will that be safe for my axie? Alternatively I can plant in pots maybe?

 

[mackinthebox]

I was thinking of buying small clay pots to put soil in and plant them in their own pots
Use some kind of mesh over the top and you will not have to worry about the axies ingesting any of the dirt or rocks

 

[Olivia97]

Yea that's a good idea, at first I was using the top of a coke bottle cut off like the neck of a 2L but I didn't have enough substrate

 

[Minniechild]

You could do a walstad- layer of organic soil (Bunnings carries one that's $9/20L) then the green sand in a thin layer on top with clear spots for the plants to take hold...It'd look almost like a lawn

 

[Olivia97]

That would look cool, however what about the water quality? Also if I were to siphon out the water (100%) and store it in buckets before putting it back in the tank, would this disrupt the cycle?

 

[Cleigh9579]

Great Question, I really want to know also

 

[Olivia97]

Hmm maybe I'll go with the pots because I don't really want it lseeping through too much, I think I'll line the bottom with a coffee filter, add some organic soil, some axie safe plant substrate? And then a thin layer of sand

 

[xxianxx]

This is my planted A.andersoni tank, one month or so after the tank was planted, I used tubs with compost, a thin layer of sand to stop the compost floating away , large rocks on top of the sand to stop the axolotls digging them up. In the picture you can see elodea, millfoil, wild water cress (I think), some other random weed i got given from a friends pond , water lillies and duckweed. Make sure the the compost is sodden but not runny before you place the sand on top, if it is too dry the air bubbles will push through the sand and take the compost with it, if it is too runny it wont stay in the tub when you place it in the tank.

These were two newly planted tanks , you can see several different sizes of tubs/pots.
The advantage of using pots over the standard walstad method is that axolotls will just keep digging the plants up and the compost gets every where. Some plants will not do well in your tank, for what ever reason depending on water type, light levels etc, it is very easy to remove tubs with failed plants and experiment till you find plants that suit your tank. It is also very handy when the axolotls lay on the plants as you can just lift them out of the tank and replace with tubs you have kept else where.