Help with set up

[donnat]

Hi could anyone advise me on what are the best live plants for a axies tank, and what is the best thing to use on the floor I have large pebbles at the moment but it makes it hard to clean I have seen some use sand but others say sand is not safe, to use, if okay what type of sand is best to use. thank you ?

 

[capn]

If the axies are big, then sand will work best. Or large river rocks. Don't use gravel or small pebbles (anything small enough to fit in their mouths, other than sand). A bare bottom is fine too.

Sand should be safe as long as it is cleaned properly (using hot water to remove any chemicals). Lots of people have used play sand in their tanks. Some pet stores may carry other sand. I would say that fine sand would be better than course sand, but I'm new and don't really have a good reason- other than it probably feels better for the axolotl in the tank.

Java fern, Java moss, anubias are good. I like moss balls. Sand will work really well if you have plants, but java fern can grow on pretty much anything in the tank if secured properly.

 

[charleybambino]

You are in a great place to access slate.....flat pieces work great on tank floor....if you can get pieces almost the size of roof tiles then it makes cleaning less arduous. It looks great when wet...I love it

 

[ThatNewGuy]

The plants capn recommend are deffently good with the lighting reqyirments of an axolotl if you wanna keep other plants plants try to find a way to suit both plant and axolotl requirments, like I used have lilys that grew out of one of my old tanks and they had good lighting on them however the floor of the tank was dark since the lilys provided shade, and for substrate I use play sand, it's super cheap, one 50lb bag is bout $4 over at home depot, if your Gona use play sand make sure to rinse well, I rinsed my sand out for bout 1 (for 25lbs) and also while you do that look through it and feel around for rocks, sticks, clutter, I have yet to encounter any but I keep an eye out just to be safe, and once you do this and put the sand in your tank give it a day or two to settle. Hope this is helpful.

 

[Shycloudgirl]

I use sand and large river rocks in my tanks at the same time, I've found they work great for piling rocks around the plants so that plants stay put, but the sand prevents anything falling through the cracks between the rocks, such as waste, and gives the plants better growing substrate.