Ok substrate?

[Aimee]

So after my last substrate/pH fiasco, I'm extremely paranoid about getting an appropriate substrate for Sushi. I had initially decided upon sand, but after visiting Ace, Walmart, and a string of similar stores, I couldn't find any play sand. Even an online search on the Ace and Walmart websites only got me as close as sand boxes...I did a google search of 'silica sand' but then found myself suspicious of every product I found.

A few days ago I went hopping from pet shop to pet shop looking for something that might be suitable. At one particular store I found some really small gravel. I don't know the exact size (the bag didn't say) but I measured a few to be about 3 millimeters.

I've attached a few pics (assuming I did it right :uhoh and was hoping you experts out there could tell me if this gravel is too big? I'm afraid it still might be. So far he's acting normally, eating anything and everything I throw at him...and I want him to stay that way. Could this gravel be a problem?

And just to update: after a week of 20% water changes every other day, the pH in Sushi's tank has dropped from 8.6 to 8.4 (yay!). So hopefully a few more weeks of regular water changes will get his pH to where it needs to be.

I think that's it. Please let me know what y'all think of this gravel.

P.S. Isn't my guy just absolutely precious??

 

[SludgeMunkey]

It is beautiful gravel, however this size is definitely an impaction risk for axolotls.

 

[axolotlgangster]

your axolotl looks kinda skinny.

 

[blueberlin]

Hi Aimee,

Maybe you will have better luck finding pool filter sand? It is every bit as good as play sand and some say it is even better.

I also have to agree with Jose that your little fellow looks pretty thin.

Good luck to you both!

-Eva

 

[Aimee]

hmmmm...

I feed him every monday and friday with a cube of frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp or a mouthful of pellets. Throughout the week he gets a few mealworms and/or crickets on top of that.... Once a month he gets a pinkie or a few feeder guppies. Every once in a while I give him night crawlers in lieu of the mealworms/crickets, but since the nearest place that has them is pretty far away, I don't come by them on a regular basis.

The guppies are always quarantined for 30 days (which is why I usually opt for the frozen pinkies...a lot less work )

Is this not enough? I can start throwing in another feeding in the week.

I also went on vacation for almost a month several weeks ago. I showed my boy friend how to do a water change but told him not to worry about having to feed him (I've heard axies can go for a month with no food if necessary). So that may be a factor.

Since he hasnt' lost a drastic amount of weight in a small period of time, I doubt it would be a parasitic or intestinal problem...

As for the substrate, I did a forum search and saw that tahitian moon sand is probably ok. I've never seen it at a pet store but I saw some online and I think I'll go with that.

I guess I'll stop typing now...I never mean to write a book whenever I post, but things always seem to get away from me. Sorry for making y'all read so much :wacko: but thanks for all the input!

 

[Nathan]

Do you have a home center or builder's supply store nearby? They usually carry play sand, and it's quite cheap ($3-4/ 50 lb. bag around here). Pool filter sand is available at any pool or spa supplier; it is more expensive than play sand ($10-12/ 50 lb. bag) but still much less expensive than Tahitian Moon Sand.

 

[Aimee]

There is an Ace nearby, but the closest they had was sand boxes. The nearest walmart/home depot center is a ways away (I live out in the middle of no where ) But a google search shows a pool supply store about 20 minutes away. I can try there. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Aimee]

I took three more pictures today...do you really think he needs more weight? I'll be taking the gravel out today.

Thanks everyone

 

[ianclick]

Hi Aimee a good rule of thumb is the widest part of the body the same width as the head.

 

[blueberlin]

Hi Aimee!

Since I mentioned it, I will come back to Skinny Sushi again. :happy: I think his belly looks full in these new pictues, but his legs still look awfully thin. I of course did not know anyhting about his history when I wrote (saved from a pet shop? recovering from illness? etc.) but I didn't really want to get into that too much as it was off the topic of this thread.

Assuming it is in good health to begin with, an axolotl can go a month without food - but this type of extreme situation surely cannot be optimal for its health. (I must admit here that one of the things I find most practical about an axolotl as a house pet is that it can be fed adequately once a week, allowing me a week's vacation with no worries.)

From the pictures you have posted, your fella does not look to be suffering at all. For my tastes, though, I'd prefer to see more weight on him. I tend to look at the legs as a weight meter because my female always has a round belly. If her legs get looking porky, then I cut back on her feedings. If her legs are too thin, regardless of the belly:head proportion, I give her more.

Your feeding schedule reads to me like more than adequate to sustain and even pamper an axolotl. And again, Sushi does not seem to me to have any complaints visible in his photos. You are back home now, right? So I reckon there is no worry as the food train is rolling again. Sorry if I caused a freak-out.

As to your original question: what is Tahitian moon sand? A most entrancingly exotic name, in any case, whether it comes from Tahiti or the moon haha.

-Eva

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Tahitian moon sand is Aragonite, that is crushed marine coral, and therefore unsuitable for freshwater use with caudates.

 

[axolotlgangster]

Night cralers are best feed 1 or 2 a day.He is not like dieing skinny but just a little skinny dont sweat it.

 

[Dalabrae]

Hi Aimee

We too have had a problem recently with substrates, but our case was a matter of swallowing 12-15mm pebbles.

Here is a good article about substrates for axolotls:

http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/Aquascape.shtml

Without meaning to hijack your thread, we've recently found some black silica sand at a local aquarium shop, a little research on Wikipedia comes up with black silica being rich in magnetite, or are basalts or obsidian. The last two appear in the above article as being safe for axolotls but I cannot find a reference to the magnetite either way. :bowl:

Would anyone know how safe Magnetite is to water quality?

The above article also recommends against using Pool Filter sands;

http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/Aquascape.shtml
Sand sold for use in the construction trades should be avoided, as should sand designed for use in swimming pool filtration systems. These sands are often chemically treated, or contain undesirable substances for aquarium use.

 

[flan123]

Night cralers are best feed 1 or 2 a day.He is not like dieing skinny but just a little skinny dont sweat it.

Jose, I along with other members would not recommend 1 or 2 worms per day, this is too much. 1 or 2 worms every 3-4 days, maybe.

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Hi Aimee

We too have had a problem recently with substrates, but our case was a matter of swallowing 12-15mm pebbles.

Here is a good article about substrates for axolotls:

http://www.caudata.org/axolotl-sanctuary/Aquascape.shtml

Without meaning to hijack your thread, we've recently found some black silica sand at a local aquarium shop, a little research on Wikipedia comes up with black silica being rich in magnetite, or are basalts or obsidian. The last two appear in the above article as being safe for axolotls but I cannot find a reference to the magnetite either way. :bowl:

Would anyone know how safe Magnetite is to water quality?

The above article also recommends against using Pool Filter sands;

Magnetite is relatively stable a form of Iron Oxide, it generally does not affect water chemistry, however, it is magnetic and can destroy many types of filter pumps. An easy check for magnetite, is with a magnet!
Here in the US, I have yet to find a commercially available black sand that contains any thing but silica or one of its forms. (With exception to the CaCO3 sands that are dyed black, some of those have a small amount, probably residue from processing.)

I am a huge advocate of skipping the substrate for axolotls and other neotenic caudates. Up until very recently, I have been keeping my axolotls without any substrate for going on ten years without issue. Recently I built a new axolotl tank and decided to go with a "river rock" substrate. My personal rule for deciding on what size is safe to use is comparing samples of the rock to the animal's head- as long as it is the same size or larger than the adults head, it is safe to use. The catch is that large size substrates can be very, very hard to keep clean. For this reason I highly recommend use of an under gravel filter or using a layered substrate. My new axolotl tank utilizes standard size aquarium gravel to a depth of about 25mm. That is covered over with a solid layer of river rock averaging approximately 19-30mm in diameter. The river rock layer provides protection from ingestion of the gravel, the gravel helps keep waste and detritus near the surface where it can easily be siphoned out.

I will add here that if you plan on breeding your axolotls, go substrateless! It is much easier to see spermatophores and to collect eggs.

 

[flan123]

JF! How could you?!:wacko:

You were an advocat of substrate-less tanks!!!

 

[Aimee]

I finally ventured out to a home depot and saw some sand labeled as "play sand". The bag mentions basalite several times in the description and I was wondering if this is ok for axies? Is this a variant form of basalt?

 

[big a little a]

Jose, I along with other members would not recommend 1 or 2 worms per day, this is too much. 1 or 2 worms every 3-4 days, maybe.

To be honest, it's hard to say, without knowing the size of the axolotl being discussed or the size of the worms being used - a young, small axie will definately require feeding once a day and if the worms are little, 2 should be fine.

I personally feed my axolotl every 2-3 days - he has home-dug worms that are anything between 1-6 inches long, so it really depends on what the pick of the day is (and whether I can face cutting up the big worms...I always try to go for the little ones first!). Today Petrie had 4 worms, all roughly an inch or inch and a half long. Petrie is around 10 inches long (and 1 year old).

Zoe x