Padding tank walls

[Chemicalico]

I recently became the proud owner of a little (6 inch) Albino GFP female Axolotl. Over the past month I've been setting up the right filtration, substrate, temp, and ph, and now I have one happy little Axo! But leave it to the excited little critter to give me a new problem to worry about. Now she swims happily around her tank, but often picks up a little speed about the time she hits the glass! I'll admit it's cute, but I worry about the long term effects. And so my question is, is there any type of moss, padding, etc, that anyone could suggest from personal experience? In the next couple months I plan on transferring her from a 10 to a 55 gallon tank, and I want to take care of this issue before then. Thanks!


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[auntiejude]

You have to remember that axies really aren't that smart....! And they are quite clumsy too.

They can't get up enough speed to really hurt themselves. If they could we'd have page after page of 'help! my axie knocked himself out by swimming into the tank wall!' posts.

 

[Chemicalico]

I just worry about it especially with her going into a bigger tank soon. She's already a quick little one


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[Chemicalico]

I'm thinking maybe some non-toxic padding of some sort, or possibly some type of moss setup? Any suggestions?


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[FireStar]

When axies are young they tend to be quite active.
Don't worry, as an adult they sit at the bottom of the tank doing nothing

 

[SkollSunChaser]

Some folks use 3D background that can be homemade out of foam, if I remember correctly. You might be able to look into those if you're worried :3

 

[digitalxri0t]

You really have nothing to worry about. I've raised dozens and none have ever harmed themselves by running into the tank walls. In fact you'd probably be impeding on space more than helping by trying to pad the tank walls.

If you still insist on getting something to line the walls, get some tall plants and line them along the walls of the tank. They'll prevent her from going 'full force' into the wall AND look pretty. Or just toss up some plants around the tank, she will run into them before making it across the tank, just zig zag it. Plus she'll like having something to climb on and they'll help the water quality.

 

[Elise]

You probably shouldn't silicone bubble wrap to the inside of your tank or anything like that.

 

[auntiejude]

You really have nothing to worry about. I've raised dozens and none have ever harmed themselves by running into the tank walls. In fact you'd probably be impeding on space more than helping by trying to pad the tank walls.

Wise words.

The 'impact force' is dependant on the mass of the moving object (axies) and the speed at which it's travelling.

So if a small axie smacks into a wall the impact is less than the impact of your foot hitting the floor when you walk. Axies are design to withstand small impacts - as are all living creatures - and will not be injured by a little bump. It only looks like they are moving fast because they are small - they cannot swim fast enough and they are not big enough to injure themselves on smooth glass walls.

 

[Martin21114]

Make sure you have a lid, if one shoots up it can fly out and end up on the floor

 

[Chemicalico]

Holy cow, that totally happened to me yesterday! Luckily I was able to get her up within a few seconds, but it sure scared us both!


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