Petco hydroponic gel safe for axies?

[jackmannish]

Hello! I tried searching to see if this has been asked before, but nothing comes up.

Up until now, I have been uber paranoid about adding live plants to my tank because of snails and other hitch hikers, but this morning I picked up one of Petco's pre-packaged Java ferns. I've had a lot of luck growing it in the past in other freshwater tanks and it's not coming from a store tank so no risk of snails. Sounds perfect, right?

Well...I stupidly didn't read the package before I bought it and I realized when I got home that it lives in hydroponic gel. On the back it says that it's safe for fish (obviously) but does anyone know if it's okay to use in an axolotl tank? I haven't added it yet until I know for sure and my Google skills are failing me right now!

 

[allied123]

I'm not sure this is the same thing you are talking about but a while ago I got a live plant from petco or petsmart (can't remember exactly what it was but I feel like it might have been java fern) that came in like a bag with the roots of the plant sitting in a little holder of gel but the instructions said to just rinse that stuff off before you put it in the tank, which is what I did and I had no problems. (however my plant wouldn't stay planted to I threw it out after a few months, it never really thrived and I thought it was dying)

So long story short I rinsed the stuff off really well and planted the plant in my tank with no adverse effects, good luck!

 

[jackmannish]

Yup, sounds like pretty much exactly what I just bought! Thanks for the feedback!

(And I know how merciless axolotls are known to be to plants so I'm not holding my breath that it'll survive, but the Java I had years ago thrived so I'm hoping I'll get lucky again!)

 

[keiko]

Plants work great in axie tanks. You just need to think about where you plant them and skip the most delicate ones because some axies like to dig them up if they're in their way. Java fern grows best if it's just tied to a log or ornament and it's pretty hardy so it's great for axies.