Photo: Planted Axolotl Aquascape Tank

[MereB]

As you said above the problem with most true floating plants is keeping them in one place you could place some sort of physical barrier across the surface to keep it contained, kind of like they do with those big long floating hoses in oil spils but most tend to defy that system and get everywhere anyway and depending on it's regidity could pose a tangling risk for the curious axie

Elodia (which will be nationally declared a noxious plant and be illegal to own or sell on January 1st 2011) is good to float as blackdog said. Ambulia will also happily float in the same manor (and is still legal) or if you want it to stay fixed you can plant ambulia into the gravel (which I maintain that at 1mm or under is find for axies) and wait for it to grow up and across the surface, which it is capable of doing quite rapidly (for a plant) at this time of year. Then you just trim them and replant as it get's too long across the top. You can do the same with Elodia. Just trim the tips and replant them so you get a nice bushy looking plant.

You will find that your Vallisneria (the strappy one) will also quite happily grow up and across the top of the tank once it get's going :happy:

There's a nice floating plant that I know as water bean (Heteranthera reniformis) that looks like giant duckweed crossed with a water lily for habbit that is easily controlled and very pretty to look at and I imagine the WC's would LOVE the roots that hang below it :happy: It grows planted or can be used floating. It's not able to be sent into WA so if you live there (as I do) you need to know someone who has it in order to purchase/get it. Hydrocotyle leucocephala (Brazilian Pennywort) is another very nice one that can be grown rooted or floating but has somewhat higher nutrient demands and LOVES nitrogen but it is also a no-no in WA Limnobium laevigatum (Amazon frogbit) is beautiful in a tank with it's large flat duckweed like leaves and delicate roots hanging down. It is, in my opinion, the BEST floating plant available here in Australia. There are plenty of places that will sell plants online to your area, you just need to find one. If you're having trouble finding a supplier let me know and I'll give you a few names you can try.
There are quite a few that are similar to those but I would stay away from duckweed and Azola, pretty as they are they do tend to be more pain than they are worth and will take over faster than you can say where the heck did all that come from.

Mere.

 

[Yaimfat]

Thank you so much for the advice! I think I will make that floating oil spill like restraint system, I will figure something out. And amazon frogbit huh? Sounds great from your description, I will do my research and find a distributor! I am almost ready to give up on DIY CO2! It's a pain! I'm just gonna buy a diffuser and regulator then source canisters, easy as!

The CO2 is only because my tank is quite heavily planted and I think once the plants are providing a good amount of shade I will get a second light. I'm not worried about the amount of light for the axies as this would still be very low light, they have plenty of hides and the plants will provide heaps of shade! As it is my axies are always hiding when I wake up even though I don't turn the light on for another hour or so, they just hide from the dim ambient light!

So while I would love to seem them out more during the day I don't think it will happen, even if I got rid of the light, and I'm not closing my windows! They will boil!

 

[iChris]

I have frog bit in my axis tank, it grows rampant very quickly. If you're in wa, I got it from aquotix aquariums on bannister rd in canning vale, they have a large axolotol pond there, and a great selection of cold water pond plants that should grow well in a cooler tank.

Hornwort is another great floating plant, it grows in a tangled bunch, I've used it for years in a goldfish aquarium.

 

[joeysgreen]

The gravel will probably be a forever debate. What do they encounter in the wild? This brings up lighting as well. I've never been to Mexico to see axolotl's in the wild, but do have some pretty good experience with wild tiger salamander larvae. They do hide. They like being deep within the plants, or utilize there camoflage by sitting still on the bottom (usually deeper water for larger animals, more shallow water for smaller). They are likely more active in the crepuscular and nocturnal hours. So if you accept my extrapolation, by denying the daylight necessary for plant growth, you are altering your axolotl's natural behavior so that you can observe it at your convenience. This is another debate that will probably be irresolvable just like the gravel size.

I have an unrelated question. You guys are in Australia. This country has some of the most stringent exotic pet laws; no animals into the country, and no animals to leave the country. I'd assume axolotls are an exception; do you know why? Are there other exceptions?

Ian

 

[ax]

Elodia (which will be nationally declared a noxious plant and be illegal to own or sell on January 1st 2011) is good to float as blackdog said.
Mere.

Does that mean it's bad to have in your tank?

 

[joeysgreen]

I think it's being labled a noxious plant because it is an invasive intruder if it ever gets into the wild.

 

[Yaimfat]

The gravel size will be a constant debate, just can't make everyone happy. As far as their natural light patterns don't they live in the still flowing pools leading into the lake? Wouldn't these get plenty of light? Like I said I have kept the lighting very low for their sake and I have seen plenty of tanks which have what appears to be heaps of light, my camera also doesn't handle light well so the photos come out very bright. My hope is that the plants make the natural looking shade but as I said my axies hide during the day with a tank light or not, if they wanna have a walk they do so as much as they used to, though my golden albino tends to stick to an end of the tank during the day for the pleasant shade, hence my interest in floating plants, besides I have greater problems right now.

It's the Aussie summer and the tank temp hit 24 yesterday and was briefly 25, it is now at 24. My evaporation sump is proving difficult to make properly, though a diy overflow box and a float switch could solve that I think. I know all the cooling methods and the ice bottles, the only even slightly practical method without buying a chiller and a 2L melts in ten minutes, takes ages to freeze, making cycling two bottles pointless as you use both, lower the temp by 2 or 3 degrees then by the time you have ice bottles the tank is back to normal temp!

If this heat keeps up I may need to fridge em until I have a stable running evaporation sump.

 

[Bellabelloo]

One summer I had trouble getting the tank temperatures down to a good level. I ended up placing a damp towel over the whole tank, and then blowing a fan over it. This cooled the tank down well, not a pretty look how ever. I then put insulating sheets around the sides to keep it more stable. But if this can't be maintained, a holiday in the fridge may be the answer. ( I considered getting one of those clear fronted bar fridges for the purposes...)

 

[Yaimfat]

The temp can be a huge problem. I walked into my sweltering room last night and found the tank temp at 27! I literally can't fridge em at the moment as our fridge is too full and it's too hot to raise it's temp. I would love the bar fridge but there expensive and are surprisingly hard to find second hand.

I sorted it last night, got the temp back to 22 however if today is just spent scrambling around trying to cool there tank I think I would prefer something a little more costly for the ease. I read the towel method in that article and thought of trying it in combination with insulation, I just dunno about how well I can maintain such a system.

Are there any second hand chillers wanted to sell or does anyone have any experience with evaporation sumps? I'm hoping that trickling the water through the air several times by the time the siphoned water joins the sump will lower the temp by around 6 degrees or so. I hope it works as I read it does, then it's just me stuck in the heat as my room become humid...

 

[Yaimfat]

Sorry to reignite this thread but how many axies would be ok to keep in this tank? It's fifty gallons but quite deep, and the plants provide great vertical space for climbing! There are two in there at the moment and was only hoping to get one more and no more, would this be ok?

 

[Bellabelloo]

I would be very wary of getting any more additions until you have managed to stabilise the high temeratures.

 

[Yaimfat]

Hi, funny you mentioned it... I just bought a chiller!! I was getting sick of the stress to me and them, I felt like I could never go out cos the temp would spike! It's a Hailea 150-A! So would one more be fine? I thought it would be, the only reason I'm worried is because the tank is deep rather than long...

 

[MereB]

Does that mean it's bad to have in your tank?

Sorry completely for got about this thread
It means it's a no no to keep and should the appropriate authorities discover you have it, it would cost you a fine and the plant but that's only IF you got caught but the chances of that are slim. Keep it if you like but you won't be able to buy it from the shops anymore and I wouldn't suggest you grow it to give it away or sell it either
It won't hurt anything in your tank so you can sleep easy just make sure you dispose of any you choose to get rid of on a manner that insures it will never get into the waterways.

It's an invasive weed in the water ways when it escapes which is usually due to careless idiot aquarium owners that just throw it away like they do their fish on occasion straight into the nearest river, lake or stream

I second iChris. The guys at Aquotix are great All the Chris' know their plants and EVERY staff member is well trained and are fish/plant/aquarium people, as is Ollie the owner, so you won't get a lot of the misinformation that you would get elsewhere.

Chris for what it's worth Pet Magic on Albany highway and William st in Cannington is good as well and to be hones keep their axies in MUCH better condition. I was in both stores today and couldn't believe the difference in them. All of theirs were very healthy with all gills and limbs intact. They are more of a pet store so you need to find the fish people if you want to talk aquariums and axies That's not to say Aquotix are treating the axies badly just that the have been eating each other lately
I'd still go Aquotix for everything else, they are MUCH cheaper. The air pump I bought From Atx for $30 today, PM wanted $100 for

Joey Yes we do have the strictest quarantine but it's to protect what we have from nasties that have already spread the world over and thanks to us not sharing any land borders with anywhere else we have remained fairly disease free. The aim is to stay that way.

Axolotls are the ONLY salamander on the allowed list. Simple because they are considered to have a very low birth/survival rate and it's considered that they could not survive in the wild for very long before something ate them or the natural weather conditions took their toll. They believe that any eggs would be quickly eaten by the native wildlife as well.

 

[iChris]

I have not been to pet magic for a while, Ill have to check them out, I'm in the market for a larger axie tank, I think I'll go and see Kerry at aquotix, she always looks after me, ever since I started keeping goldfish all those years ago as a wee kid.