Sand???

[mark]

Hello, Is sand bad for aquatic newts, such as a cynops orientalis, when used with gravel and rocks as the bottom of the tank. I have seen this done many many time, and it looks quite attractive. Such as here:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/

But I have also heard from people that it can be accidentaly ingested. Is this okay? What kind should I use? Any precautions? Thanks

 

[mark]

Sorry: I meant this picture:

XXmessage editedXX
Mark-you cannot post photos that do not belong to you.
~Mike

 

[joeri]

Sand isn't that bad as gravel when they swallow it. Gravel could get stuck and start infections causing death, sand will find it's way out.

But what you also could do;
make a setup where you leave an area open, no pellets, no gravel, no sand - just bare glass. If you make a habit of feeding the newts there, they'll have no problem with accidently swallowing sand or gravel. And as an extra bonus - no leftovers get stuck between stones, so you can remove everything very easy. (and monitor how much they exactly eat)
I do this in all my tanks.

 

[jesper]

I only have sand bottoms in my tanks, used to have bare-bottom tanks but the water quality was too unstable. I recently switched back to sand bottoms. Never had any problems with sand bottoms having kept C.orientalis, C.ensicauda, P.waltl and P.fuzhongensis on it.

(Message edited by Jesper on November 10, 2004)

 

[mark]

Nice, sorry about the picture mike! I think I will do that, and leave a little area for feeding. Thanks! So what kind of sand would you suggest??? Playground sand? Special reptile sand? Any sand?

 

[mike]

I use Playsand at Home Depot. Not all sands are alike some will change PH.

 

[mark]

Alright, thanks!