Substrate or Sand?

[tle224235]

I was wondering what sand or substrate was good to put in the tank with an axolotl? Does the axolotl have to be a certain length?

 

[birdsong]

There are allot of threads on this but the safest is bare bottom the next is sand. No gravel though our Ricks unless there very big or glued down. There are also slate bottoms

 

[tle224235]

I have read through several threads and they all seem to contradict each other. I am just trying to get others knowledge on the subject.

 

[axiebeans]

I have used both sand and a bare bottom tank. I find the axie can grip the sand and its easier for him to walk around. Plus i enjoy all the tiny feet prints around the tank . Also a turkey baster is an amazing tool to remove food and stuff from the surface of the sand.

 

[axiebeans]

Also i used riverbed sand. Next im buying jungle sand because its black. And i like the look pf black sand

 

[lucyz83]

The best choices are play sand, not aquarium sand though, as it is course and caused impaction for my little guy which is not pleasant for you or your axie, so i now have him on slate tile which works great as well, or you can have a bare bottom tank but this makes it a bit frustrating for them as they don't have as much grip as play sand or slate but it is very easy to keep clean.

 

[birdsong]

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...ters-substrate/101921-bare-bottom-solved.html

Just my experience

 

[Skudo09]

If you want to use sand, make sure it is fine silica based sand and I would wait until the axolotls are bigger than 5 inches long. Smaller axolotls cannot pass sand through their system safely so it is not recommended to use sand when they are smaller than 5 inches.

Some people say axolotls have trouble gripping the bottom with bare bottom. Others say it is not an issue. I think it is down to personal choice. Personally, I prefer substrate over bare bottom. I think it looks nicer and I got the feeling my axolotls prefer the sand. I use play sand and quite like it. As Lucyz83 mentioned, I also had issues with aquarium sand I purchased. I didn't realise how coarse it actually was and had issues with one of my axolotl's ingesting some. The play sand is much finer and I have not had any issues since.

I would not use large river rocks as you need to ensure they are big enough not to be swallowed (bigger than the axolotl's head) and debris can easily get trapped between the rocks and it is harder to keep clean.

Whatever you use, it is up to you and personal preference. Just be sure that if you use sand, to wait until your axolotls are bigger than 5 inches and if using big rocks be sure they are bigger than your axolotl's head to ensure they cannot be swallowed.

 

[fireball99]

I use play sand and my axie seems to like it and anything else is likely to contain small rocks etc. One thing I've found is that play stand can stillbe very dirty so make sue you wash it thoroughly until the water runs clean before adding it to the tank. I discovered the hard way that if you don't do that the water will look filthy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Zincubus]

Hi.

I WAS going to put some black sand down for my White / Albino Axolotl if and when I'm able to find one BUT after reading the above I'll probably go with a nice piece of slate which will be safer and still offer some contrast visually .