Substrate

[vladimere]

Ok we are getting a new tank tomorrow and the ladies here want me to go a white sand substrate but they also want to go with a substrate that they can plant a few plants in and have them growing naturally in the tank can anyone suggest a plant growing substrate stockiest in the brisbane area The new tank is 4 foot long by 2 foot wide by 1.5 foot high

 

[shells]

Will be watching this post with anticipation.... I too am looking for the same in Brisbane, haven't had much luck yet, will let you know if i find anything

 

[carsona246]

honestly an axolotl tank is not the best tank to set up with plants in mind. Axolotls don't have eyelids, and don't like a ton of light. Plants do just fine in regular sand, and the only reason you'd really need special substrate for plants is to give them extra nutrients to keep up with the light level. Because you're not going to have a strong light I would suggest just getting cheap regular sand because the plants will not be utilyzing that many nutrients with the light level your going to be able to provide in an axolotl tank. I'd just stick to low light plants and cheap sand

 

[blackdog]

What carson said.

I have live plants in my tank

I have about 2 square feet of moss wall with java moss (good because the axies cant dig that up!)

I have java ferns stuck to my fake rock (with a tiny dab of suer glue until they attach)

I have Xmas moss stuck to the fake rocks

I have anubias stuck to the fake rocks

I have wysterias - I tried "bagging" the root systems of the wysterias to a large river pebble - essentially use some fine mesh, wrap it around the root system and use a tie to wrap it up like a xmas pudding - i did this because apprently wysterias like a deep root system. Eventually, my guys have broken all but 2 stems off the submerged rocks / roots, and most of the wysteria is now floating

I also have a bunch of elodea floating - i like the elodea because it just keeps growing and growing, i trim the older end off as it starts to look shabby, and it just grows out the other end

Honestly, you will waste a lot of time trying to get the plants right in your axie tank, i did! Fact is, if it is buried - the axies will dig it up or knock it over.

So i'd just set it up for the axies, and less for the plants. Get low light, sturdy plants, super glue them to your hides etc, or let them float (my wysteria is going nuts, even though most of it is floating which wysteria supposedly doesnt like)

Get a substrate that suits your axies, not plants (nutrients etc in the substrate that plant lover like might be harmful to the axies) I use Caribsea Tahitian moon and it is awesome for the axies (and totally useless for the plants )

I also dose the tank with a low dose of Flourish excel - I started that because i had a brown algae issue and the flourish gets rid of that - but the plants go nuts on it, and it hasn't effected the axies or changed the water parameters

Hope that helps

Bren

 

[vladimere]

thanks for the advice guys. I spose every axie is diff tho as i did have a big coloney before toowoomba floods and a few planted plants in the tank in sand under the rocks which ddnt get pulled out but after a while had to be pulled up after rotting for some reason the daughter was going to try sword grass tho and those lil blue moon light things few hours during the day as we do hve a sun roof thingy

 

[Colinna]

Could you just use aquarium sand and some plant tablets under the root system. Use river rocks to hold the plants in place like you did last time?

I've got live plants and those that are in the sand are surrounded by river rocks. So far none have been dug up.