So, I have a 55 gallon tank. Axolotls, like bettas, like still water and don't like strong currents. In fact some would argue they are even more stressed out by the currents than bettas!
Now, I'd like to have a community axie gang in the 55 gallon. But these guys are really sensitive to water quality, so I'd like to get the tank cycled.
Anyone have any ideas on a filter that could just be there to cycle but not cause much disturbance for them? Cycling a 5 gallon tank with the filter it came with was easy, I'd just like a little advice to be sure I can get this big old 55 cycled without stressing them out. Is it safe to put in a filter meant for a smaller tank in a large tank, or could that put too much pressure on the filter? Can a smaller tank's filter properly cycle a larger tank?
I've bought from this site before. Now, I would like some help 'filling' the tank. I'm going to be buying a LOT of plants, and I'd like to get them all at once so I don't have to pay shipping multiple times. But I don't want to get TOO much--or not enough.
Anyone who's done the silent cycle before--for a 55 gallon and these plants here, how many should I purchase? Just a vague estimate will do!
From what I believe, at least when talking about NPT, you need at least 50% of the substrate covered in stem plants. Java fern is great, but I don't think it counts as a stem plant.
Haha, that's why I was looking for new plants to get. It's going to be interesting getting this done.
Axolotls are prone to eating substrate, that's why you CANNOT use gravel with them. I assume dirt is a bad idea as well, even sand has caused impactions. If there are any REALLY GOOD plants that would help but that need to be planted....I would... at least need to cover the gravel/dirt with large flat stones to prevent the axolotls from getting to the substrate. It's workable. But the rest of the plants would need to be able to be attached to rocks and branches or floating I think.
Yeah, I can do that for sure, that last bit was me sort of talking to myself. You mentioned NPTs and I thought "Oh no! What if the best cycling plants need to be planted! How can I get around that?"
:) Mostly trying to figure out the amount to get. It's hard to gauge how full the tank would be when buying on the internet, lol! And there is nowhere to buy from where I live!
Lol. Axolotls sound a lot like fancy goldfish. Low filter flow, prone to eating substrate. One suggestion I've seen in the goldfish community is to use terracotta pots with a bare-bottom tank. The pots can be filled with gravel or soil and then covered with large stones to prevent the little buggers from getting into it. That way you could avoid the impaction issue while still having some nice live plants.
Haha, oh but even worse than fancy goldfish...Axolotls 'walk' on the bottom of the water, so straight bare tanks aren't good either! I need to get some big slate rocks as flooring so they can grip the ground! But they are sooo cute and easy after that, it's worth it :)
Oh wow. Those guys are pretty needy. I would love to have some axolotls and maybe some terrestrial salamanders when I move into my own place. I live in an area of high salamander biodiversity, so I could just go grab a few if I had the space. After making sure their population levels were relatively high, of course. Don't want to grab any state or federally endangered species. I guess the closest I'll have for a while is the salamanders that have found their way into my pond. Babies! ^-^
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