# Cold water, low light, no fertilizer plants?



## stejacks (Sep 8, 2013)

Hi all,

I've been running low tech planted setups for years, but I'm about (well, in the next six months or so) to start up a new one that has some interesting challenges.

It will be an axolotl tank. For those who don't know, they require cold water (less than 65 F), high flow and lots of light stresses them out, and because they're amphibians, no water column fertilizers can be used.

Substrate will be play sand, and root tabs can be used. I've not yet figured out lighting, but it will be quite low. Tank will be a 55 gallon.

What plants would work well in this setup? I'm looking for plants not only for enrichment for the axolotls and attractiveness for us, but also for their nitrate sucking abilities.

I was thinking some sort of floating plant (water lettuce? Frogbit?) would be interesting, as well as anubias, and possibly some java ferns. Maybe vals, if they come in a size small enough to work in a shorter tank.

Anything you can think of that might look great under these very limited conditions?


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

I had my axolotl for a few months now, got him when he was only about 2-3 inches. He's now 6 inches, presurrized co2, high light, liquid fertz, low flow !INI canister filter, no heater 50% water change once a month, fully carpeted planted tank. I have no issues always active and eats like a pig.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4


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## stejacks (Sep 8, 2013)

coldmantis said:


> I had my axolotl for a few months now, got him when he was only about 2-3 inches. He's now 6 inches, presurrized co2, high light, liquid fertz, low flow !INI canister filter, no heater 50% water change once a month, fully carpeted planted tank. I have no issues always active and eats like a pig.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4


Fascinating. What ferts are you using? I wouldn't do high light or pressurized CO2, simply for expense reasons. The plants aren't the main draw for me here, the amphibian is.


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?p=338418#post338418

Started with ei, got tired of doing water changes once a week, switch to pps pro


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I keep Occidozyga lima frogs, Asian Spotted or Floating frogs. They have a heavily planted tank, as they need the cover to feel safe and hang onto while they float, and once in awhile, to sit on for a short time. 

Their tank is growing like mad and they are clearly not bothered by either ferts or Excel, though I dose less than is called for, just to be on the safe side. I try to put ferts in near the filter outflow, so they get mixed in quickly, and make sure none of the froggies are close by at the time, but it's only about an 8G tank. I've had them since the spring and so far, no problems at all.

Without some ferts the plants would not grow enough to provide the cover they need, and the plants also allow the crickets I feed to stay alive long enough to be eaten. The crickets can run over the floaters without drowning, mostly, they are not very bright critters. Some grab onto the filter or a leaf or the cork raft and last for a little longer 'til a frog finds them. But the thicker the plants grow, the happier the frogs appear to be, and they wouldn't have that without ferts.


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

I understand the appeal, i guess my axie is a little rough. I cant keep him with any substrate anymore so im going bare bottom tank. Before though, i had a lot of elodea, moss, java fern, and ambulia. he shredded most of it leaving just the elodea. Also, I gave him a treat of three feeder goldfish, just to see if he would take it. he ate two and kept the other one alive for some reason., now it's too big for him to eat! If you have a thrasher, like mine, dont go for carpet or stem plants. Go for attached hardy plants like fern or anubias. dont free float your fern like i did!


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