Not every aquarium plant survives in an axolotl tank. The water is cold, the lighting is deliberately dim, and anything rooted in substrate gets dug up. Everything below tolerates all three.
Add on only. Aquarium Plants for Australian Tanks ship alongside an axolotl order rather than on their own, so add them when you buy an animal or ask us to include them in an order already placed.
6 products available, from $30 AUD. We ship across Australia, including Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide. Also see axolotls for sale in Australia.
Add onThe fastest growing floating plant you can put in a cool water tank, and the most effective at stripping nitrate between water changes. Needs no substrate, no fertiliser and no strong light, which is exactly what an axolotl tank offers. Fair warning: once duckweed is established it is close to impossible to remove completely.
Add onA floating plant with small rounded leaves and fine trailing roots that axolotls seem to like sitting under. Larger and far tidier than duckweed, so it is easier to thin out by hand when it spreads. Tolerates cool water and low light without complaint and needs no substrate.
Add onA mixed portion of both floating species. The duckweed spreads fast and does the heavy lifting on nitrate, while the water spangles give larger surface cover and shade. A good starting point if you are not sure which suits your tank, since one will usually out compete the other and you keep whichever wins.
Add onTwenty frogbit plants in a range of sizes. Frogbit is the tidiest of the floating species, with round leaves and long trailing roots, and it is the easiest to lift out by hand when it spreads too far. It thrives between 18 and 29 degrees and is very effective at pulling nitrate and nitrite down between water changes.
Add onA golf ball sized portion of pellia. It sits on the bottom or ties onto hardscape and tolerates cold water and deep shade better than almost any other plant, which makes it one of the few things that genuinely thrives in an axolotl tank. Slow growing and low maintenance. Needs no substrate.
Add onTen Indian almond leaves between roughly 8 and 18 cm. As they break down they release tannins, which lightly stain the water, gently lower pH and carry mild antibacterial properties. Many keepers use them as a low intervention way of supporting an animal that is off colour, and axolotls will often choose to sit underneath them.
An axolotl tank is a difficult environment for plants. Water sits at 16 to 18 degrees, which is well below what most tropical species want, and the lighting is kept low because axolotls dislike bright light. Add an animal that ploughs across the bottom and roots do not last.
Floating plants solve all of it. They sit at the surface where the light is, they need no substrate, and they cannot be disturbed from below. They also shade the tank, which axolotls appreciate, and they strip nitrate out of the water between changes.
Duckweed, frogbit and water spangles all do this well. Frogbit is the tidiest of the three and the easiest to remove by hand. Duckweed is the fastest growing and, fair warning, close to impossible to get rid of once established. Pellia moss sits on the bottom or ties to hardscape and tolerates cold and shade better than almost anything else.
Not a plant, but it belongs here. Indian almond leaves release tannins as they break down, which lightly stains the water, gently lowers pH and has mild antibacterial properties. Many keepers use them as a low intervention way of supporting an animal that is off colour, and axolotls often choose to sit under them.
Live plants may arrive with snails or small amounts of other species mixed in, which is normal for anything grown in an open system. Rinse before adding to your tank. Nothing here needs substrate, fertiliser or CO2.
For the full tank build, see our axolotl tank setup guide.
Floating plants such as duckweed, frogbit and water spangles, plus mosses and hardy rhizome plants like java fern and anubias. All tolerate cold water and low light and none need substrate, which matters because an axolotl will dig up anything rooted.
No, they are carnivores. They will disturb rooted plants by ploughing across the bottom, and they may accidentally swallow a small fragment while snapping at food, but they do not graze.
They release tannins that lightly stain the water, gently lower pH and have mild antibacterial properties. Many keepers use them as low intervention support for an animal that is off colour. They are not a substitute for correct water and temperature.
Also in store: cycled filters and tank supplies, axolotl food. Everything ships across Australia, to Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and every other mainland address.
Setting a tank up from scratch? Start with the axolotl tank setup guide, then browse axolotls for sale in Australia.
Every animal is bred in our Victoria hatchery, photographed individually and sent with a live arrival guarantee across mainland Australia.