Mud for my mudskipper

Is it okay if I use mud that was near the roots of plants? Is it safe to use mud from my backyard if salamanders can live in it?
 
Hey... I was looking through the aquatic eco-systems inc. catalogue... and they have a 12lbs mineral mud blend for $23.50... Specifically it says it's for: Mud Refugiums, Seagrasses, Macro-Algaes, and MANGROVES.

http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/423/Refugium-Mineral-Mud/00526/0

The dudes and dudettes at aquatic eco-systems know their fish stuff!

Also, 10 minutes of free expert advice on any project!
 
SWEET.
Too bad my parents wont' buy it. So, if I can't buy it, can I use mud if salamanders are able to live in it or if it's under a plant?
 
I don't know that using mud that has salamanders living in it and is under a plant really qualifies it as safe to use with a fish found half way around the world. I think the "play it safe" rule applies here. Not to mention a marine beach is a lot different than your backyard.
 
You can sometimes get exactly what you're looking for at an LFS if you have a good relationship with them. The grunge that collects on the bottom of liverock holding containers contains alot of really fine silt and sand. You just have to rinse it like crazy to get all the organics out, but the end product looks a heck of alot like Miracle Mud to me! If you offered to clean out the bins free they'd probably let you keep the grunge. I know I would!
 
I'm actually looking for mud that is very clay like, so that when the mudskipper tries to dig in it it keeps the shape of the burrow. Sand doesn't do that.
 
My options are:
Topsoil (it does dirty the water but the mudskipper isn't effected at all)
Pond mud (Indian mudskippers live near rivers as well, so that would probably work I think)
Mud from the river (if they let me take any, lol)
Clay soil from home depot


I think that the refugium mud is more like potting soil and won't work in the mudskipper tank, but I think that if I rinse the top soil out somehow it won't dirty up the tank. What does AC think?
 
I've been harvesting algae particles from my pond's sponge filter by squeezing it out and I've been mixing it with silt I scooped up from the bottom of the pond. When I let this evaporate for a few hours, it makes something like a nice mud, and if I had a bolephthalmus mudskipper it would be food for it. If I can get enough, can I use this as substrate?
 
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