Habitat - Indoor :: 75 gallon community turtle tank !

[the-turtle-Girl]

I'm getting a new tank FINALLY ! It'll be a 75 gallon community tank with my smaller turtles in it consisting of 2 RES a Mississippi map a spiny softshell and soon to be my newest edition which I've been searching EVERYWHERE FOR a baby concentric Diamomdback Terrapin !!! I found a breeder in my area , I'm SO stoked !! Any who it'll have a custom above tank basking area and custom sand shelf for my softie , I'll post pictures as setup goes , but I'm so excited my dreams are finally coming true ! I've been wanting this for a very long time and now it's finally here yay ! Maybe you guys can help me as far as some thing to decorate the tank with ? I'd be greatful !

[steve]

Congrats! I say some pool filter sand, of black sand and a handful of river rock. Wood always looks great in a tank. Maybe some fake plants here and there?

[Kansasslider]

Just a word of warning Turtle Girl. As most of you know by my sig I have 4 turtles in my tank. I knew the day might come for separation. Well that day has come! My female res is getting increasingly agitated. My 2 males just will not leave her alone. They are trying to mate with her and she wants no part of it. She is big enought to bite their heads off if she was so inclined. I see no wounds on my turtles but seperation is eminent. Steve has talked about the need for separation at some point many times and I knew this going into it. Just keep in mind not all turtles get along and hopefully you can seperate them before injury. Congrats on your new tank. Its a lot of fun watching them all together. Just keep in mind the peace more than likely won't last and at some point separation might/will be needed. I'm looking at all options at this point. I'm not sure about another tank? In not sure I have the time or energy for another large tank? And I thought it would be easy.

[the-turtle-Girl]

Four of them have been together for about 6 months and they're all dudes lol they all love each other no one is aggressive honestly my biggest turt is NY midland painted and he just swims past everyone and just looks at them lol

[the-turtle-Girl]

Congrats! I say some pool filter sand, of black sand and a handful of river rock. Wood always looks great in a tank. Maybe some fake plants here and there?

Where can I get black sand ? I like the way it looks

[steve]

Most petstores/online should have Seachem Black Flourite Sand but it's kinda expensive. You can find pool filter sand at garden centers and it's much cheaper (and easier to clean).

Re: aggression - It doesn't matter that they are friendly now, grew up together or from the same clutch. You need to be prepared if it happens... have a plan, put some money aside, have a few extra supplies, etc.

[the-turtle-Girl]

As far as the aggression I'll have my 55 gall as a backup , and I'm starting to put money up , everytime I see someone set change down I stal it and put it up , it'll grow eventually lol , but I do have a backup tank so far xD but as far as I can see they're all good with each other

[steve]

Glad you're planning... trust me it will pay off

[the-turtle-Girl]

Lol hopefully it stays to where they all like each other xD I've never seen any aggression out of any of them , they all share food , I've seen one of my little ones bully the bigger guy in the tank for stealing my smallest turtles food , it was cute lol but if anything I'll keep my bigger turts in the 55 and put my 4 little guys in the 75 I'm not sure yet lol , I have my softshell in a 20 gallon long tank right now , was wanting to put him in the 75 gall , cause I had him my 2 RES and my Mississippi map all together before I moved

[the-turtle-Girl]

On the ingredients is says something about sources of vit d3 does that mean it has vit d3 In it ?

[steve]

Yes, it probably has a small amount of D3.

[the-turtle-Girl]

What kind of food could I feed my
Turtles that has a good amount of d3 in it ? And do cuttlebones provide them with d3 or ? And I have some calcium power that has d3 in it , could I dust lettuce or crickets and feed them that ?

[the-turtle-Girl]

Thai is what I have , I had it from a bearded dragon I used to have

[steve]

A lot of the turtle foods do not disclose the amount of D3 they put in, but if you have a properly working UVB light and your turtle is using it, then you don't have to worry about it too much. Under UVB and under the sun, they'll produce their own D3. D3 helps them metabolize calcium, so they need both. There are powdered calcium supplements that contain D3 too.

[the-turtle-Girl]

Yea I have a reptisun 5.0 13 watt about 10 inches from the basking area . Is that too close or should that be ok ?