My RES is slightly above 1 year old, but it is already about 6 inches big due to overfeeding. When I bought it, I was told by the shop owner that the supplement pellets are good enough, and before I realise it, it has grown so big. I am using the brand “Everyday” which is from Taiwan as that is the only brand that shop carries.
My setup is a 3ft tank with Eheim 2213 canister (shown in the photo). An exo-terra basking lamp is recently added because I shifted the tank away from the window. My terrapin used to bask with direct sunlight. I will be adding a UVB lamp as well.
I am recently trying to change its diet and is feeding it about 10% pellets and 90% romaine lettuce. It is eating fine, and the poop is not as smelly as before which is great, but the thing is that after pooping, it will swim about and this breaks the poop. The poop mainly consist of the lettuce which had already turned dark brown and some will sink to the bottom of the tank whereas the a good amount floats on top of the water.
My main reason for getting a canister is to effectively clear off it's poop, which had served me well until I changed its diet recently. The canister seems unable to suck out the undigested vegetables effectively, and the tank looks "messy" with the vegetables flowing about since my terrapin is swimming about. Because of this, I had to suck out the messiness manually every day and it's like indirectly doing partial water change. Of course this is a bit tiring and I don't think I am doing the right thing.
My question is whether it is common for them not to digest their food well and how can I improve my situation of not having to clear the poop every day? I don't have such problems previously with the supplement pellets. The poop just breaks down and gets sucked in by the canister in a few hours.
Thanks in advance and I appreciate any help!
