General Care Discussion :: Arms in front of face

[Mooneygh]

So Ive had my 4 inch RES Frank and my 3 inch YBS Clyde in a 75 gallon tank for about 6 months now. They seem to get along fine, often basking one on top of the other.
Yesterday i saw them both staring at eachother at the bottom of the tank and Frank seemed to be waving his hands in front of his face towards Clyde and then they both swam away.
What does this mean?

[TheComputerGremlin]

It's called fluttering. It's a sign of either mating or aggression. Once turtles start fluttering at each other, they need to be separated ASAP. The next stage is serious injury or death.

For temporary housing, you can buy a large rubbermaid container from like Walmart and put one in there.

[Mooneygh]

Oh no, cant say I wanted to hear that.
So there is no way to limit the aggression and keep an eye on them to see if things pan out?
Also the one who was fanning is 4 inches which is supposed to be sexually mature, and looks to be a female (Frank no longer fits), i thought males were usually the aggressors?
And the YBS is to small to be sexually active and pursuing a female, so I'm a bit confused.
On the other hand, i have a 40 gal rubbermaid container which i can put one of them into immediately.

[TheComputerGremlin]

If you've seen fanning, then you have a male. I'm guessing you meant fluttering. You'll see aggression between two females, a female and a male, or two males; two females are usually the least aggressive. There's no real way to limit the aggression, you could assess the resources to see if something seems to be out of balance.

Are they fed at the same time and one is stealing the other's food? You could try feeding them separately in a feeding tank to make sure they both get fed.

Is there enough space on the basking area for both to fit comfortably? You could try adding an additional basking area.

You have a 75 gallon tank, so I don't think a tank upgrade would help necessarily. I don't think it's a space issue.

RES tend to be more aggressive than YBS, so that could be part of the problem. If you post pictures of Frank, esp. the claws and tail opening, we can help affirm that Frank is female. It's possible that the YBS is male and is starting to become sexually mature and pestering Frank, but at 3", you are right to say it's probably too soon.

I don't think the aggression will go away, you could try giving it a few days, but you'll need to be very careful to check frequently to make sure they are both okay. Tenodera on this board recently lost a little RES to another larger RES in a matter of minutes, with no prior aggression.

[raverqueenage]

Awe, they are fluttering......for now.

Yeah definitely separate. You don't want to risk anyone getting hurt, or even killed