General Care Discussion :: Turtle Floating Strange

[BigTurtLilTurt]

Haha yeah that's been my problem in the past with fish tanks. When you use sand do you notice a kind of strange odor coming from it? I've noticed some strange smell thats not the most enjoyable but nothing fabreeze cant fix

[happycamper]

Do you have a filter? I haven't had any issues with odor

[steve]

When one turtle grows faster than the other, it's almost always because it's getting more of the food. I would recommend that the larger one be fed slightly less protein/pellets and in a separate container while the other stays in tank or also fed in the separate container - if it's willing.

I've used the Tetra Whisper Air Pump. It worked OK, though I wouldn't say it was silent.

[BigTurtLilTurt]

The sand odor has dissipated now thank goodness. Haha it wasn't that bad but it was just and uncomfortable hint of a smell that bothered me when I first came into the room. I really love the look, though, I wish I could get the dang tank crystal clear. Oh! If I hadn't mentioned before, happycamper, your turtle topper tank is pretty awesome.

As far as my turtle feeding habits I usually am pretty good at getting my turtles the same amounts of food. If it appears that Biggie Smalls gets more food than Tupac I will usually just hand feed him a Reptomin food stick. Speaking of food whats the popular thing to feed 's? I give them romaine lettuce and I have a variety of different aquatic turtle foods / treats but I hear fish are great for my turtles diet.

[happycamper]

Fish are okay as an occasional snack, they are very high in protein.

If you look on the feeding and nutrition section it breaks down the best things to feed. http://redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html

What kind of filter are you running? When I finally upgraded to a Fluval 405 my water clarity improved drastically, and has been clear ever since.

[richieboy]

What do you mean exactly when you say variety of aquatic turtle treats? A treat is something given on occasion, a couple times a month.

[BigTurtLilTurt]

Well I have Tetrafauna Reptomin sticks, rep-cal aquatic turtle food, HBH Turtle treat, and Zoo Med natural aquatic turtle food. I typically give them the rep-cal or the reptomin daily and then once every 2 weeks give them some HBH treats.

[BigTurtLilTurt]

I am running a ReptoClear f150 I believe. It seemed to hold up pretty well before but now that I have more water in my tank I believe I'm going to need to upgrade.

[steve]

How big are they, length wise? It might be a good idea to wait and see what their sexes they will be and you can upgrade accordingly.

[BigTurtLilTurt]

One has not grown at all it seems and is maybe 1.25 Inch and the other is getting past 2 inches.

[BigTurtLilTurt]

Turtle Update:
Tupac seems to have healed from his ailment and is now able to happily walk across the bottom of the tank without any odd floating shell problems.

[steve]

Glad to hear it

[richieboy]

Awsome! The more I read it becomes more apparent that most turtle equipment like tanks, filters, and what not especially designed for turtles aren't the best items you can buy.