General Care Discussion :: Is this a good tank?

[redearslider]

I bought a RES Turtle yesterday and put it in a 5.5 gallon tank with a 20 gallon HOB Filter in my room.
It is a little less than an inch. (Here in Canada it is legal to sell)
The temperature is at 26 degrees celsius.
There are some live plants,about 3 cm of gravel, and a DIY Turtle Dock.
Does this sound good.
At what size does he have to become do I have to move it to a bigger tank.

[Turtletime]

The rule of thumb is 10 gallons for every "inch" of turtle. The length of a turtle is the linear projection of the shell. I believe this is explained in the Habitat section of the site. So if your little guy is 1" long shell, he needs a 10 gallon tank. 26 sounds a little high, but baby turtles might require higher temps. How old is the turtle? I recommend you read all the sections on turtle care; there's a lot of helpful information there so your turtle has an good habitat.

[michaelg]

Also, remove the gravel. All turtles I have ever owned like to forage for food at the bottom of the tank, whether it is food, poop or gravel. If they ate the gravel, it can cause internal injuries. If the gravel gets impacted (can't poop it out), the turtle will die.

-Michael

[redearslider]

OK thanks for your help

[penelope]

Welcome to the forum!! and congratulations on becoming a RES parent!
I had to do some conversion, so it sounds like the water temp is 78-ish degrees Farenheit?
Generally speaking, 72 to 78 degrees Farenheit is good (a bit warmer - like 78-ish for a hatchling)

If water is too cold it is hits what is often called the "death zone" - that means it is cold enough to suppress appetite, but too warm to hibernate - hopefully someone can help me here, but I want to say that it is anything below 70 degrees - you may want to research that part.

Another popular temperature to know is 80 degrees = that is what you should raise the temp to when (or you think they are) ill.



Now, that gravel has to go! It is one of those big "no-no"s - they can eat it, and leave them open to a long list of potential problems.

Plants are good - I think the site-proper names off some 'safe' ones.