General Care Discussion :: Several questions

[mrbudders]

Firstly, I have read many forums, wikis, etc. on RES, most with conflicting information. I am here to try to get definite answers to a few questions. Our tank setup is currently a 55 gallon Long tank with river rock and a large basking stone, A uvb 5.0 13watt, and a 100 watt Day White Light, tank is filled approx 2/3 full. Diet is mainly reptomin with feeder guppies and ghost shrimp always in tank. We try to buy a few aquatic plants a month. Due to varying information, and observing the RES activity we keep the water temp. around 80-84 degrees. She seems to be the most active in this range. Does this seem appropriate for a RES of about 7 inches?
I bought a RES last year from an individual who did not run a UVB light. Bonnie (res) is about 7 in. long (shell) and has a large bump behind her head. Pet store lady said it was a calcium spot from not having the UVB. She has now had the UVB for several months and the bump is not getting smaller. She also has some algae growth, or what looks like algae, on her shell. Also purchased Sepia bones but Bonnie does not eat them no matter how small or large of pieces I put in the tank. Will this spot ever go away? Is the algae growth a problem?
We decided to buy Bonnie a companion. Named him Clyde (of course). Well until he escaped the large tupper ware bowl we brought him home in twice. He is now Dillinger! Bonnie at first was not interested in Dillinger due to the addition of her shrimp. After she chased the shrimp for a while she started, in my opinion, being quite aggressive towards Dillinger. Dillinger is approx. 4-5 inches shell. I was leery when we bought him due to the size difference. Bonnie chases him around the tank and at times seems she climbs on top of him as to not let him rise for air. She is also fluttering her front legs in his face. At first, Dillinger swam away but then he began to "fight back". I haven't witnessed either turtle open there mouths as if they were going to bite. They have been in the same tank now for only about 5 hours. Should I separate them? I am kinda scared to go to bed! Also, it is not that they are doing this constantly, they do swim around and chase the fish shrimp rather then each other. But, I would say 80% of the time they are "fighting".
I thought of maybe putting them together for just a few hours each day to let them get to know each other but wonder if that would make it worse.
We have discussed taking out basking stone and adding a piece of Plexi siliconed to separate an area of the tank and filling it with sand for the basking platform, We were thinking like 8-10 inches front to back for this area. What is a safe silicone for this?
I appreciate any info very much. I am not being lazy and not searching myself, it is just that I have had WAY too many answers , all different, to these questions and have decided to ask and go with the answers!
I have tried to post this 3 x over about an hour and it isnt showing up I am sorry if it actually does post that many times

[CactusJohn5]

i can say first and formost: i am no expert, everything i say or recommend is from personal experience and about 3 years of internet research, and YES you find conflicting reports about everything!
Your tank is FAR to small for 2 RES. Minimum tank size for a 7'' and 5'' 7+5=12x10gallons per in = 120gallons.

Do not eliminate any more of the water. I would look into ATB(above tank basking) platform ideas, but first and formost i wouldn't spend anymore money until you save up to get a bigger tank, or another tank. Check your local craigslist, i got a 75gallon with matching stand and fluval 305 for 120$ almost 1/3rd the price!

Water temp seems high to me, you want to keep it under 80, i keep my water as close to 75 as i can, as the "cooler" water encourages basking. If its upper 70's lower 80's its too warm to leave and bask, just my experience.

"fighting" sounds more like "fluttering" or waving nails/hands in each others face! This is the beginning of a mating dance! Male + female = Eggs, heck don't even need a male for that, but yes, it sounds like fluttering!
fighting for turtles involves biting, you will know the difference AS SOON as you see it, they latch on and shake violently.

Alot of text, what other questions did you have?

[mrbudders]

I need to take some pics of Bonnie and show u guys the bump and the filmy green stuff I am calling algae to better describe it. And I believe we are going to add some more water to the tank after looking at some of the setups i seen in the forum here. I have noticed 2x now Bonnie is snapping at Dillinger.

[mrbudders]

What would be a good vegetable to feed them and how often should they have it? My girlfriend says Bonnie is always starving and we feed here about 10-12 pellets 2x a day

[steve]

Can posts a picture of the bump? That is a common area to be bitten, but it's also near the nuchal scute which might rub against that area. Be wary about pet store advice, they can be very inaccurate and/or costly. Algae can usually be easily removed by some very light scrubbing using a new toothbrush.

The recommended guideline for tank size is 10 gallon per inch of shell length. At their current sizes, you can determine their sex and think about the next tank upgrade. If they are fighting as much as you say they are, you need to rehome one of them, get separate tanks or have a large tank that you can divide.

Older RES do well between the 75-78F range in water temperatures. Are you using a submersible heater?

Plexiglas and acrylic won't stick to glass very well... you will need to consider different layout options or materials.

Sorry about your first posts not going through... new member posts are placed into a queue before they show up. You are approved and shouldn't have any problems.

For veggies, red leaf/green leaf and romaine lettuce are pretty good. RES are very good at begging, you and you GF will need to show some restraint and not give in to it.

[Mom2RES]

10-12 pellets 2x a day seems like a lot to me. The standard is what would fit inside their head (do not inclue the neck-only the head) everyother day for an adult res. My RES is just shy of 4 inches. She gets three baby reptomin pellets everyother day and veggies everyday.

And yes, they will beg. Giving into that and overfeeding could cause health problems along the way.

[mrbudders]

After the first night I have seen a lot less of fighting almost to the point of no fighting. I have been letting them out in the back yard and IMO it seems the younger one looks to the older when scared. They seem to be getting along wonderfully. I am feeding them separate because Bonnie is the textbook description of a pig and Dillinger usually has nothing to eat. I have slacked on feeding to about 12 pellets(8ish for Dillinger 4ish for Bonnie) a day in the A.M. and nothing the rest of the day. There is still guppies in the tank and a few plants which seem to be eaten quickly (plants that is, fish seem to be ok...maybe 1-3 eaten per week. I plan on cutting back on the food but the GF will take some convincing...Dang near in tears when I tell her not to feed em.
As for the basking platform, I have decided I may go with making about a 3-4" deep X 12" X12" box full of sand supported by either rocks or thicker plexi. Feeling is this would give them a sizable basking area Plus not take up on water space too much.
The bump on Bonnie was there when I purchased her. The bump has not gotten any bigger or smaller int he year I have had her.She will not eat the calcium bone supplement at all. Was thinking of buying the frozen shrimp and mixing dust from the bone into it....I will post pictures as soon as I find my ipod charger
Using a 55 gallon submersable heater set at 75 degrees

[steve]

Check turtle jell-o shot receipe if you want to create a food with some additional calcium.

[Listen97]

Steve didn't post the Sticky link for the shots so here you go; viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17486

[mrbudders]

printed and added tot he shopping list

[CactusJohn5]

sounds like food aggression to me! but also might be mating dance.

also i am with steve, full pics of shell will help us tell you what is wrong.