General Care Discussion :: Algae on Shell

[Mom2RES]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered before. Sometimes it is hard to find an exact topic when you search, because there is such a WEALTH of information here. I'm so thankful for that. Just shy of two years ago I was totally lost when it came to my RES. She is a happy, healthy turtle now!

I have noticed something new that we've not dealt with before. She appears to have some algae growing on her shell. She is in 125 gallon tank, has her basking area with both the appropriate bulbs, her filter is a Fluval FX5, and the water is right around 78 degrees with basking area around 90 degrees. The water in the tank is clear. The only place I have algae on the tank walls is where the light from her basking area shines into the water. The algae there has always been a problem. She has never been a good shedder even though she has the appropriate basking area and she does bask often. She always has scutes "trying" to come off. Right now it looks like there might be some algae under loose scutes.

So is this something I should be worried about? Should I get a tooth brush and try to get it off? If so, she is NOT going to be happy about that.

[steve]

If the shell is healthy, then it's not a problem to have it. Since the turtle is a slow shedder, I'll scrub it off it gets out of hand. If you choose to leave it, you will still need to inspect the scutes. My turtles have had shell problems before, so I like to be able to do quick visual checks.

Of course the more that builds up, the harder it would be to clean. Some RES do like a scrub though:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWZRGZInJkw[/youtube]