General Care Discussion :: algae on turtle's shell

[mitchy04]

hey guys... i havent been in this site in ages due to school but i have a bit of spare time now and i just want to find out if i can get some questions answered about my turtle.. a little debreifing of my turtle .. she just turned 3 yrs old this past december and is approx 8-9 inches in length .. i would upload pictures but unfortunately my camera is broken... i have a question regards to my turtle in which i am a bit concerned with.. located on my turtles shell are green stains from algae ... the algae is located on the edges of the turtles shell and has a dark green color ... when she basks u can see the algae marks on her shell and u can see how dry it is ... i know well enough not to grab my turtle and try to scrub its back with a towel to remove the algae cuz it will cuz more harm then good. i just wanna know if i should really be worried with the algae being on the back of the turtle if u could reply back with information or tips on how i could treat this it would be highly appreciated... thank you

[flutterby]

All I would do is gently use a soft toothbrush (or the towel like you've used) and bush it every so often. Turtles in the wild have algae on them too I believe.

[marisa]

Why would using a towel to remove algae do more harm than good? If there's a lot on the shell, it would be good to gently take it off (cloth or brush). Turtles in the wild often have algae, which can act as camoflague; it can, however, also mask potential shell problems. By cleaning it, you'll have a chance to inspect the shell as well.

[thebernreuter]

I have a plecostomus in my tank, and it sucks on my turtle's shell. I'm not sure how common this behavior is with other people's aquariums; I certainly didn't expect it to happen. I had the plecostomus before the turtle, and I was worried the fish might get eaten. Luckily the fish is twice as long as the turtle, which has apparently discouraged the turtle from trying anything. As it is, I think it's a pretty nifty example of mutualism.

I'm not sure how effective this actually is since my turtle has yet to have any significant algae issues, but then again that may be due to the presence of the algae-eater.

[kikicool]

My pleco JUST did that yesterday for the first time! SO funny! I think the turts seem to like it, too. At least, when he stopped, Lily sort of moved over so she was near him again. Too funny!

[steve]

I think there was one instance of a pleco damaging a turtle shell... but that was a while ago on a different forum.

[marisa]

I've read of some people's plecos doing this---some have said that it helped keep the shell clean. Unless the turtle was really small, had something wrong with the shell to begin, or had the pleco stuck on the shell all the time, I don't know how the shell would be damaged.