General Care Discussion :: questions: stuff in my tank, new addition and new home

[pumpkinsherbet]

i'm just going to lump these all in one thread so i don't have to make a whole lot.

questions:
#1: what is this gunk in my tank? i just did a full water change to get it out. ick ick. is it there because my filter's inadequate? can it make my turtles sick? what can i do to prevent it? (or at least prevent it from getting out of control, it just popped up a little one day, then a couple days later it's all over the tank) just as an fyi, previous measurements were wrong. i actually counted as i was putting the water in - 13 gallons. i would put in more, but then that would give them the landing spot to climb out. my filter is for a 10 gallon. still clean the tank obsessively, though.

pics. the lines in it are from the cup when i was scooping out the water


#2: we're getting a cat today. approx 1 yr, my boyfriend says she's really sweet (they ''had a moment") and i know she's declawed (i hate that). what would be the best way to introduce her to turtle land? that is, get the turts used to her as well as she to the turts. i don't take them out very often - usually just for tank cleaning. i use one of the old habitats (smallish storage bin, about 24" long) as their landing spot, so it's not like they're running around the house. but i think they should be used to each other so there's not a problem when i do this. any advice?

#3: i am TRYING to reach somebody regarding a 72 gallon setup they had advertised for sale on craigslist. even if they don't write me back, i'll still be getting a much bigger setup. i don't want to stress the turts out during the move, any advice on how to ease that transition?

thanx in advance for the help

oh, and a friend of mine just bought two turtles yesterday. i'm going to tell her about this forum

[adam85491]

OK, for the gunk, it's most likely because the filter is way too small for the tank. You may clean obsessively, but when you need a filter to pump thousands of gallons per day, and it's not doing it, your gonna have a dirty tank. Also, I would not even introduce the cat and the turtle while the turtle is out of the tank. Just think, your turtle could get bit, your cat could get clawed/bit, it's just a dangerous situation. I would just make sure the cat could not reach the turtle at any time. And for a bigger tank, I would simply put them in there and they should be fine.

[pumpkinsherbet]

so should i just put the turtles out of reach (like, diff room close the door) while they're out of the tank?

erm. that poor filter. fortunately it won't be a problem much longer, the new habitat's going to be purchased by midmarch period.

[Breigh]

I agree on keeping the cat away from the turtles completely. I never take my turtles out other than to give them a look over to make sure they have all their toes and their shells are ok (hehe) or when I'm cleaning their tank. I think letting turtles wander around just stresses the crap out of them.

I have 2 cats and 1 dog and I don't let them near the turtles AT ALL. They aren't animals that would ever socialize in the wild and I just would never trust the situation.

The brown gunk in your tank looks like a mixture of turtle poo and brown algae. I had a brown algae problem once and a friend suggested I do more regular water changes (1/4 of the amount of the water) and get some live plants as they fight for the nutrients that the algae thrives on. Before I knew it it was gone

[SpotsMama]

I have two cats and a dog and when I let Spot out to roam around the room (he loves it by the way, he's a real extrovert) I always lock the cats and the dog out. I would never let Spot loose around the dog or the cats.

I trained the cats not to go near the turtle tank by squirting them with water from a little squirt bottle. Cats HATE being squirted and it's a very fast, humane way to teach them the places they shouldn't go. I didn't want one of them climbing up on the tank and falling in or knocking a light fixture in or some other disasterous thing. Even after the training, whenever we leave the room with the turtle tank and the cats in it we remove the one light fixture that they could conceivably knock into the tank if they were to break training. Also, we have a GFCI electrical outlet for the all the turtle tank electrical devices just in the something really bad happens to protect us from a bad electric shock or fire.

Congratulations on your kitty cat, by the way. Our two cats are not quite a year old and believe me, that's a very fun but rambunctious age. They are obsessivly curious about EVERYTHING and they play their little hearts out. You're in for a lot of fun! But you'd better put away all your breakables now and save yourself some grief.

[pumpkinsherbet]

oh, i've had cats since i was four years old, with the exception of a two year time span. i just wasn't sure how cat + turtles would fare. since this one is declawed, i'm not going to have to worry about her climbing (there's nothing for her to grip). she's approx 1 yr. couldn't pick her up today b/c she was getting spayed and when we went to get her she had just gotten out of sedation and was being aggressive. so, tomorrow.

thanx for the advice everyone

[pumpkinsherbet]

The brown gunk in your tank looks like a mixture of turtle poo and brown algae. I had a brown algae problem once and a friend suggested I do more regular water changes (1/4 of the amount of the water) and get some live plants as they fight for the nutrients that the algae thrives on. Before I knew it it was gone

this question is also in the equipment review forum. what kind of plants should i get? if i put them in a terra cotta pot w/ holes could it still do its job. if not how would i anchor it down?