General Care Discussion :: my hatchlings

[guywith2turtles]

they are in a twenty gallon tall tank but they hardly ever want to get off the floating dock and swim and when they do the force from the filter sucks them to the filter and they get stuck then they will swim right back to the dock, my tank is filled with real plants at the bottom but i have yet to see them make it past half way to the bottom to explore what is down there is it possible it is to deep? for the babies? i also have an air rock 4 inch circle at the bottom that they seem to be to weak to get threw should i shut it off until they get stronger. Also i cant get them to eat anything they wont take anything i offer them so should i get to some feeder fish or crickets to entice them to eat if so what type of fish should i get? thanks for any help[/i]

[alexis_906]

How long have you had them? It took my Cheerios a little while to get used to things.
I know that with turtles you should have a strong filter but I would think about either relocating it so that doesn't happen or even down grading it. I am not familiar with that air rock, but I would do the same with it. Just for a while so they can get used to it.
My little turtle loves "Wardley Reptile Premium Sticks" I break them in half and drop it over his head when he is in the water. I buy them pretty cheap at wal-mart but petsmart and petco also carry them. Also I have some baby guppies in there for him to chase around. Or my older turtle used to love to eat the rosey red minnows and they are about .10 cents at most pet stores. I also clip fresh romaine lettuce to the sides of their tanks, so that it is under water. They eat that up pretty fast.

[guywith2turtles]

what do you use to clip the lettuce in the water and thanks for the quick reply

[alexis_906]

I bought these sucktion cup clips at the pet store. They have them by the fish area.

[marisa]

I wouldn't want to do much swimming either if I got sucked to the intake and it was a struggle to swim. What filter are you using? Can you lessen the flow without turning it off?

[guywith2turtles]

i have had them for about two days and i try and get those clips today and pick up some minows and baby guppies for them to chase although they are about the size of a quarter or smaller

[guywith2turtles]

not sure what kind of filter it is i can check to see if i can turn it down some and i will turn off the air stone until they get a little bit stronger and start to eat more

[guywith2turtles]

just checked and i dont see a way to turn down the power any

[DavidY]

You may want to lower the water level some more until they get to be better swimmers. You could also get some plastic plants and either float them in the water or put them so they are just below the surface. That way the turtles could sit on them and still be partially submerged. They need to be in the water to swallow their food too.

[marisa]

If the filter is too powerful for the tank, and you lower the water level, it's likely to just create more current in the tank (less water to move around). You want to lower the flow, not the power. If your turtles are at most only size of a quarter, I think they're too small to catch feeder fish. And it sounds like baby guppies and other small fish are going to wind up sucked into the filter if it's too powerful.


Rather than fish, try some small crickets and a cut up earthworm. If the current is that strong, turn off the filter when you feed them or feed them in a separate container of water. For a good pellet, try to buy some Reptomin Baby.

[guywith2turtles]

i think got the flow turned down some by twisting the intake some and it seems to be less powerful and i turned off the air stone until they get stronger

[alexis_906]

Yeah I didn't think about the filter sucking up the fish. But when I got cheerios he was really small and the baby guppies were extremly small. He never ate them just chased after them.