General Care Discussion :: algae on shell

[redearninjaturtles]

my turtle constantly gets algae on his shell and i scrub it off every time.

i keep his tank clean and clean it every two weeks and i also clean out his poop when its small enough to scoop out. there is algae on this fake rock and i scrub it off every time i clean but it ALWAYS grows back.

his filter had the carbon missing he would get algae everyday, and i would scrub it off everyday. i put new carbon in it and he didnt get algae as much, but once a week.

where does this algae come from? its really hard to scrub of, and i think it hurts my turtle when i scrub him with the tooth brush. he opens his mouth and clicks.

it alway comes off, excepth this time, not as much. i think the reason why now is because hes in the early process of sheding and its under his scutes.

[Bascomb]

Algae is a fact of life in most aquariums but can be managed. Algae must have light to survive. If you have any direct sun light it will help the algae grow. The uvb and uva will assist the algae in survival. Keep the direct sun light away and limit the amount the other light rays. In keeping your turtles clean I use regular table salt and warm water with a soft tooth brush. Good Luck

[redearninjaturtles]

will algae effect my turtle?

[SpotsMama]

A bit of algae won't hurt. the problem would be if it gets thick it will trap moisture next to the shell allowing bacteria and fungus to flourish.

What will hurt him is scrubbing his shell too hard. If you have a feeling that it's hurting your turtle then it probably is. Gentle is the goal here. Very light scrubbing with a very soft toothbrush would be better. Better still is some light rubbing with a damp paper towel. It shouldn't be hard to get the algae off.

[meltedspork]

I am endlessly trying to rid Toby of algae. When we adopted him his shell was covered in it. Now it is much better but it is still there. He HATES when I try to scrub it off (I am VERY gentle) so it's hard to get rid of it.