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I have a 5 year old red eared slider. 40 gallon breeder tank with 2 filters and a heater. The water is at about 72 degrees.

I recently started noticing what appears to be green gnats in the room where I keep my turtle. I took a closer look at the tank and noticed:
- white larvae on the edges of the tank on the water line.
- I realized it was larvae because I kept an eye on it and actually saw a gnat or mosquito hatch from it
- little white worm looking things that get pushed around under the water by the filter and are always squiggling around.
- Looking from underneath the tank, it looks like some "worms" are either eating, what I think is, poop at the bottom of the tank or being generated from it.
- the turtle doesn't seem bothered by them

Are the white worm things that are squiggling around actually larvae that eventually get attached to the side of the tank and then hatch?

I cleaned the entire tank out and the "worms" came back immediately (I did not change the filter pads because they were only a week old)

What the heck is going on? I need to get these things out of the tank and out of my house. Any ideas of what this could be?

Thanks for any help!!

It sounds like they are fly larvae. There are some pics here that might help with an ID viewtopic.php?f=5&t=25780

I would continue with regular cleaning, but it has to be everything including filter media. Also check for areas around the house that might harbor flies, like plants.

Thank you for the reply.

So fly larvae actually look like those little worm type things?

Would you be able to help me identify the thing that the larvae seem to be forming from or eating off of? They are a brownish red color and could almost pass for some type of thin short worm themselves except they appear as if they are flat and hardened to the bottom of the tank and to the rocks in the tank. They all have the same shape and consistency but the lengths vary from 1/2cm to 1cm. They showed up almost immediately after cleaning the tank.

I can't tell if they are eating off of them or are coming out of them.

I'm not sure what they are from the description but I'd continue with regular cleanings, especially the filters.

If you want to rule out parasites, try to have your turtle poop in a separate tub so you can check the sample.

I actually don't even know what the poop looks like. I'm sure it will be easy to pick out in a separate tank, but what do I look for?

If you've been feeding mostly pellets, it'll look like a big brown pellet.

steve wrote:It sounds like they are fly larvae. There are some pics here that might help with an ID viewtopic.php?f=5&t=25780

I would continue with regular cleaning, but it has to be everything including filter media. Also check for areas around the house that might harbor flies, like plants.

that is just too awesome Steve. thanks for sticking my post. that is the highlight of my day and Christmas!

So strange, the tank was cleaned on Friday afternoon. Now, the water is murky and brown, you can barely see through it.

I moved the turtle to another smaller tank and the top of that water has a lot of very small flaky transparent things floating in it.
There are little white rice shaped things on the bottom of the larger tank, they are not moving.

This is driving me crazy. I'm going to the pet store today to talk with some of the employees.

The employees at a local fish store had a few theories but said that they have never heard of the water turning brown within such a short time period. They said that it might be some type of bacterial bloom, but said that it is normally white.

Another employee mentioned dinoflagellates? But I can't find any images online to support that one.

I'm going to clean the tank one more time, replacing all of the filter inserts and allowing all of the rocks, filter pieces, etc to sit and dry overnight.

If anyone has any theories, please let me know. Thanks in advance!!

North east 33 -- I would suggest that you reevaluate your filters. Eventhough you have two filters you may not have the proper gph exchange. You should have a water exchange of at least 5 times per hour. Some filters are sold by tank size for fish which does not always work for turtles. A good canister that pumps 300 to 350 gph should do just fine for a 40 gallon tank. Good luck!

Diarrhea or very loose stool could foul up the water pretty quickly. I think you might just need to continue cleaning until a clear ID can be made.

Thank you for your replies.

I just did a full clean including the filter parts and I am going to make an appointment with the vet this week to check a stool sample.

a cheap alternative for more then enough filtration can be found on ebay. intex model 603 pool filter i was recomended to run biomax in a panty hose or other bag to prevent them from getting stuck in the pump you can find biomax at petsmart to keep the good bacteria in the filter i guess charcoal normally does this.

at any rate it boast's 530 gph ive got one per 55 and i run them on a timer so they clean 6 hours a day. i have driftwood which is leeching tannins into the tank i dont mind the brown tint myself and tannins are generally good for fish. (turtles?) anyway. after an hour of being on the water will get to be almost crystal clear again by the time the cycles over the water is crystal clear (takes about 3 hours to turn brown again)

it was easy to setup and i only got the floor sopping wet twice lol but it does a great job filtering the water and they run fairly quiet

northeast -- The filter needs to run 24/7 to populate the bio mass with bacteria. Cutting it off for 6 hours will kill off that bacteria. Clean water exchange would be great for your bacteria. 300 gph to 350 gph would be a great filter for you system. Good Luck!

its on 6 hours and how would it kill the bacteria ? the water pressurizes the filter where the biomax is its still circulating from gravity and force just not being pushed by the motor on the filter until the filters come on.

take a water hose and put it in a tank begin filling the tank once it is full turn the hose off and remove it from the tap water will be back feeding out of it rapidly take the outlet end and place where it can dump back in the tank you will have an endless cycle granted the hose doesnt kink and kill the pressure/flow .