Habitat - Indoor :: how to keep turtle from eating plants?

[skiingyac]

I have two turtles and had been putting some anacharis in the tank, which I found really helped keep nitrates, algae, and odor down a lot longer than without. But now ever since my larger turtle sampled the anacharis, she will shred an entire bunch of it in an hour or two of it being put in the tank.

Does anyone have any suggestions for maybe a clear plastic box similar to a floating/suction-cup fish breeder? It would be nice if it was taller than a breeder and had slightly larger holes to allow small fish (rosy reds and Chinese algae eaters) and things through to help keep it clean.

[ellman605]

I wouldn't bother, anything you put in the tank will become food anyway. I just say clean the tank more often. Anachris is really good for them, so i wouldn't bother trying to get her to stop eating it.

[skiingyac]

sure, I don't mind them eating it, but I want to pace them a little bit more and keep the algae down while I'm at it... things were stable after I added the algae eaters, brown algae has been very low, but now it smells sometimes (not necessarily correlated with how long its been since I cleaned it) and green spot algae has taken over since the plants have been gone. Seems like adding the plants back to eat the nitrates and whatever else instead of the algae is a more direct solution than extra cleaning and/or chemicals.

[DavidY]

I posted a topic about an idea I had for protecting plants and fish in a turtle tank. Basically it involves building a "cage" or protected area out of eggcrate material (white plastic light diffuser grid). It works great and I agree with you, the live plants are great for keeping the water clean naturally.

Here's a link to the old thread with some pics...http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8216

[BobDinosaur]

I posted a topic about an idea I had for protecting plants and fish in a turtle tank. Basically it involves building a "cage" or protected area out of eggcrate material (white plastic light diffuser grid). It works great and I agree with you, the live plants are great for keeping the water clean naturally.

Here's a link to the old thread with some pics...http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8216

Smart! There is a garden center just down the road from my house with a RES in an indoor koi pond and the turtle hasn't bothered the fish any. May have something to do with the age, he's a good 10-11" long.

[marisa]

You could do something with a small plastic basket. Perhaps have it on it's side against the tank wall with the anachris inside it.