General Care Discussion :: Is it true...?

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:14 am   Is it true...?

So, i've obsessedly posted several questions about my turtle dying. :P I don't know why it died but i found it upside down on the bottom of the tank. The other turtle seems kind of "Depressed" (YES, I know, they don't get depressed, but its the only word that sums up its behavior.)

My dad blamed the death on me having to change the tank's water 100% every month. I was kind of confused since the filter I use needs to be cleaned out once a month anyways, and by that time, the tank could be a little disgusting under the rocks. But my dad suggested that I only replace the water 50% at a time... I forgot his reasoning (something about air, or not.. idk), but it seems ridiculous.

Is this necessary? and my turtle's about 4.5 inches long.
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Post Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:32 am   Re: Is it true...?

While it is pretty crazy to say that you killed your turtle with 100% water changes (some turtle keepers never change the water, and have pretty much no filter :cry: ), it is best to do frequent small water changes. Something like 10-20% a week. That way, the beneficial bacteria that keep your water clean don't have to re-establish themselves every 100% water change. They get to keep their supply of food if you only replace 10-20% of the water, while you get rid of some of the other harmful things in water that simple bacteria don't get rid of.
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Post Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 1:33 am   Re: Is it true...?

"Depressed" is how a sick animal often acts. It might not be "mourning" but suffering the same illness (or poor husbandry?) as your other turtle.
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Post Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:05 am   Re: Is it true...?

@Caphits - Thanks! I definitely already do this. I actually do a cup or two every other day. Or sometimes 3 cups a week! But is it necessary to have the water settle over night whenever I do the 100% changes?

@zuse - I don't mean mourning. -_- At first, Melon (the alive one) had started to swim around the dead turtle (Kiwi) and poke or smell it. I know he's not really caring about Kiwi at all, but for some reason he seemed weird. He was totally fine yesterday when Kiwi was alive.
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Post Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:08 am   Re: Is it true...?

-also! Should I change the water since a dead turtle's been in it..?
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Post Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:58 am   Re: Is it true...?

Zova Dot wrote:-also! Should I change the water since a dead turtle's been in it..?

Yes, do 100% water change
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Post Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:07 pm   Re: Is it true...?

the only time i've done a 100% water change since getting a decent filter and tank was when i moved a couple years ago...otherwise i do about a 50% water change or a little less every 6 months...i do add fresh water in every 2-4 weeks though due to evaporation...don't feel i need to do more cause the water stays crystal clear and my turtle seems happy an healthy...that said, i do have 1 turtle in about 80 gallons of water with a canister filter rated to do 350 gallons/hour (believe that's how it's measured, if not i'm sure someone will correct me)...now back when i had a 40 gallon tank with 2 full grown turtles and a crappy basic carbon filter that i paid about $30 for, i HAD to do complete water changes every month, cause everything was so mucky, but that environment was WAY too small for my girls...and yes, if a turtle had died in the tank i would clean everything out real well....blek!!
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Post Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 12:49 am   Re: Is it true...?

LOL I'll get to it as soon as I can. Just curious - why would a dead turtle hurt the water enough to do a 100%change? O;
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Post Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 1:30 am   Re: Is it true...?

Because an aquarium is a closed system. The cause of death is unknown, so the water quality is unknown.
I am sorry for your loss, but...
I think this situation requires a little more attention than getting to it "when [you] can"
If there are other turtles in there, then in my opinion it should be a very high priority.
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Post Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:07 am   Re: Is it true...?

agreed...100%
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Post Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:13 am   Re: Is it true...?

The reason for doing a partial water change is to reduce nitrates. We add top off water to deal with any loss due to evaporation. People who usually do a 100% water change is for tank cleaning... IE improper or no filtration. Doing a 100% water change will not kill your nitrifying bacteria. There isn't much free floating bacteria in the water. Nitrifying bacteria attach to surfaces and colonize. The ONLY time there's a lot of nitrifying bacteria in the water is during the initial bloom when the water appears cloudy for a day or two. Once the bloom has occurred the bacteria will colonize on any surface.

How much water you need to change and how often depends on your nitrate levels. For the vast majority of aquariums, a 10-15% change monthly is appropriate.

When you do a 100% water change, the bio media in your filter is still wet and still contains almost all of your bacteria colony. Unless the bio media dries out for an extended period of time, you will not kill the nitrifying bacteria.

A dead turtle will begin to release ammonia into the tank. Also as Penelope mentioned... if there's something toxic in your water it's unknown at this point so best to drain the tank.
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Post Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 2:06 am   Re: Is it true...?

@penelope- thanks, but I really wish I knew what happened to that turtle.. I had a feeling there was something wrong with them, but I couldn't really figure it out. :( and since it died on its BACK and found at the bottom of the tank, do you think its more likely that it drowned? I did change the water.

@veipacray- Okayyyy sooo I know that ammonia isn't good but as for nitrate... Is that really a harmful substance, or only if the "colonizing" gets out of hand and say, overpopulates?? I'm still kinda confused.
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Post Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:32 am   Re: Is it true...?

Ammonia isn't alive so it cannot colonize or overpopulate. Ammonia is a chemical compound. At elevated levels it is poisonous to your turtle and to us.
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Post Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:35 pm   Re: Is it true...?

This may help. I just put VeipaCray through my own litany of ammonia-related questions.
Ignore the drama up-front - the ammonia/nitrate info of value to you starts around the end of the first page or top of the second page
There is a good explanation of the ammonia / nitrate cycle on the last page
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=32014
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Post Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 1:29 am   Re: Is it true...?

So I just get more confused as I read! But I do understand now that Ammonia helps Nitrites and then that helps Nitrate levels go up. And the good bacteria does too.

My question is if I do have a crappy filter (ReptoFilter) and I can't trade it for a different one yet, Should I continue with 100% changes? When does that bacteria bloom happen? I've been doing 100% changes every month now (forgive my ignorant nature) and every time, I don't think I've ever noticed "cloudiness". How about letting it "cycle"? Should I not do partial changes after a 100% change? Can I also wash the tank before adding in the water after 100% changes? AHHH SO MANY QUESTIONS. D;
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