Urgent Care :: White slimmy object occupying the inside of my glass tank

[MichaelChin]

So I have two turtles (male and female) under 5months old in a 10 gallon tank.

I have a H.O.T power filter 45 running 24/7. Water change (together with change of new foam pad) happens once every 2 weeks at 30-40%, and I pick up all the poops and left overs whenever I see them. I have UVB light running around 14-16 hours/day, and water temperature is kept at 18-21 degree celcius.

Lately, there seems to be some white objects forming on the side of my glass tank. I tried to brush them off but it forms again shortly after. I;m pretty sure there aren't much ammonia in the tank since I usually feed them in a separate container and pick up after them as much as I can. I need to know if those things on my wall are what is called the "beneficial bacteria".

Also, few weeks ago there was a power outage at my home and the water filter stopped running for about 3 hours. When the power came back on, I see worm-type organisms moving on the side of my tank. They are about less than 1cm long and destroyed as I touches them. Initially these organisms occupied all four sides of the tank, when the filter started to run again, it sucked them all in and persumebly died. I've never seen those things since, but I'm afraid that these worms are coming back.

Anyone had similar problem before? What should I do?

Thanks a bunch!!

[scottpkura]

Is the foam filter the ONLY media in your filter? If so then every time you throw it away and replace it you're throwing away the good bacteria colonies.

And your tank is too small for two turtles. The Bio load on the filter and water has to be pretty high.

Additionally with such a small tank you might want to consider changing the water more frequently, but at 10%-15%.

Additionally at 21 degrees C you are also too cold for your turtles. At five months old your turtle could still somewhat be considered a hatchling. You need to Keep the water somewhere between 24-26 degrees C. This will reduce the chances of the getting sick and might keep those worms at bay.

[SpotsMama]

White things are probably planaria - a type of worm. They are harmless in themselves but are symptoms of too much uneaten food in the water or water that isn't clean. Here's a link on them and a suggestion as to how to treat them in a fish tank:

http://www.aquariumfish.net/information ... ble_p2.htm

[MichaelChin]

thanks so much guys!!! on behalf of my turtles....