Habitat - Indoor :: A few questions and issues

[preitmeyer]

Hey all,
I've had two Red Eared Sliders for about a year now, they're both around 6inches in Carapace Length (getting big) and both female. I recently got a wide-footprint 90Gal tank for them (upgrade from their 30 gallon which was way too small for the both of them). The 90Gal has the works:
Cork Bark basking area (they love it)
Mid-Tank drift-wood resting spot (its huge)
1x Fluval 305 Fiter
1x Fluval 205 Filter
2x Halogen Full Spectrum lamps
2x 300watt water heaters (its around 77degrees farenheit)
River-Rock substrate
and the tank is filled up about 80% of the way.

My first question is, my second turtle (named kitty) is shedding a little bit, and Im not sure why this time, before it was water temperature issues and bumping the temp up to about 79degrees cleared it up, but what are other common issues for shedding? Keep in mind Kitty is the submissive turtle, and she doesn't make as many "kills" as my other turtle (named puppy), so she may be a bit mal-nurished or have dietary issues. She doesn't eat leefy greens at all, but a good worm usually brightens her day, and she has probably about 50% of her diet from "Monster Diet for Aquatic Turtles".

My second question is, I added a bunch of fish to the tank to help clean up after the turtles and to also give them something to chase in their new tank for exercise. I saw penty of posts on getting Large Pleco's for cleaning the tank (which is big enough for a pleco or even two), so I got one that was about 4 inches long. It was sadly eatten by the extremely agressive turtle (puppy) in a matter of about 15 minutes which saddened me greatly, as it looked like a cool fish. If nothing else it provided nurishment to both turtles (they each took half). I was wondering what others were doing to basically feed their turtles, as well as what types of cleaning fish people were using on more "juvenile" turtles such as mine, I know they are more carnivorous in their younger years, but both turtles hate leaves, lettuce, carrots, and basically any other vegitable. Any suggestions aside from feeder fish and worms (and 20$ plecos)?
Thanks
-Paul

[VelvetAlley]

Hey ya Paul, welcome aboard the boards!

Sounds like a really nice set up you have for your turtles. I'm not sure how the female/female relationships effect nutrition. I am willing to bet 20 bucks the first 2 posts suggest feeding them in seperate feeding tanks. This would ensure that each turtle is getting her share of the meal. (I won my bet, now where's my money?)

The pleco thing is a bit of a mystery to me. I was told by supposedly clueless petstore people that certain fish which are meant to be pets are given certain kinds of medications and are not suitable as food. I guess that means the rosey red's I buy don't have this same treatment. I have no idea how people can get their turtles to not attack pleco's. I can buy 20 rosey reds and they will all be eaten in 5 days max. I do understand that Rosey's can be good at eatting the debre that floats around in the dead spots. Perhaps if you're willing to keep stock piling fish it wouldn't be a problem.

Shedding. Beats me whether that has to do with nutrition or not. I interpret it as growth spirts. My turtle did it alot as a juvinelle. I'm going to hit Submit now and see what others have said!

BTW, we'd love to see some pictures of your set up!

Blessings,

[focus12221]

I agree with Branden, not only is a separate tank a good idea to make sure both are fed, it will also keep the tank sooo much cleaner, just leave them in there for a half hour after they eat. (some turtles are longer, some are shorter, but mine is done eating and disposing after about 40 mins)

Good luck,

[Vivi]

i would agree feed them in a separate container. that way one cannot bully the other one around and you would make sure that both are eating.

you said that they will not eat veggies. IMO just keep on offering them veggies. sooner or later they are going to eat it. try not to feed them a lot of fish or worms (too much protein) because that will start them to pyramid .

ohh and welcome to the forum.

[preitmeyer]

Everyone,
Thanks a ton for the posts. I do have my old tank now which I do use as a separate feeding tank. Before I would split them up (put one in the sink) while the other eats. Feeding them pellets never seems a problem if they're both in the tank together. I have recently taken photos of their new tank and set-up, I'll post them shortly. I purposefully bought fish that they cant really catch (Bala Sharks and Danio's are really fast) so they just chase them a bit and get exercise. My issue currently is power, I cant power both tanks at the same time due to a small 20Amp circuit where they are located, so I'm getting that fixed, its just going to cost me $800 for an electrician to put in a new circuit . It hurts a bit after you spend over $1500 for a full set-up like what I have. I usually only split up the turtes while feeding them worms or other protien in their diet. I think I'll add some aquatic plants for them to help with the vegitable lack in their diet as well. I'll post picks soon. Thanks a lot guys
-Paul

[TAHNEE]

You don't need to power the other tank if its just for feeding. Thats all its for, right??

[emma]

Nope.

[preitmeyer]

Here's a pic of the tank setup.
And I need to keep the filter running on the other tank so it doesnt get stagnant, plus the heater needs to be on as well as the tank is in the basement.

[Vivi]

well heres my opinion when feeding outside the tank. you dont necessarily need to feed your turt in a tank. go out and buy yourself one of them plastic tubs. i wouldnt put a heater either because your turt isnt going to be in there for a long time.

what i do is just put normal tap water (warmer than his tank) and put him in there and feed him.

[emma]

Thats exactly what i do and it works great.

[steve]

If Kitty is shy, she might not take to a separate feeding container. You can feed her in the main tank while the other turtle is out. Instead of using a separate feeding container, I would just have an empty container and take the one that you're not feeding and put her there. It doesn't help your water quality, but it will save the trouble of daily refilling/emptying containers.

If you do use it a feeding container, you can use tap with the temp roughly the same as the tank water.