Habitat - Indoor :: Hi, new at this

[alli_noelle]

hi. i posted already in the general chat, but in the space of a few minutes, ive managed to think of some new questions!

1. are small stones ok to use in an aquarium? not the ones in fish tanks, because they could be ingested

2. cleaning. how many times a week/month should the tank be emptied, and thouroughly cleaned?

3. one or two turtles? obviously of the same size and breed.

thats it for now, but who knows, in another couple minutes...

[Safdar]

1. Make sure the stones are bigger than the size of your turtles head. I recomend getting smooth river rocks, alot of people use it and it looks really good. Small stones also lower the efficiency of your filter by trapping in left over food and poop.

2. How big is your tank? What kind of filter are you using? It depends on these factors, but most of the time if you have a filter that is rated 2x-3x times your tank size then partial water changes every week i think will be fine, and a full change every 2 weeks. But again it depends of your filter. If your filter is not powerful enough for your turtle then that means more frequent water changes.

3. The rule is 10G per 1inch of turtle. With keeping more than 1 turtle, there is always a chance that they will get agressive and in this situation they must be separated. Keep in mind that they will grow big and the bigger they get the more room they will need. Im not trying to discourage you.

[Tenodera]

Yea, what Safdar said. You beat me to it! LOL

Many people buy turtles as a pair, but you shouldn't get two. Usually they end up fighting one another and you'll have to get ANOTHER setup which costs double the amount of money. Also, it will still be doubled if you keep two turtles in a tank. Remember they get up to 12 inches.

[steve]

I don't agree on getting more than 1 turtle. See if you have the capacity to care for one first before buying another.

[Tenodera]

Since turtles cost 50 dollars here in Canada, you can't help it but buy one turtle.

[steve]

That didn't stop Jenaero!

[alli_noelle]

thanks everyone. turtles seem to be very expensive here...although i've never seen them before in a pet store (but very exciting!)

[untsmurf]

If you decide to put the rocks in your tank, it will make cleaning that much harder. You'll have to siphon the poo through the rocks and out of the water. I did it for a couple years, it's a real pain. Not having a substrate is much easier. Plus you can see how dirty it is without the rocks, which makes maintaining a clean tank even easier.