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Ok, I'm new to this website and forums but not new to owning and caring for an RES.

My RES is 17 years old (he'll be 18 years old in March) and I got him when he was 6 weeks newly hatched. I just discovered this site/forum today and have spent my entire Sunday reading so many posts... And I came across the fact that it looks/sounds like most of you guys have your aquariums set up with sand in the bottom.

Why?

I've never heard of such a thing, and my RES has had a gravel bottom for his entire 17 years of life, and it seems just fine. Is it just a personal preferrence? Is sand better than gravel- and if so how? What is the difference between using sand and using gravel?

Thanks in advance for any info, I'm intrigued! I must admit the pics I saw on the "Sand FAQ" thread were gorgeous, sand definitely looks a lot better than gravel.

the reason behind this is because there are some cases where gravel has cause a turtle to die. gravel can get stuck inside a turtle if they eat it. sand is so small that if they eat it it will pass through with no problems. the other option is to use large rocks too big for a turtle to eat. seems like you have had no problems tho. and in most cases i think sand looks better although it is very annoying to clean

If you were to take the gravel out of the tank, you'll probably see him poop it out.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12532

this tells you everything about gravel. and the dangers.

untsmurf wrote:

I found this picture on a veterinary website (http://www.emersonanimalhospital.com/610777.html), it is an x-ray of turtle that decided to eat gravel. All the white spots are individual pieces of gravel. This is what happens when you put gravel in your tank. Most turtles eat it and most owners don't think their turtles are eating it. Why take the risk?

I think that is the scariest picture from that thread. Poor turtle.

Trevor's_Mom wrote:
Thanks in advance for any info, I'm intrigued! I must admit the pics I saw on the "Sand FAQ" thread were gorgeous, sand definitely looks a lot better than gravel.

You could also try some large river rock as another option.

Sand looks cool but requires a bit more work then river rocks when you first buy it. But after that you rarely have to clean it.

Yes, I agree you rarely have to clean it after. I think it works well. You obviously don't have to move it to clean it like river rocks. I guess in the end its up to what you would rather clean and what you think would be easier.

I have sand for the base layer in my tank with med. sized river rock in mine. Its simple to clean with a reg. gravel vac. The rocks are small enough that the turtles can dig in it, but they can't eat them.

Thanks for the advice...keep it coming!

For now, we've removed all the gravel, and I must say I'm not missing it at all, and I don't think Trevor is either. I do think it looks like of boring having nothing, so I'm exploring the many options available when it comes to decorations. And as far as a substrate goes, I'm leaning towards sand, but am going to take my time to decide on that too.

Yeah looking at rangers bare bottom is kinda blah but it does not bother him and makes my life easier!

Interesting tidbit... We removed all the gravel- all of it... And guess what was in the bottom of the aquarium yesterday?

You got it- gravel. 6 small rocks, obviously passed by Trevor, coming out in the enormous poop he just did. So there you go, proof is in the pudding as they say- he was swallowing it. Not in huge quantities, and he's been a pretty big RES for a while, at 17 years old he's about 9 or 10 inches in length (and FYI I say "he" and refer to Trevor as a male, but he's actually a girl RES. I just didn't know until he was 3 years old and laid eggs for the first time, and by then it was too late to change his name or get used to calling him a her. ) maybe more in length, its been a while since I measured, and the size of the gravel is relatively small that was in there, so he's probably been swallowing and passing for quite some time.

Thanks for all the tips, I'm so glad I found this site... There will never be gravel in any RES aquarium of mine ever!

Still on the fence about putting in sand... I do like how low maintenance having nothing is, LOL.

steve wrote:If you were to take the gravel out of the tank, you'll probably see him poop it out.

Yup, sure did. See above post. Would never have believed it if I didn't see it with my own two eyes.

I've also been trying to decide what to do with mine, i really like the sand pics in the sand faq thread but god i'd hate to put all that in and find out my turtle just wants to sit around and eat it all day lol. I've also been considering larger river rocks...i swear i spend more time thinking about what to do with cody's aquarium then i do with anything else lol

also good to hear Trevor is passing the gravel

Good to hear it's being passes. I'm also tempted to try the sand... it's looks very nice.