JacobAndBri

Here are the links to my first and second posts about Rips enclosure for those who may want to see how it has evolved. Update on the shedding: after almost a month, the shedding had gone down substantially. I also made some changes to the husbandry going on with lighting, diet etc. FIVE MONTH UPDATE! 🐢 The lighting has proven to be the biggest issue I faced to ensure that Rip was as happy as possible. I switched from the first lamp that featured two bulbs together that were not adequate - to two deep domes with a UVB bulb that was too intense. This caused little Rip to hide away because it could have felt like getting a sunburn for him 😞 I changed to a long, Reptisun T5HO UVB bulb which required a screen to be adapted so that the light could rest on it. I maintained the heat bulb in a deep dome alongside the UVB bulb. I came across some issues with blue-green algae. I added a UV In-Line Filter to my Fluval canister filter. This cleared up all the blue green for a couple of months. The blue green has recently returned and requires some mixing up of the substrate, brushing the glass and some elements like the heater. We will see how that one progresses. I created an above water basking area after seeing my turtle climb up onto the filter cover. Straight up free soloing it. I've included a picture for laughs about how he truly does enjoy messing with me. I used a plastic plant pot as a leg/column to the basking area, that I cut a tunnel through for some coverage. I then cut a piece of thick acrylic for the flat landing. I cut edges to go around so that the dry sand I put up there would stay put. I also attached some of the quilting material that Rip proved to like climbing up. He needs to be convinced to climb up but, we will see if he gets more comfortable. Rip also got roommates! After months of staring at my boyfriends community tank beside him, we decided to put two of the male White Cloud Minnows to Rips enclosure. This was partly for enrichment and partly because there were too many males stressing out the females in the community tank. Rip was... unimpressed but he does seem happier. One fish actually tail slapped him and he did not even care. The next plan in the coming weeks is to start making gelatin smoothie bites for Rips food. He is the pickiest eater alive and to ensure he gets all of his vitamins, minerals and a well balanced diet - I'm going to have to get creative. I plan to mix some mineral and vitamin powders with a chunky smoothie of sweet potatoes, mangoes, dandelion greens, red leaf lettuce and whatever else I can get him to appreciate! All organic, because he's a mess.

Hi all, I will include my first post before I received the new baby. When I got my Three Striped Mud, I guessed that he was around 6 months old. I've had him since January 13th. Since my first post, I've made the following updates: Removed many elements (rocks, plants, floating dock) to "babyproof" as the curious guy was shoving himself into tight spaces as he explored. Lowered the water level to around 3-4 inches, moved some sand around to create shallow water areas. Added a new filter, Fluval 207 canister filter. Put a closed cage around the intake of the canister filter to ensure one of his limbs didn't get stuck in the slots. Then! I started to notice some shedding. Although shedding is normal, the shedding seemed a bit excessive? Some reasons for excessive shedding include poor husbandry (lights, water, overfeeding), overheating, vitamin A deficiency or excess, fungal infection and a few others. To change the tank up to help remedy this, I did the following: Lowered the heater a bit to go from around 81, to around 78/79. Replaced my lighting (the ZooMed Dual Mini/Compact Lamp does not supply adequate UVB), with two deep domes and 25+watt bulbs with both UVA/UVB and IR heat I plan to change his feeding to be less - once a day, only what would fit in his hollow head I did a short carrot juice soak, to address vitamin A, as he refuses to eat veg. It seemed to bother him, so it was less than 10 minutes and the juice did not exceed the rim of his shell. Does this shedding of his skin around his neck and head look too excessive? Do you guys have tips and tricks to get the babe to eat his vegetables? I included some pictures of the new setup and tried to get a good one of his shedding on both sides of his head. The skin is translucent out of the water and only seems flappy when he's underwater. Thanks all!

@HydraSlayer thank you! will do. This is all before the actual animals are in there so, glad I have time to get it stable and adjust.

@HydraSlayer my KH could definitely be higher, so I'll work on that. Will the alkalinity effect the Endlers much, ya think?

I'm getting a Three Striped Mud Turtle.

@Mmiller2001 How often are you feeding those things? Are you ever ending up with "leftovers" in the tank?

When doing my research on substrates, It seemed to me like sand was a better option than gravel or smallish rocks. Not using small (but not too small) rocks came down to the cost. Bare tanks just don't suit me for various reasons. I will definitely be happy to adjust things as needed. I'm ready to adapt the tank to my turtles personalities, habits etc. More committed to the turtle being happy rather than my aesthetic being on point. Hopefully my feeding schedule and the sphagnum moss I have, will both deter the babe from eating things they shouldn't. Thanks for the tips and background!

Interested to hear what your Crystal Shrimp feeding schedules look like? Recently got some Crystal Reds and would love to see them happy and reproducing! Currently have an algal bloom, so was waiting a bit to see how they worked on that, but have also added some krill flake and zucchini at times. Are they able to sustain themselves fairly well? Or do they need to be supplemented pretty regularly?

Glad this discussion is here! Such good ideas. I'm glad to see more people running on the philosophy of, if I don't have to purchase something and can make it with stuff I have, I'll do that. Especially when it comes to little connectors or plant wranglers. We have used the plastic bags from plant orders or fish purchases etc. to use for cleaning out filters. If we don't want to muck up the water, we put the bag in the tank, put the filter in, rinse and squeeze it in that, then replace it into the tank. Reusing to store random pieces of tubing, suction cups, etc. also helps keep your space tidy. Having bits of extra sponge or media around has helped me alot in the turtle tank. Needed to modify the hang on back filter so that the input wasn't so noisy, used some foam replacements that came with a matten filter to dampen the flow.

That's what I'm currently going to try out in my turtle tank. I have sand for a substrate and the two plants I use them for are a Red Tiger Lotus bulb and some Brazilian Pennywort. I'm adding Easy Green and root tabs. Another idea is maybe adding a plant weight to the bottom of the slotted pots and adding more substrate so that they can be buried in the slotted pots. There is the fussier idea of putting a sort of cage or net along the bottom of your tank, planting, then adding more substrate above that. Good luck!

I'm going to have a little Three Striped of my own soon! Would love any tips! How long have you had Winston?

Ahhh yes, the hydra. Cool to watch at first, then too much. We have an indoor pond that is currently Hydra"R"Us. At first when they showed up in our tank room, we used Benibachi Planaria Zero. We researched it as a shrimp safe option. It took out allll of the snails in that tank and made it hard for them to be in there for a while, despite water changes. Then, they were in one tank that was already planned to be transitioned out. So, when we cleaned everything out, we let everything air dry, bleached and did so many rinses. That has been the protocol for anything we use in the pond too. The thing with hydra that got us is watching them "sting" other inhabitants. As with any medications, follow those directions to the T.

Hi all, I am about to be a new turtle mama. In the research I've done, people don't seem too caught up into the water parameters for turtles. It seems that temperature is the main concern there. I understand that turtles create alot of waste and need high filtration but the NERM in me needs more information! The Setup: 20g long tank, filled with about 4 inches of water. Filtration is an AquaClear hang on back thats rated for 70-80 gallons. Heater is set to 78 but is adjustable. Dual basking lamp using ReptiTuff and ReptiSun bulbs. Substrate is sand, some sphagnum moss and leaves that I boiled. LOTS of terrestrial plants as well as Brazilian Pennywort and a Red Tiger Lotus in those good good planter rocks. Hardscape was collected from a nearby creek, but washed and boiled. So far some unidentified (probably pondies) snails have been established and I plan to introduce an Endler trio. I am adding Easy Green and some root tabs on occasion. My Current Water Parameters: (Using AquariumCoOp Test Strips) pH: 6.8 GH: 300 KH: 80 Nitrate: 10 Nitrite: 0 Ammonia: 0 I know that my water is pretty hard (probably from the rocks?) but, didn't figure that was anything too concerning. Am I wrong? I know to monitor my pH, especially for the fish. Any other thoughts on water parameters for turtle tanks? My only other question is, do you guys think its possible that my leaves/botanicals could lead to any fungal infections or issues? There is some mulmy, kinda clear algae on some that I've seen. Thank you!