JEAE21;1183177; said:
If I was unable to properly care for my fish, I would give them away to people that could. Why must you continue to house your turtles with your fish when you know that it's harmful to the fish?
Feces and Carbon
- Thread starter JEAE21
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If I was unable to properly care for my fish, I would give them away to people that could. Why must you continue to house your turtles with your fish when you know that it's harmful to the fish?
If the turtles poop is making the water cloudy then it means that your filtration is inadequate and you need a lot stronger filtetration if this is an established tank we are talking about.
What type of turtle/s and fish do you have in the tank and how many? What are the measurments of the tank (length, width & height)?
How often do you do water changes and how much do you take out on average plus do you use dechlorinator? How often do you clean the filter/s in the tank and what type of filtration do you have plus how many gallons/litres does it claim to filter up to?
Turtle's are predators of fish, however if yours are living in harmony with the fish, even though its risky its not the biggest concern you have to face right now.
Turtles produce a lot of poop and are messy eaters, and often put too much of a strain on the bioload on standard fish tank filters.
Does this tank have a UV/sun lamp and land for for the turtle to sun bath on or anything like that?
What type of turtle/s and fish do you have in the tank and how many? What are the measurments of the tank (length, width & height)?
How often do you do water changes and how much do you take out on average plus do you use dechlorinator? How often do you clean the filter/s in the tank and what type of filtration do you have plus how many gallons/litres does it claim to filter up to?
Turtle's are predators of fish, however if yours are living in harmony with the fish, even though its risky its not the biggest concern you have to face right now.
Turtles produce a lot of poop and are messy eaters, and often put too much of a strain on the bioload on standard fish tank filters.
Does this tank have a UV/sun lamp and land for for the turtle to sun bath on or anything like that?
I wanted to add some additional information regarding the nature of the stuff that the turtles are discharging into the aquarium. Most animals have a particular chemical that they excrete which represents the breakdown of proteins. For humans it is urea, for fish, ammonia and for birds and reptiles (such as turtles), it is uric acid. Actually, turtles excrete both uric acid and urea...the white material you refer to is probably uric acid. First, I don't believe that activated carbon will bind and remove uric acid. However, if left alone, uric acid will be converted to ammonia (same thing that fish excrete) by common bacteria and will then enter the aquarium nitrogen cycle. The probem is the effect of this acid upon the chemistry (pH)of the aquarium water and in particular, the effect upon the delicate membranes of the fishs' gills. Uric acid is a weak acid but can be quite caustic in concentrated form....certainly sufficient to burn through the clear coat of an automobile finish if not removed. I would keep an eye on this and perform more frequent water changes and aquarium maintenance.
brianp;1184794; said:I wanted to add some additional information regarding the nature of the stuff that the turtles are discharging into the aquarium. Most animals have a particular chemical that they excrete which represents the breakdown of proteins. For humans it is urea, for fish, ammonia and for birds and reptiles (such as turtles), it is uric acid. Actually, turtles excrete both uric acid and urea...the white material you refer to is probably uric acid. First, I don't believe that activated carbon will bind and remove uric acid. However, if left alone, uric acid will be converted to ammonia (same thing that fish excrete) by common bacteria and will then enter the aquarium nitrogen cycle. The probem is the effect of this acid upon the chemistry (pH)of the aquarium water and in particular, the effect upon the delicate membranes of the fishs' gills. Uric acid is a weak acid but can be quite caustic in concentrated form....certainly sufficient to burn through the clear coat of an automobile finish if not removed. I would keep an eye on this and perform more frequent water changes and aquarium maintenance.
Yep, I can confirm that. The white stuff you see is indeed crystallized uric acid. pH will go down over time and harm your fish.
Oh, and while I did lol, I was not kidding about the 100% water change. The vast majority of the bacteria SHOULD be attached to surfaces (in your filter, substrate & etc.) so the 100% water change should be no problem.
Now, I doubt you will do it, but I am in complete agreement that you should not keep turtles with your fish (or fish with your turtles) in an aquarium. In a pond they go much better together, but that is a bigger area to disperse the turtle waste. You may choose to ignore all of the advise given to you on this and other threads, but it begins to beg the question as to why you are asking for advice if you refuse to act on the advice given. Perhaps you will simply do what you want regardless.
Now, I doubt you will do it, but I am in complete agreement that you should not keep turtles with your fish (or fish with your turtles) in an aquarium. In a pond they go much better together, but that is a bigger area to disperse the turtle waste. You may choose to ignore all of the advise given to you on this and other threads, but it begins to beg the question as to why you are asking for advice if you refuse to act on the advice given. Perhaps you will simply do what you want regardless.
Merbeast;1185215; said:Oh, and while I did lol, I was not kidding about the 100% water change. The vast majority of the bacteria SHOULD be attached to surfaces (in your filter, substrate & etc.) so the 100% water change should be no problem.
Now, I doubt you will do it, but I am in complete agreement that you should not keep turtles with your fish (or fish with your turtles) in an aquarium. In a pond they go much better together, but that is a bigger area to disperse the turtle waste. You may choose to ignore all of the advise given to you on this and other threads, but it begins to beg the question as to why you are asking for advice if you refuse to act on the advice given. Perhaps you will simply do what you want regardless.
Yes, I too find it odd that this individual continues to ask for advice that he will not take. In another thread, he assured us that he will not keep turtles together with fish, yet here he is affirming that he does in fact keep the two together.
fine i'll take the advice from now on..I'm thinking if I don't do that people won't reply to my questions..
i won't add any tropical fish..just feeders.
The tank is not quite established yet..
no substrate either.
it's a 40gallon breeder tank.
it is filled up to 11"(out of 16")
Had a aquaclear filter running but now I changed it to a whisper 40i. I also have a zoomed501 but I havn't opened it yet..
I am thinking of getting a XP1 but have been getting info that they don't work too well in turtle tanks unless I get a powerhead.
I wanted to experiment with my Dad's eheim but I don't think I can do that..
zoomed large floating dock is in it, and I have a heat lamp(i almost never have it on) and I took out the UVB light because my turtle won't bask(even when I had the heat lamp). I take him out for 15minutes everyday.
I do 1 gallon water changes everyday.. did a 70% water change last week and the water is starting to clear up.
if I wanted to keep my turtle with fish, I "can" put him in the pond but i'll probably lose him. I actually wanted to see him 24/7.
thanks or the advice and I WILL follow them from now on
i won't add any tropical fish..just feeders.
The tank is not quite established yet..
no substrate either.
it's a 40gallon breeder tank.
it is filled up to 11"(out of 16")
Had a aquaclear filter running but now I changed it to a whisper 40i. I also have a zoomed501 but I havn't opened it yet..
I am thinking of getting a XP1 but have been getting info that they don't work too well in turtle tanks unless I get a powerhead.
I wanted to experiment with my Dad's eheim but I don't think I can do that..
zoomed large floating dock is in it, and I have a heat lamp(i almost never have it on) and I took out the UVB light because my turtle won't bask(even when I had the heat lamp). I take him out for 15minutes everyday.
I do 1 gallon water changes everyday.. did a 70% water change last week and the water is starting to clear up.
if I wanted to keep my turtle with fish, I "can" put him in the pond but i'll probably lose him. I actually wanted to see him 24/7.
thanks or the advice and I WILL follow them from now on
A higher level of water circulation and way over sized biofiltration will help keep the white discoloration down, It will also cut down on ammonia spikes that are likely with this kind of contaminant. Make sure you clean out the feces as soon as you can.
