Fly River Turtle HELP

[Stickyricepaster]

Hi,

I've had my FRT for 6 months and he's about 7". I've kept him on the same diet as the previous owner and he's very active and seems stress free. For the past few weeks he's had bumps on his belly that look like white head pimples. He's had a few before that go away but there's a lot this time around. The bumps also seem to peel after a while. Has anyone had this problem before?

Other info:

In a 75G tank with a medium sized indo dat
constant 85 degree water
UV filter
2 x fluval filters
white gravel substrate
fed fruits and hikari food sticks (alternating days)

 

[lix.ma14]

fungus? Just a guess.

 

[strollo22]

Could be the gravel irritating the soft side of it's stomach. I would take the gravel out and go bare bottom for a while. If the problem disappears, just add sand instead.


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[Silent Bob]

Interesting. Oddball...paging Dr. Oddball.

Oddball is probably your best bet on here for an answer. He knows his FRT.

 

[Stickyricepaster]

I'm new to the forums. Is there a way of PM'ing Oddball? Or sending him the thread link? Thanks everyone.

 

[Oddball]

I didn't see any mention of pH or salt. These turts do better in high pH and, at least, slight brackish conditions. Those bumps on the plastron are fairly common to FRTs kept in fresh water. Basically, they rub the plastron on the substrate and get little nicks in the surface which fester a bit like zits. They'll go away on their own provided the turt is healthy and the water is kept clean. But, they'll disappear more quickly if kept in an elevated salinity.

 

[Stickyricepaster]

Thanks Oddball. PH is 7.5 and the water is slightly brackish. He does dig around in the gravel a lot more recently. I'll try removing the gravel for a bit. What substrate do you have? I've read FRT's don't like bare tanks.

 

[Oddball]

That should read; 'FRTs don't like clear bare-bottom tanks". If they get skittish, they'll bash themselves against a clear bottom tank trying to swim to the 'bottom'. I keep my FRT in a small mix of St John's River very round pea gravel and aragonite rice beads. But, there are alot of bare spots caused by the filter and FaRT. The tank sits on a cushion of green neoprene matting so he doesn't percieve the bottom of the stand as the bottom of the tank.
My FRT tanks have all been maintained with a pH of 8.0-8.2 (thanks to the aragonite). The bed of the Fly River is mainly limestone so, it's naturally a high pH.

 

[wednesday13]

Never had a frt, but i keep other softshell turtles and it sounds like it may be getting picked on by the dat. Ive had a similar situation with a spiney ss and a dovii cichlid. Try removing the dat and see if he heals. Its probably happening at night. Just a guess, im sure the shell is still pretty soft at that size and can easily be scraped or injured.

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[Stickyricepaster]

I'll look into a sand sub this weekend.

Can I also ask what you feed your FRT and how often? I was feeding him daily pellets when I had a silver arrow with him because he'd steal as much from the arrow as possible. He was shedding/peeling a lot which meant he might have been growing too fast so since I got rid of the arrow I've been alternating fruit and pellets. Come to think of it the change/lessening in feeding might be the cause of him rummaging through the gravel a lot more.