The spoon or other dulled steel sinkers is the norm for sinking large pieces of food. There's a corkscrew-looking device on the market that does the same as a spoon but, it's no improvement. Some wedged hard fruits can be nuked for 15-30 seconds, in a bowl of water, to expand and release enough trapped air/gas in the tissues to make them negatively buoyant (Yes, ...fruits breath).
Well worth the money? fly river turtle
- Thread starter lix.ma14
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What "hard fruits" do you feed your FRT? Yesterday I tried apples but there was no way it was going to sink. Kept it in the tank for an hour but it stayed perfectly afloat. these apples are definitely not dense enough to sink.
I meant apples and pears. Apples and pears respire. Apples breath by utilizing the spaces between cells to move O2 and CO2. Pears use a system of micro-canals to accomplish respiration. The key to making the fruit sink is to force the trapped air out so their mass becomes negatively buoyant. Some apple and pear varieties can simply be squeezed, under water, to expel enough air to cause them to sink. Varieties with harder fruit fibers can be nuked to force trapped air from their tissues. Did you try nuking them to get the fruit to release trapped gases? These fruits are like a buoyancy-control diving jacket in that you need to release air from the jacket to make yourself transition from positive buoyancy (floating) to negative buoyancy (sinking). Either nuke the fruit in water or place the fruit in water while still warm, from the trip in the microwave, to get the wedged fruit to sink. You'll have to experiment with your microwave to get the timing correct with no exploding fruit wedges since different microwaves have different wave propagation mechanics.
i tried carrots instead of apples. The apples I have just simply don't work no matter how much I try to sink them in a closed jar full of water. Tried to nuke them in the microwaves with no luck of sinking.
After a WC, today, my FRT hasn't nudged a bit. A bit worried that it has gotten stressed. I live in the great white north of Canada so the new water right now is around 1 or 2 degrees when i put it in the tank (of course mixed in with 60% old water from tank). how do I create the least stress possible? What happens when FRT's are stressed? I recall that they become extremely lethargic and don't eat. Just making sure.
After a WC, today, my FRT hasn't nudged a bit. A bit worried that it has gotten stressed. I live in the great white north of Canada so the new water right now is around 1 or 2 degrees when i put it in the tank (of course mixed in with 60% old water from tank). how do I create the least stress possible? What happens when FRT's are stressed? I recall that they become extremely lethargic and don't eat. Just making sure.
You can't introduce near freezing replacement water to a FRTs tank. An overall temp change of a few degrees will stress these turts and affect their immune systems, leaving them open for a fungal infection. I've always used 84F water to replace the siphoned off 84F water in my FRTs tank. Either match the water temps with a sink-to-hose adapter on the kitchen or bathroom sink or pre-condition your replacement water in a barrel with a heater and airstone running in it until the replacement water is up to temp.
Agreed. All water changes should be done with water of the same temp. You should be doing water changes like a reef tank. Get the water into a container and then get your salt added and mixed in then heat it all up to the right temp and then do your water change by taking water out and then add that new water back in. Always hold a little old water around in case you drain too much. I hope that poor thing does well at your home. Sounds like its a learning curve for you.
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Just stick a corn on the cob holder into the fruit and throw it in the tank or use a veggie clip to hold the fruit or vegetable. Check out some you tube videos for ideas.
IMO
Don't mind the tank parameters unless you tap water is crap. Just keep up on the water changes as you would with any fish. I don't ever test my water except when I am starting up a new tank. You don't need to make things complicated by testing water and trying to change it's properties. FRT's have been know to thrive in different pH environments for years.
I think the flaking of the shell has been covered but if not a couple of reasons it happens is moving from one environment to another which is what happened when you purchased it. Also large and long water changes can cause it. Try and make the water changes quick but keeping the temperatures the same. Stress is usually the factor in what is taking place with your frt.
I find that there is no need for salt in the tank but that's just my opinion.
Make sure the tank is big enough for an frt as they like to swim around. Activity can be all over the place. They can be active day or night or both. The like a place to hide when they are resting.
Substrate of sand is best for an FRT.
It will take a while to introduce new food to the frt if it was stuck on a high protein diet. Try and feed a varied diet but low on the protein. They will learn to eat floating pellets but sinking pellets works best with small frt's. Hard to feed floating pellets with overflows so sometimes a person is just stuck feeding sinking foods.
I would suggest from the looks of the shell is that the turtle was fed a high protein diet. Should come around in time and start to smooth out with a proper diet and other things which include but not limited to are calcium,lighting,vitamins and water.
Tie a big piece of cuttle bone to a rock and the frt will eat it which will help in it's calcium absorption.
I will add some more things when they come to mind.
IMO
Don't mind the tank parameters unless you tap water is crap. Just keep up on the water changes as you would with any fish. I don't ever test my water except when I am starting up a new tank. You don't need to make things complicated by testing water and trying to change it's properties. FRT's have been know to thrive in different pH environments for years.
I think the flaking of the shell has been covered but if not a couple of reasons it happens is moving from one environment to another which is what happened when you purchased it. Also large and long water changes can cause it. Try and make the water changes quick but keeping the temperatures the same. Stress is usually the factor in what is taking place with your frt.
I find that there is no need for salt in the tank but that's just my opinion.
Make sure the tank is big enough for an frt as they like to swim around. Activity can be all over the place. They can be active day or night or both. The like a place to hide when they are resting.
Substrate of sand is best for an FRT.
It will take a while to introduce new food to the frt if it was stuck on a high protein diet. Try and feed a varied diet but low on the protein. They will learn to eat floating pellets but sinking pellets works best with small frt's. Hard to feed floating pellets with overflows so sometimes a person is just stuck feeding sinking foods.
I would suggest from the looks of the shell is that the turtle was fed a high protein diet. Should come around in time and start to smooth out with a proper diet and other things which include but not limited to are calcium,lighting,vitamins and water.
Tie a big piece of cuttle bone to a rock and the frt will eat it which will help in it's calcium absorption.
I will add some more things when they come to mind.
You must provide either direct sunlight, foods containing vitamin D, or a supplement containing vitamin D in order for the FRT to be able to absorb calcium.
turtle is fine now. Swimming around and he ate carrots that I put in the tank. the tank is located right next to the window and I bought 2 large pieces of cuttlebone for the turtle. few days ago. to get vitamin D, does the turtle need to be in the "full blast" of the natural sunlight? My tank is located is located at the edge of a window so sometimes there is limited light that shines into the tank depending on the time of day and weather.
the days are getting shorter in Canada so there is less sunlight out. What foods with vitamin D is the best for the turtle? what supplement should I use? I feed my turtle talapia and zoo med turtle pellets that have vitamin D.
the days are getting shorter in Canada so there is less sunlight out. What foods with vitamin D is the best for the turtle? what supplement should I use? I feed my turtle talapia and zoo med turtle pellets that have vitamin D.
Like mentioned earlier, try adding cuttlefish bone into the tank. Keep offering the turtle pellets as well though. As for natural sunlight, putting it in another tank and placing the tank outside for at least an hour a week so that it gets unfiltered UVA and UVB. Having never kept a frt before though, I dunno if doing this will stress it out too much though and I can see it being harder since you live in canada but placing a heater in the tank while its outside should help. If anything, you should at least place a uv fixture above the tank that they sell for reptiles so that it'll at least get that. I've heard many reptiles do fine under those without ever getting any natural sunlight.
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