Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I have a red-eared Slider and all was fine with him until recently. All of a sudden, it became very hard to keep his tank clean. Within a couple of days of changing the water, it would get first really cloudly and then dark green and start to smell pretty bad. I've tried Turtle Clean and Algae reducer but they don't help (the tank is not in direct sunlight so it wouldn't be algae).

It's a 10-gallon tank with a Fluval 2 filter, which should be more than strong enough to keep this water clean. I had a Fluval 1 when this started happening so I upgraded to a Fluval 2 but the same thing is happening though it takes a few more days to get dirty than it did with the Fluval 1.

I've tried using different amounts of water, adding more or less rocks, and nothing seems to change the situation. I'm getting desperate because it's very time-consuming to clean this tank so often and I'm running out of ideas. Could he be sick? He seems fine and eats normally so no signs of that. Any suggestions from anybody? Thank you for your help!

Cliff

You didn't mention the size of your turtle but unless it is
a hatchling your tank is way to small. I am suspecting that
the turtle is at least 4". I would first buy a much larger
aquarium. Then purchase the best and biggest filter you can
that is compatible with the new size of your aquarium. Also,
how much and what are you feeding the turtle. I suspect there
is overfeeding going on. Turtles are incredibly dirty and
keeping up their tank is necessary to keep them healthy.

Give some specifics on size, what you are feeding, lighting
etc.

Linda

Oh yeah, one more thing. Get rid of the rocks, it only helps
to muck up your tank.

So what would you use instead of rocks???

I know it doesn't look as nice but it keeps the water much
cleaner.

Linda

Thanks for the reply. You are right that he is about 4" in size but, unfortunately in a NYC apartment, there's physically no room for a larger tank. He seems happy enough and I take him out to walk around or swim in the bathtub in an attempt to make it up to him...!

In terms of feeding, I don't think I overfeed him, I give him some pellets and lettuce or shrimp treats -- about the size of his head, every other day, what I read was correct so it doesn't seem like too much. In terms of light, I have a UV light over the tank that I leave on for him for basking at different points throughout the day and he seems to like that.

The strange thing is that I haven't changed anything in terms of feeding or light that could have started this dirty tank problem. It just happened all of a sudden and hasn't stopped. Do I just need a stronger filter? It seems like a Fluval 2 would be enough for this size tank. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Cliff

Cliff,

I am sorry but you NEED to upgrade the tank. Even if you
get a 20 gallon long aquarium it would certainly help not
only with the dirty water but with the overall health and
wellbeing of the turtle. Not to hurt your feelings but
this is like living in a prison for your turtle. These guys
are active and like to swim and it you don't have the room
for a proper set-up for a 4" RES what are you going to do as
it grows. Mine are 7 years old and are 8-9" long and weigh
about 3 pounds. I have a 120 gallon aquarium for them now
and even it seems small.

You sound like a caring pet owner but you need to do some
serious research on these guys. If you can't provide your
pet with clean water and a roomy enclosure you may need to
rethink it. The turtle may not be eating simply because
it is not happy in it's environment. Environment is everything
to these guys, from clean water to a proper basking sight and
everything in between.

Please get this guy a bigger enclosure equipped with the
appropriate lighting. I think then your other problems will
disappear.

Linda