Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
Could anyone pass on info on how they maintain water quality for
matamata's? How do you constantly keep pH in the right range?
What is the best pH? How and what type of peat should one use
for conditioning?

Finally, are there better tropical fish to feed then others? or
other types of food. Thanks Seps

well there are several variables here.
you want the water in the (wide) range of about 5.6 - 6.0
to achieve this you basically have to add some acid to the water,
most fish stores (and internet fish sites) sell a product called "pH down" which is some acid (though i cannot find out which as of yet) which rediuces the alakalinity of the water.
It works but you need large qunatities.
some people also use tetra's "blackwater extract" whci is made for tetras and other amoazon fosh which prefer dark colored slightly acidic water.
years ago people used to use vinegar but there was some controversy over the potential danger osf so doing.
pH buffers are also availble to maintain a specific pH but i have never really found them to work well.
Most of the people i know who keeps matas use pH down and change the water frequnetly.

as the skin is sensitive to fungus and lesions quickly devlop into serious infections high water cleanliness standards are amust.
you might try a combination of power filters and canisters but really the best solution is a LARGE enclosure that holds a large volume of water which is changed frequnetly.

"Finally, are there better tropical fish to feed then others? or
other types of food."

as far as feeding goes the general thinking is that becasue of the specialized feeding technique used by this species it is best to avoid any fish with spiny projections or fins or any fish which can raise their dorsal fin when excited. this throughs out catfish and goldfish. Also thin bodied stremlined fish seem to work better. So various killifishes are popular as are "rosy red" gold fish with mata keepers.

I would recommned raising these yourself otr at least keeping them in a separet clean tank for aweek or so and feeding them well before using them as food for your turtles. Many bait stores and pet shops keep their "feeder" fish underfed and in dirty water.

some people have had success with feeding pre-killed or frozen fish or even earthworms but this is not the norm. Those that do, sneak in some turtle pellets into the fish before feeding Most seem to prefer to eat only live fish. Large numbers of small fish seem the best way to go.