Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The paint from under my turtle dock comes off. I was scrubbing it to clean algae yesterday and a bunch of it came off so I stopped. I just recently bought a pleco and its favorite spot is under the turtle dock. He is able to suck the paint off. Should I remove the dock and scrub off the remainder of the paint?

I can't really answer this question because I am not getting my turtle dock till next week, but when I get it I will check it out and post again then if you like. If it is the same for mine I will scrub off the paint with a toothbrush. But I don't think it will be a problem right away since it will be brand new. I had a decoration of a cave in my tank when my turtle was a baby and as he aged so did the cave. One day I was scrubbing algie with a toothbrush and the cave had a huge white spot on it. I must have gotten down to the paint. Anyway that cave never "shed" until after years of being in that tank and my Binx doesn't seem to have been bothered by it lol. I think it's fine as long as there aren't paint chips floating around in there, but then again I could be wrong.

My turtle dock is fairly new as well. I've only had it for about a month. Anyways, the pleco doesn't seem to be sucking on it much now. It found the algae on the rocks.

Does anyone have a mystery snail in their tank? These things are great. They eat all the turtle poo. Does anyone know if their antennaes grow back because my turtle bit some of it off.

I used to have a mystery snail in the tank but it produced more waste than it cleaned up. The guy at the pet store told me(everything that starts out that way is a lie) that they would only eat algae...that thing ate whole leaves of lettuce, carrots and green beans, then it pooped everywhere. I donated it back to the pet store. I hope you continue to enjoy yours, but I do not remember mine fondly.

Nancy

What does snail poo look like?

Also, how big do they get. I hope he grows to the size of a baseball. And does anyone know what that extra limb it sticks out is? It seems to plant itself on a rock and stick it straight into the air. I think its a "male thingy" but I don't know. I know that snails are hermaphrodites though.

I always though Plecos were slow swimmers but mine seems to swim like lighting. How could it be turtle food? I've heard that some people have had their's eaten but I can't see anyway that the turtle can even keep up with it. Thanks for all the answers.