Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
I just just wondering... I noticed an oily film on the top of the water... is that harmful to the turtles? I bought an air/water pump type thing and aimed it at the top of the water, but maybe I need to raise it higher so it really hits the surface.
Thanks for the help!
Jodi

i'm pretty sure that the 'oily' film is from the pellets you have been feeding the turtle. for some reason the pellets give off an oily film that seems to float on the water for awhile, ad as far as i know, it is NOT harmful to the turtles...

however, if you are NOT feeding your turtles any pellets... i have NO clue what could be causing the oily film!

good luck and i hope this helps
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~ Evie

Pets:
RIP 0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger & Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.2 Snail {Gary & Larry}

what kinds of turtles, how big is the tank, what kind of filter do you have, how big are the turtles? all these could help determine what is going wrong.

Brian

Hi again, to answer your question, I have 2 RES in a 40 gal feeder tank, they have a fluval 304 filter and the turtles are about 4-5 inches long. Like I said I have a pump type thing in addition to the filter to help circulate the water as well. The tank has river rocks and some other large rock type things for them to lean on when they are tired of swimming. I just added a large basking ramp as they have outgrown their first basking ramp and basking dock.

Thanks for the help!!

i like to use whisper filters. they seem to work the best for me and i like to keep the water as deep as possible for the turtles anyway. sometimes i will have the water up to the trim on the tank and will not use a screen. sometimes they try to escape nut i put a critter keeper with paper towels down to catch them. i did read a forum thign about some people praising the fluvals. if it is not getting any worse i wouldn't worry. good luck.

Brian

Thanks very much for the help, hopefully it gets better!

That film can usually be attributed to a build-up of proteins from excess nutrients and waste. This is not uncommon, but can be hard to treat. One suggestion is to do exactly what you did, add an airstone or pump to disturb the water surface. It can break up the film and the tank looks better, but the water still isn't balanced correctly. Another thing to consider with a turtle tank, is that many species don't like high water flow.
I would closely monitor the feeding and make sure the turtles aren't eating too much or leaving excess food to settle in the tank. You may also consider adding cories, or another type of small catfish to naturally remove the left-over food and waste.
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2.1.0 water dragons, 2.2 crested geckos, 0.0.3 turtles, 1.0.0 5-line skink, 2.0.0 anoles, 0.0.1 giant millipede, 1.0.0 uromastyx, 1.0.0 armadillo lizard, 1.0.0 veiled chameleon, 1.1.0 bearded dragons, 1.0.0 pictus gecko, 1.1.0 CA banded gecko, 1.0.0 Hondo, 1.1.0 corns, 1.0.0 dog, 1.1.0 cats, 0.1.0 wife, 2 SW tanks - 20H, 55