I recently learned that talpia fish are usually added to the water of captive hippos because they eat the hippo waste.
I have a 500 gal pond with koi and RES and a good filtration system and waterfall.
Has anyone heard of any fish/plant/insect or other that will help in getting rid of the turtle waste?
Thanks for any input
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RES waste
jackiefets
Oct 08, 2005 06:17 PM
Replies (16)
lauralyon
Oct 09, 2005 02:31 AM
youactually have koi and RES in the same pond without any problems??, damn, if i put fish any where near my turtles they eat them straight up! your koi must be far bigger than your RES's then??
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ntothed89
Oct 09, 2005 10:09 AM
i put my RES in my 3,000 gal. pond with my koi and when i came home my smallest koi (14" asagi) was gone. i learned my lesson.
jackiefets
Oct 09, 2005 12:22 PM
Yep-
My koi were there first and I put the turtles in when they were very small, so I don't think they know any better. Also the RES have not been fed live food, so maybe that helps.
reptileguy2727
Oct 10, 2005 12:54 PM
i havent had anything actually eat exclusively off turtle waste the way tilapia do. did you see that on animal planet's show about really good zoos like i did? anyways, soem things help. i kept a couple big crayfish in a turtle tank for a while. the turtles will eat them at some point or another, but while thay are there they do help keep the tank clean. i would assume they do the sam ein a pond. you could try a catfish that isnt so predatory(most are), if you can find one. it may be a native species that you will have to catch, but that could introduce lost of parasites, bacteria, and other diseases since its from the wild. so crayfish and maybe some sort of catfish.
lauralyon
Oct 11, 2005 09:13 AM
how likely are RES to eat plecostomus catfish?
you know, the ones with the sucking mouths that will eat the algae, the plecs are exo-skeletoned so have a slight armouring to them, i know these wouldnt eat the waste...but its one way to get rid of the algae isnt it!?
wot u fink?
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reptileguy2727
Oct 11, 2005 09:36 AM
its not an exoskeleton, they do have an internal skeleton like other fish, but they also do have armoring in the form of modified scales. it depends on how big the turtle is, what type, how big the pleco is, how well the pleco learns to move when the turtles are coming, how hungry the turtles are, all sorts of stuff. if you want to try it dont start with a small to grow up in your tank, he would be too small to make it more than a day or so. i dont like plecos because once they get past about 5-6" they produce so much waste that they arent worth the algae they eat. i have had many people come in to where i work with good sized plecos killed by medium to large cuchlids, actually a lady had that problem yesterday. so if a fish can take him out, a turtle could do it. you can try but get one at least about the size of the turtle, if your turtle is decent size that may cost a bit for the pleco.
southernpawsc
Oct 11, 2005 11:23 AM
I would leave the pleco out and try to control the reason for algae, instead of just the algae. I had a pleco that lived over 1 1/2 yrs w/ our RES. At times I would find the pleco and turtle fighting over food, the pleco swarming the turtle's head and back. The turtle coming at the pleco and taking the food away.
I had a lot of discussions about leaving them together, and the jist of them were that it was inevitable that the pleco would be mauled sooner or later. I was lucky enouhg to give it to the next door neighbors.
I wouldn't even try it.
Good luck.
lauralyon
Oct 11, 2005 02:12 PM
the reason for the algael growth is going to simpley be due to the UBV light that is in the tanks isnt it? the lights on for 12 hours a day so im assuming its that that causes the problems, but seeing as its a neccessity...theres nowt that can be done
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reptileguy2727
Oct 11, 2005 04:24 PM
if the nutrients are there, a trace of algae to start to grow is there, and there is at least a little bit of light, the algae will grow. i wouldnt say it is necessarily uvb, i have seen algae grow in far from full spectrum light environments. i would expect that different types of algae would use different parts of the light spectrum. i use a magfloat algae scraper for the algae on the glass and the goldfish keep the elgae on the decor under control. i prefer to have some green algae on decor, it looks better and does provide a little bit of benefit to the water and fish, not really to the turtles though.
southernpawsc
Oct 16, 2005 11:11 AM
I had replied to this the same day you asked, but the site froze & when I sent it, it was gone.
Anyhow, in addition to reptileguy's comment, I had said that keeping the tank near windows/sunlight (somewhat reiterates what he said) is also a common and large cause.
As r-guy also said about nutrients, the vet said that leaving any remaining food in the tank will increase algae growth.
I hate it when posts get lost!
mp
Oct 22, 2005 11:49 PM
I have this problem also. While in the pet store today I saw a liquid (forget the name) that you add to the water to help disintegrate the waste. Anyone ever tried this? I use mainly Reptomin sticks and scoop waste out asap but still have the slight cloudiness and awful smell even with a filter and no nearby sun.
reptileguy2727
Oct 23, 2005 09:51 AM
i have used turtle waste biodegraders and they dont make a noticable difference. my water is crystal clear and never has a smell. i have a whisper 5(they dont make it anymore but you can buy all the pieces online as replacement parts last time i checked) on a 40 breeder with a 4-5" common snapper, a 3" penninsula cooter, a 4" western painted turtle, and 4 3-4" goldfish. no liquid additives, rarely gravel vac, just change or rinse the filter cartridges as needed. adequate filtration will clean the tank for you. and before anyone tells me i shouldnt have a snapper in there, he is fine, never looks at the other turtles as anything besides tankmates. however i dont recommend keeping snappers with anything you dont want them to eat. i know the risks i am taking and i can change things as i need to.
mp
Oct 23, 2005 06:22 PM
Well, I've had my RES for a year and never had anything on the bottom of the tank, figuring it would be easy to keep clean. He's always had a feeder fish or two in there, would occasionally eat one. But the water is always cloudy, even with the Fluval. I've had fish aquariums for years with no problems, am I stupidly thinking that since turtles don't breathe in the water that they don't need the bacterial balance that fish do? So changing all the water weekly is what's messing the tank up so often?
reptileguy2727
Oct 23, 2005 06:45 PM
well the same good bacteria in fish tanks help in turtle tanks. think of a turtle like a very dirty, big cichlid that can better tolerate bad water condtitions. i only recommend fluvals and other canisters filters for high quality fish. whispers are much better and high output fish like cichlids and goldfish. i rarely change water, i usually just top it off and change/rinse filters as needed. try letting it go longer without changing the water and see how the water clears up. if ti doesnt i would assume your filtration is not adequate. i have heard other turtle people speak highly of fluvals so it would surprise me, but liek i said i have my confidence in whisper.
mp
Oct 23, 2005 09:25 PM
well, we've had breeding dempseys before so I know how they can be! I sure hope the filter is fine, otherwise I know why that pet store stays in business! I'll change some of the water and see how it goes. I cleaned the filter today and actually added some of that good old-fashioned fluff that I know is the only thing that gets those tiny particles, so we'll see what happens. I left my fireplace on low last night and he suddenly got active enough to eat all 4 of those feeders that he's ignored since April so that explains why he's not eating much today! thanks for your thoughts.
FloridaHogs
Oct 11, 2005 03:08 PM
Have you tried looking in the pond care section for a Bacterial Pond Clarifier?? It is a bacteria that breaks down organic pollution. I use Ecofix for my turtle tank. It is bascially the same thing that is sold at pet stores for turtle aquariums, but a lot cheaper. Just a thought.
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Jenea
1:3 Eastern Hognose
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