Jordan
My WP love to play in bubbles. When he was little like yours I had a power filter that worked pretty good for him because he was small & so was his tank. When he grew he moved into a larger tank & got a canister filter so his bubbles were gone. He'd go to the end where the bubbles were supposed to be & he'd look so disappointed & then he'd stare at me.
I felt so guilty I went out & bought an air pump with an air stone & made bubbles for him. lol
Now he has a Magnum 350 canister & it makes his bubbles so he's playing in those a lot when he's not basking.

Western painted also come from far West TX & we are in that area, although my guy was CB he still loves this warmer water. In the summer what little bit of water is here sometimes is warmer than 80 although but of course it wouldn't always be a particular constant temp.
I got to thinking maybe he likes his water that temp because the ambient temp of the house stays on the cool side. I don't like it too hot, it's hot enough outside, I don't want that inside. So in the winter I keep the heat a little low & in summer the air conditioner on most of the time. The A/C is on right now, I usually run it in day time at least up until Christmas. Most years by the time Christmas has passed it's not going to be needed again until March.
My mud turtle.. he like his temps about the same as the painted.
Who knows why the diff but I don't want him being sluggish & like yours Jordan, mine will hang out around the heater too if he's not warm enough. I don't want him to do that, I'm afraid if he touches it a lot he'll get burned. :-x
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PHRatz

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