I have a baby water turtle, the water is getting so much algae, can I put an algae eater in there?

Question

I am worried the turtle will try to eat it if I do. Would a snail be better? What is the best way to keep the tank cleaner from the algae?

Answer 1

The turtle will eat a snail and the algea eater. They love live food. You need to clean out the water regularly and get a filter if you dont have one already. And don't use any algea killing chemicals as it can harm your turtle. How warm is the water? if you have a heater and keep the water warm algae will thrive. try bringing the temperature down enough that its not to cold but not really warm. 75 degrees F is the best temperature but they can be down to 70 if needed. If the tank is getting dirty because of food try feeding in a seperate container a rubbermaid tub will work. (remember they need water in order to eat) Just keep the tank clean by washing it down and refilling its hard work to keep up with but they need it in order to stay healthy. (I have feeder goldfish in my tank and they are to big and the turtles dont try eating them but they keep the tank pretty clean) Hope I helped good luck.

Answer 2

As long as the fish is bigger than the turtle, you'll be fine. Snails are good too. My turtle leaves the suckers alone for the most part and eats the snails. The snails only disappear once a month so it's no biggy. The snails also clean the shells of my turtles because my turtles don't kick them off. The best way, however, is to get a big filter. A fish filter meant for 3 times the size of your tank (a 50 gallon tank would need a 150 gallon fish filter) or a turtle filter work perfectly. Another thing that helps is to do 25% water changes every 3 days if you need to. Also make sure that you change the filter weekly. You can add a plant called Anacharis which eats the trutle poo and that's helpful. Be sure to take out all of the extra uneaten food daily. And you can add ZooMed's Repti-Safe which eats algea and does a whole list of good stuff for your tank. You can also add some Exo-Terra's Biotize which eats the feces and algea too. These are just some ideas but I have used all and a combination of several and my tanks are always extremely clean.

Answer 3

Algae is opportunistic, it grows well in home aquariums because it has no competition. If you plant some live plants it will choke out the algae. Make sure that the plant is not harmful to the turtle, fittonia grows well in moist soil, duck weed will choke out algae, and you can also plant different forms of ferns. Not only do they look nice, but they contribute to the natural environment.

If you would like to introduce a live animal, I would put in small snails, they reproduce rapidly and will eventually over take your tank if you don't keep an eye on them, but your turtle can safely eat them and they will live a long time and breed fast. They will only eat plant matter and do a very good job of controlling your algae issues.

Answer 4

Snails and Algae Eaters are OK, but won't eat very much. The turtle MIGHT eat them, but probably not (if it is a big snail).

The better answer is to rework your tank to keep the water cleaner.

Try http://www.austinsturtlepage.com for other hints.

Answer 5

Clean the tank more often.

Answer 6

clean the tank on a regular basis

Answer 7

yes as long as your tank has a pump or water flow.
mo