alage on back

[mattgrizzlybear]

My mississippi map had some alage on his back and i read that if you take a new toothbrush and scrub their back and it worked for a little bit but then i went on a 4 1/2 week trip and gave my turtles to my uncle to take care of my turtles and after i got them back squirt had his alage was gone, but they left colorless blotches on his shell! Is this even normal?? Thanks!

 

[jonathan512]

I use my plecos ,they clean my turtles from head to toe whether they like it or not lol

 

[wellington]

Do they have an appropriate basking bulb? I would think if they are basking enough, they wouldn't get algae.

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

Do they have an appropriate basking bulb? I would think if they are basking enough, they wouldn't get algae.

They have a regular spot light and they bask.

 

[wellington]

Poor water quality causes excess algae. Constant algae will cause shell rot. Normal basking should take care of a normal, small amount of algae. Check your water quality. Also check that you have a good enough and big enough filter to properly filter the aquarium. Also check that your aquarium is not over crowded. Turtles dirty water a lot faster then fish and should have an appropriate size filter, not for size of aquarium as much as for the inhabitants. If you have more then one turtle, make sure you have enough basking spots. One basking spot for 3-4 turtles is not enough, unless it is really big.

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

Poor water quality causes excess algae. Constant algae will cause shell rot. Normal basking should take care of a normal, small amount of algae. Check your water quality. Also check that you have a good enough and big enough filter to properly filter the aquarium. Also check that your aquarium is not over crowded. Turtles dirty water a lot faster then fish and should have an appropriate size filter, not for size of aquarium as much as for the inhabitants. If you have more then one turtle, make sure you have enough basking spots. One basking spot for 3-4 turtles is not enough, unless it is really big.

The kind of share the basking spot. one will climb on the back of the other one but they both get a good amount of basking alone

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Also the tank is a 40 gallon tank filled to about 30 gallons. I will look for a bigger one if that is not enough and the filter is a aquatop cf300

 

[wellington]

Poor water quality causes excess algae. Constant algae will cause shell rot. Normal basking should take care of a normal, small amount of algae. Check your water quality. Also check that you have a good enough and big enough filter to properly filter the aquarium. Also check that your aquarium is not over crowded. Turtles dirty water a lot faster then fish and should have an appropriate size filter, not for size of aquarium as much as for the inhabitants. If you have more then one turtle, make sure you have enough basking spots. One basking spot for 3-4 turtles is not enough, unless it is really big.

The kind of share the basking spot. one will climb on the back of the other one but they both get a good amount of basking alone

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Also the tank is a 40 gallon tank filled to about 30 gallons. I will look for a bigger one if that is not enough and the filter is a aquatop cf300

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It's probably your filter more then the size of your tank. How often do you do a water change and how often do you clean the filter? Bump those up and see if that makes a difference. Also clean off any algae that does get on him.

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

Poor water quality causes excess algae. Constant algae will cause shell rot. Normal basking should take care of a normal, small amount of algae. Check your water quality. Also check that you have a good enough and big enough filter to properly filter the aquarium. Also check that your aquarium is not over crowded. Turtles dirty water a lot faster then fish and should have an appropriate size filter, not for size of aquarium as much as for the inhabitants. If you have more then one turtle, make sure you have enough basking spots. One basking spot for 3-4 turtles is not enough, unless it is really big.

The kind of share the basking spot. one will climb on the back of the other one but they both get a good amount of basking alone

---

Also the tank is a 40 gallon tank filled to about 30 gallons. I will look for a bigger one if that is not enough and the filter is a aquatop cf300

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It's probably your filter more then the size of your tank. How often do you do a water change and how often do you clean the filter? Bump those up and see if that makes a difference. Also clean off any algae that does get on him.

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I haven changed the filter yet i just got it

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I change the water once every 2 weeks or until it looks dirty

 

[wellington]

Also, does your basking bulb have UVB? If not, I would get a basking bulb with UVB or make sure that while they bask, the UVB is also over them. The UVB should help to keep the algae off. I have caught many turtles in my time (always released) and they never had algae on them. Although some algae growth won't hurt as long as you wash it off, it really should grow on them.

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Don't wait until it gets dirty, that's already to late. Filter media should be washed every week at least. If it is really dirty at once a week, do it more often.

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

Also, does your basking bulb have UVB? If not, I would get a basking bulb with UVB or make sure that while they bask, the UVB is also over them. The UVB should help to keep the algae off. I have caught many turtles in my time (always released) and they never had algae on them. Although some algae growth won't hurt as long as you wash it off, it really should grow on them.

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Don't wait until it gets dirty, that's already to late. Filter media should be washed every week at least. If it is really dirty at once a week, do it more often.

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Ok i will, someone on turtleforum [another site] said if i put a peice of driftwood it would lessen the minerals in the water, is that true? Also i will try to get a uvb bulb.

 

[wellington]

I don't know about that. Try it, can't hurt

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

I don't know about that. Try it, can't hurt

Ok