GoldCrown Diamond

[Redfoot NERD]

Been awhile since Terrapins have been documented.

Late 2013.. had a feeling he was special.. called him "GoldCrown" from the start -



A year later he went "Brackish Water".. and see him from last month --

(Lighting wasn't quite right )



That's better -



GoldCrown Male Concentric Diamondback Terrapin.. and how they look when raised naturally in BRACKISH WATER. No shell/skin issues.. low filtration costs.. seldom/if ever water changes -

See what salt does for them..

 

[wellington]

Beautiful. At first I thought you were talking timeshare condo. They have those levels, Gold Crown and Diamond
I like yours much better

 

[GotTort]

Great looking DBT @Redfoot NERD. What sort of filtration do you use? With brackish you rarely have to do water exchanges? That sounds good!

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Doesn't matter whether it's outdoors or indoors the basic set-up is the same! Draw water thru filter media

It's home-made. A QuietOne water pump -
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4587+23814&pcatid=23814

A couple 3000 size for a 300 gallon stock tank. Each one sucks water thru a small plastic container [ 9-10" cube ] with holes in it and 'blue' fiber as media.. [ the sheet of fiber used for the air-conditioner unit for your home.. 32" x 32" x 1" (?) ] cut to size - that's 1500 gph. Every 12 minutes the entire 300 gallons is filtered. And they love the current the exhaust creates.

Every other week I rinse the fiber out. That's the maintenance. Water changes aren't needed. The salt is what kills anything in the water that would harm the terrapins.

The salt does not compromise the pump. Not more than $150 is what I spend for the filters for a 300 gallon stock tank.

They are fed in a separate fresh water container so they can drink.. and there's no uneaten food waste in the main tank..

For some reason .. that simple "Brackish Water" concept can't be received. Diamondback terrapins live in brackish water.

Does that terrapin look good? I have before and after pics that will blow you away!!!

 

[Gillian M]

Love his colours!

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Beautiful terrapins, Terry. I love them. You obviously have the care for these beautiful turtles well figured out.

@GotTort - a properly sized biological filter eliminates nitrites, and converts to relatively inert nitrate. It takes quite a while for nitrates to build up to a point needing water change. Adding plants to the water / filter will also use the nitrate as a natural fertilizer.

And how exactly does "high nitrites" impact Malaclemys t. ? No one really knows ( if at all! ).

Some of the "care" nonsense that is dished out these daze(!) .. has me in exactly that - a daze!

Wait 'til you see the 'before & after' post...

i.e. - a 2014 yearling raised in fresh water - from the infamous Terrapin breeder - note the dry rear marginals..



This female I paid "big $$$" for...



Earlier this rear just before her first shed..

 

[enchilada]

can you recommend some easy brackish water fish species i can house with DBT?
I'm thinking about building a brackish water tank system resemble their natural habitat.
I already decided what plants to use : Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) . currently i have 2 plants in my reef tank filtering system

below is a pic from google

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Just about any Mollies would do well in Brackish water - have seen them in the Brackish canals in Florida. I keep my Mollie 'exclusive' tank in Brackish about 1.006 .. but only that low because of the Cory cats. In fact now that I thought about it .. Mollies are used to test water when a salt water tank is set-up - so I'm sure they can handle whatever Brackish you choose.

Some of my favorite breeders a few years back .. a one in 1000 pic..



"Black" are my favorite - below are pics in a tank that has a good start of algae growing on front glass and the fact that these fish never stop.. so these are "images" at best - out of 50 [ literally ] taken.. these are the best 2 - you may have to use your imagination some.

The best of 50.. a black lyretail female..



Second best of 50.. a black lyretail male - ( live fish have to be the hardest to get decent pics of )



Regular black mollies would look great in a terrapin tank...

 

[Yvonne G]

Everyone: Please stay on topic. This thread was made to show that keeping DBT in brackish water is beneficial to their growth and health.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

I haven't given each post an in depth perusal because it's not a subject that is near and dear to my heart, but my IMPRESSION was that Mark was just trying to get a handle on what you're saying...trying to pull you out a bit for better explanations. If I'm wrong, then for sure I will help, Terry.

'
edited - all this was started before Yvonne made her request.. she posted before I did - thank you


Thanks Yvonne -- unfortunately the "study" of Herpetology .. or interest in the creatures that it is about - tortoises and turtles.. in our case - managed to get in the same community as a "science"! Any 'uneducated' / inexperienced or experienced keeper or breeder down to one with a Doctorate(?) degree must realize that it's not possible to make it a "science".. because we can't control ALL parameters = the different things that influence how they live.

Some things are just "LAWS".. and just have to be accepted. I or nobody else is able to explain some things about Diamondback Terrapins.. and it seems because they somehow got placed into the "study of" water turtles.. which means FRESH water turtles. They seem to be thought of as "the same as every other ( fresh ) water turtle. So if this situation applies to water turtles.. then it applies to Diamondback Terrapins [ which I've explained before ].. IT DOESN'T!

I've told my story with all the basic examples - before / after / during and if.. when it comes to how Diamondback Terrapins are unlike most all others.. and thrive best that way. There is no other explanation - I only know what works now! "Before Brackish" it was too expensive.. too complicated.. too time consuming.

As of 2016 I've kept Diamondback's the same number of years in 'brackish' as I kept them in 'fresh'. During the 'fresh water' era the entire community and I was dealing with issues as a result of fresh water - and they still are.

When I finally had a revelation that they live in 'brackish' water in the wild.. and made the change.. a new world of life came about in my aquariums and tubs and stock tanks - " So that's what they are supposed to look like.. and how they are supposed to act! "

So Yvonne .. the best way you can help is tell them that their "posts" are off topic and tell them to move their comments to an appropriate thread.

Thank you...