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magscat

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Hi my name is Olivia I got into keeping aquatic turtles kind of by accident. I keep A LOT of fish. I'm addicted to pond keeping and tropicals to the point where I've got 17 indoor aquariums ranging in size from 10-200gallons and 5 out door ponds from 150-5000 gallons. I'm housing over 40 different species of fish, 12 species of various inverts, I've simply lost track of all the plants, and I moderate the clinic section for a fish forum...I have a fish problem lol

My daughter wanted a turtle for a pet so I started doing research on RES's because they are native to our location. I had no intention of taking one from the wild but figured a native species could spend more of the year outdoors enjoying sunshine and bugs rather than being couped up inside. (I actually intended to adopt one that was unwanted) After doing a TON of homework on them I decided she was to young still for that kind of responsibility.

Fast forward like a month; I went to visit a new friend in her home for the first time. You know how when you walk into a new place for the first time one of the first things you notice is the way the place smells? Well...her place smelled like a sewer. But it wasn't a dirty house; everything looking clean and well kept. Then I figured it out. In the corner of the living room she had a 5gallon tank with 2soft shell babies, full of bite sized gravel, no heater, no filtration...OMG! It was nasty beyond anyway I know to describe it. the water was brown with this sludgy film on top.

Long story short I can't keep my mouth shut and wind up with a pair of soft shells. They are still little and I'm still learning about their needs but here's how I've got them set up so far. Feel free to correct anything I'm doing wrong. I've got them in a 130gallon planted tank, filtration turns over 10x the volume of the aquarium every hour, sand substrate, other inhabitants are mosquito fish, freshwater shrimps, snails, and fresh water clams. I built them a basking area but they never use it. Tank has coral lights for the plants and UV something-or-other light for the turtles. The tank is located in the sun room and gets natural sun light too. What else do I need to make sure they have everything they need? And can any one tell me what kind of soft shells they are??

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terryo

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Welcome to the forum. Someong will come along to help. Sorry but I don't know a thing about soft shells either. Just wanted to welcome you.
 

egyptiandan

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Welcome to the forum Olivia :)

You have 2 Florida softshells, Apalone ferox. Males get 10 to 12 inches and females 16 to 20 inches.

Danny
 

magscat

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Crap! I was hoping they weren't Florida soft shells lol. From the research I've done everything I've seen so far says that's the largest species of soft shell and one of the most difficult to house properly. I guess now is as good a time as any to build that 300gallon indoor pond I've been dreaming of. I would try to find them another home but I'm just terrified they'd end up with some one more ignorant than me. Does that sound strange? I really am trying to give them an adequate home and meet their needs. Although I refuse to feed them goldfish I have provided them with a strictly live diet which I read was best for them. The mosquito fish are my breeding population of prey for the large carnivore fish species I keep (I don't feed goldfish to anything). I also feed them earth worms, blood worms, and brines. Is there any other kind of food they need? Are there any I should avoid?

Thanks for the welcome by the way! I joined another turtle forum when I was researching RESs and let's just say I got a cold shoulder there. I don't know if it's b/c I'm new to turtle keeping or what but it seemed like I was either ignored or if some one did answer my questions it was phrased as if they thought I was too retarded to join their forum.
 

Tom

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Sorry to hear about your experience on another forum. If you feel like you are getting a cold shoulder here, its only because most of us don't know that species and don't want to give you the wrong advice. Soon you'll be telling us how to properly care for them.

I'm curious why you don't feed goldfish. I'm a fish fanatic too. Just got my first Lelupi babies. My Julidochromis are on their eighth batch. Its a mixed 130 gal., so the numbers stay reasonable. I don't feed them gold fish, obviously, but I fed out lots of them in the past.

Welcome to the forum.
 

magscat

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Tom said:
I'm curious why you don't feed goldfish. I'm a fish fanatic too. Just got my first Lelupi babies. My Julidochromis are on their eighth batch. Its a mixed 130 gal., so the numbers stay reasonable. I don't feed them gold fish, obviously, but I fed out lots of them in the past.

Welcome to the forum.

I don't feed goldfish for a couple of reasons. One, they are very fatty. You don't find goldfish in nature b/c they aren't natural. Their like the pet store version of a Big Mac. Two, you can't keep alot of them in one given space without them getting sick and they always come with all kinds of parasites anyway. Parasites that they darn near always pass on to what ever you're feeding them to. Third reason is goldfish actually harbor mild toxins naturally. These won't kill most things you feed them to but if they eat enough of them you get an animal that's sluggish and acts like it isn't feeling all that great. I guess that would be the equivalent of getting into some bad Chinese food. Last of all I like goldfish and believe they have their own inherent value as pets. No one has to agree with me on that point but it's just how I feel.

Mosquito fish are an awesome prey fish. Hardy, breed fast, coldwater, low maintenance, parasite resistant, and low in fat/high in protein.
 

Tom

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Thanks magscat. Looking forward to more pics of your new turtles.
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Hi and welcome to the forum. You are certainly aware that turtles need specialized care and I appreciate that.
I too, am ignorant of their care. But hang in because someone will know soon as we have over 4000 members. Somebody should know about their care...
 

Nay

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I don't know Maggie, sounds like she's doing pretty well so far!!!!
Welcome
Na
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Nay said:
I don't know Maggie, sounds like she's doing pretty well so far!!!!
Welcome
Na

I think you have misunderstood me as I think she is doing fine also. I was agreeing with the other posters that I too didn't know anything about their care.
I complimented her with knowing they need specialized care and agreed with the other posters that *I too am ignorant of their care*.
I am hoping the OP didn't misunderstand me as well.
 

magscat

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maggie3fan said:
I am hoping the OP didn't misunderstand me as well.
^_^ I understood you dear and thank you. I'm lucky I guess in that I do have several years of aquatic experience to fall back on. Obviously a fish isn't an aquatic turtle but I do get the concept that they both need clean, stable water quality and diets tailored to the needs of the species. I may not be as educated as I'd like to be on these guys gut I certainly feel that they are better off with me than where they were. I'm just trying to avoid as many amateur mistakes as I can. I found them to be too costly with other pets.
 

Stephanie Logan

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Another turtle ignoramus here...did you read through the http://tortoiseforum.org/forum-101.html "Water Turtles" section of the forum yet?

You will often come across all kinds of valuable information and relevant threads when you browse through other people's threads and posts on the same topic.

Good luck and be sure and post some photos of your indoor pond project---sounds complicated but cool! :D
 
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