Turtles behaving badly

For many years, my turtles lived together peacefully. I would read about aggressive behavior and wonder what all the fuss was about. My turtles never hurt each other…

…until about 2 years ago. The first signs of it was in my outdoor pond. A big female Redear Slider began staying out of the water. All the time. Even on very hot, dry days. This wasn’t a turtle looking to lay eggs. I realized she was being harassed by the male Redear.

When I moved the turtles indoors for the winter, I kept the male separate, in his own 50 gallon tank.

Then, I acquired another male turtle. This one is a Cumberland Slider/ Yellow-Bellied Slider mix. He was vicious from day one! So he went into his own tank.

I had three female Sliders in a 100 gallon “horse trough”. I added a female Yellow-Bellied Slider. She is nasty! She attacked the biggest female Redear. I removed the big female Redear to her own 55 gallon tank.

Also, a smaller female Redear began behaving aggressively, biting at the others. I quickly made decisions, moving turtles around until relative peace was attained. My biggest “Slider”, is a Northern Red-Bellied Cooter. Nobody messes with her.

There are two physical signs of turtle aggression. One is their tails get bitten. You may see the tip of the tail is suddenly shorter. The other tell-tale sign is injuries around the neck. For some reason, they bite at their victims neck. One well-placed bite could kill. If you see whitish scrapes around the neck and head of your turtle, get it away from the situation. Put it alone where it can recuperate.

Jehmco air pump is fantastic

Other websites, including Youtube, will do a thorough job of teaching you how to install a central air system for multiple aquariums. I’ll keep this brief.

I bought my Jehmco air pump several years ago. I finally bought the PVC pipe and clamps, and I built the thing in 4 or 5 hours. Why did I wait so long? I ask myself the same question.

Place the pump above the water level of your aquariums.

I used one-inch PVC. It’s cheap and it’s easy to thread the air valves into it.

For anyone wondering, I can confirm for you, no PVC glue is needed. Just press the pieces together, it won’t leak air.

Important note: After cutting the PVC (I used a miter saw) brush away or vacuum the little plastic bits. You don’t want that in the airline where it will plug the valves. I would make a cut, then vacuum it right away.

The main idea is to have a “closed-loop system”. That simply means that you “T” the PVC line and run a “loop” around your fish room. By a loop, I don’t mean a circle. That way, you have equal pressure wherever you tap into it. Am I making any sense? Probably not. I’m just here to encourage you. A closed-loop system using a Jehmco pump is the greatest thing ever.

The cost? Not cheap, true. But worth it. My total was around $300. (pump, pvc, clamps, valves, extra air tubing)

The noise? None. I mean it. The pump makes no sound when the system is connected. You will hear lots of bubbling water. Your tanks will be cleaner. Your fish will be happier.

Lastly, in most cases you will have excess air. Most people buy a silencer that threads into a PVC fitting. I just happened to have a cheap water valve and a water filter that threaded onto that water valve. It was an experiment but it worked beautifully. I didn’t need to buy a silencer and I adjust the excess air with the water valve.

I have no affiliation with Jehmco. I’ve never corresponded with them. I bought one of their pumps. It’s a product that lives up to your expectations, a minor miracle these days.

Don’t be so shellfish

We interrupt this happy little blog to warn of you of possible disaster.

I wanted to expand the diet of my Diamondback Terrapins. I went to a local Asian Market and bought a package of freshwater shrimp.

The turtles loved the shrimp. So did all of my fish.

I noticed, in some of my tanks, my fish were disappearing. Most of my tanks are heavily planted so I don’t see the fish at all times. In one tank I had 17 young angelfish that I had raised from babies. I noticed there seemed to be fewer and fewer. What was killing them? Who was to blame? A bigger, meaner Angelfish? A plecostomus? I knew that some plecos can injure wide-bodied fish, but all my plecos are small Bristle-nosed Plecos. They don’t wanna hurt nobody.

I kept feeding the shrimp to my fish and turtles. Why? ‘Cause I ain’t too bright, that’s why.

Fish were dying in all of my tanks. My big male Oscar started to show signs of disease. Ragged fins. It finally hit me. The fish were dying of fin rot. The turtles were unaffected. By the time I realized the shrimp was killing my fish, most of my fish were dead.

Here’s one way to decorate an Oscar tank. Throw in various pieces of driftwood. The Oscar will take it from there.

I should be clear. The shrimp were not killing the fish, a pathogen in the shrimp was killing them. I started treating some of the fish with medication (triple sulfa), but most were too far gone. Even my big Oscar died.

Looking back, if I had cooked the shrimp first, boiled them, this probably would not have happened. I have read that shrimp farming is done under crowded, disgusting conditions. A breeding ground for disease. Am I making you hungry? No raw shrimp for you!