Not exactly a fish but an aquatic critter only tank

[rottbo]

Here are my Carettochelys insculpta AKA Fly River Turtle or Pig Nose Turtle I actually ahve three and these pics are over a year old they were only in the 55s because I was treating all for internal parasites and a strange shell fungus that they had when I got them. sorry for the crappy pics......... Now these guys are normally found in full freshwater but have been reported living in brackish and even full saltwater I mix it up for these they go from specific gravity 1.004 all the way up to 1.021 with water changes I always change it up and they appear to love it they are all healthy and getting fatter by the day I only have 3 of these now but plan on buying more (I mean come on the only "sea turtle" that you can actually keep) I have one male and two females as of now and those are chunks of fruit floating in there since they are mostly herbivores but do love fresh shrimp tilapia and any other fresh seafood I give them http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/128277frt2.JPG http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/128277frt_1.JPG http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/128277100_1767.JPG http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/128277100_1766.JPG http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/128277100_1757.JPG http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/128277100_1756.JPG

[rottbo]

figured some of you guys might apreciate these

on another note I have a Yahoo group devoted to these guys heres the link


http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/PignosedTurtle/

[rottbo]

I will try and get some recent pics but it is hard you can only view there new enclosure from the top

[55gSW]

Awesome turtles!! I read an article about them in one of the fish mags, they're the only "freshwater" turtles with flippers!! Very cool!! :D

Where do you get turtles like that??

[rottbo]

only fully aquatic turtle found in FW all others must breathe air these can absorb oxygen through their cloaca just like sae turtles oh wait a minute these have been found in SW so I guess they can be considered "sea turtles" hahaha

[sunfishh]

Those are super cool turtles. Thanks for sharing :)

[saltyESQ]

and just like all other aquatic turtles, including sea turtles, don't they need to dry out a bit. I would assume that would be the reason for the fungus on the shells.

[rottbo]

I think that the fungus stems from the previous owner of my first two's water quality the third one I got had no problems but I decided to do preventive treatment of her for internal parasites while I was treating the other two

[saltyESQ]

what about setting up the tank so they can dry out? That is what I did for my soft shelled turtle and red slider. I just built them a beach and placed a heat lamp over the beach.

[crazedpuffer]

Thats what my LFS does they have decor on the top for there soft shell to hang out.
Nice turtles btw I never knew they liked salt

[rottbo]

the only time these turtles are out of the water in their natural habitat is when they are born or when the females come on shore to lay eggs so there is no need for "dry land" untill the females are of breeding age and then still there has only been one confirmed captive breeding and the hatchling died so I dont think that I will clog their swimming space untill a sand "beach" is needed if they ever mate which will probally never happen but I do cross my fingers since they are on the threatened species list

[rottbo]

and for them liking salt I guess after eading my post I made it sound like they are constantly being shifted between salt levels I only raise the salt level high every few months for a week or two at the most before with water changes the salt level is back down near full fresh but in the wild the have been found in full salt

[saltyESQ]

if they don't need to dry out, then why if given the choice do they dry out?

[rottbo]

I dont know what kind of turtle you think this is but its nothing like a softshell or a RES they will not try and get out of the water even if given a ramp and dry dock!!! your experience with those two types of turtles is great but has nothing to do with this kind of turtle

[rottbo]

this is the only fully aquatic FW turtle on earth circumstances are completely different.. Do you have experience with this type of turtle?????? I own 6 other turtles that all have different care requirements yes the others have dry docks because they are not fully aquatic RES softshells or any other FW turtle must exit the water sometimes they have to surface to breath the FRT does not

[latazyo]

saltyESQ, your heart is in the right place, but rottbo is right here


your RES's "dry out" and bask for other reasons as well, such as absorbing UV from the sun/your lighting, etc....however sea turtles do not do that

[saltyESQ]

Sea turtles, such as the ones in Hawaii, bake in the sun all day long.

[rottbo]

well I am not trying to argue just stating what is known about these guys they never leave the water unless they are hatching from eggs or laying eggs

[fishybusiness]

Sea turtles don't leave the water to bask. They just float at the surface. If it makes you feel better put a metal halide over the tank.

[saltyESQ]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11207076#post11207076 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishybusiness
Sea turtles don't leave the water to bask. They just float at the surface. If it makes you feel better put a metal halide over the tank.

I did a little research and the pig ose turtle doesn't require a basking area.

When in Hawaii I saw 100's of sea turtles on the sand and basking in the sun for nearly the entire day.

[rottbo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11208323#post11208323 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saltyESQ
I did a little research and the pig ose turtle doesn't require a basking area.

When in Hawaii I saw 100's of sea turtles on the sand and basking in the sun for nearly the entire day.

Well I am glad that you did so you werent just trying to believe what I say these happen to be one of my favorite pets I did massive ammounts of research on them (even though not much has been published) and believe that I have a small grasp on what they need

[johno4]

What size tank are they normally in? It must be cool to watch them swim.

[rottbo]

never figured out the gallons in it i is a large L shape and very nice to watch them swim I would guess it is somewhere around 900 gallons but I need to build them a pond with a viewing window then it would be much better to watch them swim........ since right now you can only view them from the top and I have been trying to grow spiral valisneria in their pond but cant keep up with their appetite for it but for a day or to its nice to watch them swim through a forest of plants