Feeding and Nutrition :: So I picked up some Cuddlebone...

[SINI5T3R]

I got some Cuddlebone and it seems to like break up in the water pretty easy and dissolve. is it good for my turtles? like will they get the calcium from the water if it just dissolves in the water? and is it good for fish?

[wezeles]

no they have to eat it they won't get much through the water... mine took to it for a while but don't like to eat it as much anymore... What i do is just take a chunk off the cuttle bone... it breaks apart easy...

i feed them every other day or so, so when they get cuttle bone they skip a feeding or they don't get fed that day till the cuttle bone is gone , being this is the only thing in the tank they end up eating it right up...

I did the same thing as you probably did when i first tried it tossed the whole thing in they ate some of it than it just fell apart and made a mess...lol

It will last a lot longer breaking it up and giving them little pieces before feedings that way you know they are eating it and you save some cash on buying it as often in the process.

And no it wont hurt the fish...

[jozzep]

Cuttlebone should not dissolve in water.I keep a piece or 2 floating in my tanks at all time.
I have no advice besides change the brand you are using.

[rsour24]

maybe u r cutting the pieces too small

[SINI5T3R]

Cuttlebone should not dissolve in water.I keep a piece or 2 floating in my tanks at all time.
I have no advice besides change the brand you are using.

I think its breaking up in the water because im trying to feed small turtles so ive got to break it up into very small pieces. so when they let go of it, it sort of starts to dissolve. know what i mean?

[wezeles]

cuttle bone will dissolve... same with the reptile brand "turtle bone" by zoo med it's all the same stuff if they do not eat it fast enough it will start to fall apart.

Start small and work your way up as they need it. make sure the pieces are smaller than their head. I use to just put it in a bag and hit it with a hammer to break it up real good for the babies.

[Turtle Mummy 101]

SINI5TR: I agree with wezeles. Since Charlotte is so small, I have to cut up the cuttlebone in small chunks so she can eat it and if she dosen't eat it within a few days it will dissolve and make the water cloudy. Since she's still a hatchling, I give her a small chunk twice a week and now she gobbles it up!

However, she's taken 3 months to come around: what I did was continue to offer food but give her the cuttlebone pieces on the off days when I didn't offer veggies. Continue to offer more when your RES begins to take a liking to it. Also, I'm sure you've already done this but make sure you remove the backing from the cuttlebone and just buy regular cuttlebone instead of the Turtle Bone stuff - it's cheaper!

Good Luck