Feeding and Nutrition :: frustrated - what aquatic plant for a RES

[tjurhs]

Hey guys,

I'm pretty frustrated. I have learned to grow all kinds of aquatic plants, and have a really nice aquatic setup, problem is my turtle doesn't like to eat any of the plants I grow, yes most of them are on the "turtle will eat" list. I even went down to where I caught him 2 to 3 years ago, grabbed some of those plants, grew those for a month or so and he didn't eat them.

my RES is about 2 to 3 years old, he eats several different plants, baby plantain, red ear lettuce, carrot tops, kale, and dandelions are his favorites, notice those are all ground based plants, not aquatic. Sure he likes the meaty things too, crickets, minnows, redworms.

Can anyone help me with an aquatic plant (I've tried most of those on the Turtle Talk plants to feed list) that a RES turtle will almost certainly eat?

thanks!

Todd

[steve]

Have you tried reducing his other food sources?

[tjurhs]

yep, two and a half days, and third I gave in

[steve]

Try attaching some to a veggie clip to them. Are you trying to grow the plants in his tank or a separate one?

[tjurhs]

I've been growing them in a separate tank (a "high tech" tank that I learned on an aquatic plant forum), I closely watch Thor's water chemistry and I don't want to mess with that. I take whatever veggie I have, those he eats and those he doesn't, wrap it around a bolt and hold them to the bolt with a rubber band, which gives them a fairly realistic presentation, and he eats the non-aquatics down to the numbs.

I've tried Amazon Sword, Anacharis, Anubias, Water Fern, non-blooming Water Lily, and Water Starwort - nothing

[devilduck]

I think all those plants on your list are pretty tough to eat. My turtle really likes frogbit, which is a good thing since it grows pretty quickly.

[tjurhs]

DD, I'll give it a try, does it like emmersed or submersed?

[tjurhs]

here's the latest plant I tried. Not sure what it is, but I got it from Thor's lake so I thought that it would work - nope

[ljapa]

Frogbit is a floating plant. I've had good luck with duckweed, which is also a floating plant, but much, much, much messier than frogbit. It sticks to everything.

How long do you leave the plants in when you try? Anacharis will grow free floating in the water column. Have you tried tossing some in for days and just letting it grow if he doesn't eat it?

Since he already eats vegetables, maybe with enough time he will give it a shot.

You also mention high tech tank. Is it possible some fertilizer is giving it an "off" feel to him?

[tjurhs]

Ijapa, I asked the local aquarium guy about the fertz, and he said not likely, but not absolute either.

Yea I do want to stay away from duckweed just because it is so messy. I think the last several plants I've tried were just play toys for him to tear at and make a mess in the tank.

Right now I'm going to try Hornworth, and see how that goes...

What about these other two the the local PetSmart carries them, are they turtle edible?