2 1year old red ear sliders

Question
I have noticed little white stringy worm like things. Their 40 gallon tank is cleaned once a week but they keep.comming back they have a double filter system and self controlled submergrable heater all thats in the tank is water a shelf and an aquatic wood piece. These worms or whatever they are look like spegitti strings tiny ones..what.could they be its not in their stools im paying close attention but little bit worried

Answer
Hi Annie,

They could be planaria or nematodes, which are naturally occuring but tend to be associated with either dirty water or overfeeding.  You can try thoroughly cleaning the tank and filter medium to see if that takes care of the problem, but if it persists you should probably take them to a vet for a fecal check in case they have internal parasites.  

You didn't say how big your turtles are, but a 40 gallon tank is probably too small for two year old RES.  Turtles require quite a bit of room, and if your turtles are around 3" each, you need at least a 60 gallon tank for them.  Keep in mind that at maturity, you will need a very large tank to house both of them--at least 150 gallons.  Your filter should also be sized for twice your tank's capacity.  It's often more economical to simply get an adult-sized tank and corresponding filter rather than move them into larger tanks in stages.  In any case, water quality is extremely important, and keeping a very clean tank will help to prevent many health problems.

Feeding in a separate tank can also help to keep the water cleaner, so if you're not doing that already it's a good idea.  Make sure you're not overfeeding--at a year old, your turtles don't need to be fed every single day.  It's a good idea to skip feedings a couple of days a week; this will keep the tank a little cleaner and ensure that your turtles don't become overweight.  RES tend to be pigs and can easily eat too much.

For more information, see:

http://www.redearslider.com/
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/care.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/waterquality.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/housing.htm