White bubbles in water

Question
I just purchased on Sat 2 red ear slider turtles age 2 mos.I have them in a 2.5 gal tank with an air flow, and enough water for them to swim and a rock for dry land. Tuesday morning I notice white bubbles going around the perimeter of the tank, the air flor, and the rock. the turtles appear to be the same as they have been. The water temp is 74. I have overhead flourensenct light. They are on my desk at work. Any suggestions?

Answer
The bubbles are the result of proteins in the water- just like when the water yuo cook spaghetti or eggs in develops a white foam.

A decent water filter should deal with most of that.

However, the habitat you ahve is nto really a good one for one turtle, let alone two. Red-ear Sliders need plenty of warm, clean water as well as good lighting.

The rule of thumb we use for tank size is about 10 gallons per inch of shell length- although a mostly-full 10 gallon tank is OK for one or two very young turtles.

At 74, the water is on the low end of the scale- we usually want to see 75-80F, with a basking site heated to about 90F

You might wish to check out a good care site, such as http://www.redearslider.com for other ideas on keeping these guys healthy and happy!

Good luck!