Anybody Familiar With Turtle Sickness?

So my little musk turtle here, named Jasper, has been battling this skin/face issue. I believe it to be some type of fungus and I have been treating it with 90% water changes every 2-3 days and adding an API product 'Turtle Fix'. I cannot seem to find much info on turtle disease on the internet, probably just me, but this stuff doesn't seem to be living up to the 'fix' part of the name. I have tried to clean his head off from the white stuff using a Q-Tip, but he sucks back into his shell and gets very defensive. It is going over his little eyes too. It goes down a bit for about a few days and then comes back again, at one point he has had it over both eyes, but now he can open them both and its partially over just his left.

Could anybody out there tell me what this could be and how I would go about treating it? If all else fails, within the next week I think I will end up taking him to the vet. I have been avoiding that, but I am getting fairly concerned, so I may just have to bite the bullet. Thank you for reading!
(Water kinda cloudy due to just changed water)

 

Not a turtle-expert but does it have a warm / dry spot (UVB) ?

 

What his set up and maintenance ? Looks like a fungus but not 100%

 

Not a turtle-expert but does it have a warm / dry spot (UVB) ?

Yes, I have a self ballasted mercury vapor bulb, basically an all in one.

What his set up and maintenance ? Looks like a fungus but not 100%

Sand bottom, light listed above with basking spot on top of rock in the center they can get out onto, two small in water filters. I clean the filters weekly and change water every few days. Probably 3" of water at 80F in a tank that is 20x16 footprint.

 

Yes, I have a self ballasted mercury vapor bulb, basically an all in one.


Sand bottom, light listed above with basking spot on top of rock in the center they can get out onto, two small in water filters. I clean the filters weekly and change water every few days. Probably 3" of water at 80F in a tank that is 20x16 footprint.

how do you clean your filters? What ones do you use? Just curious. I’m using a cascade 600 internal filter and an aqueon 40 e on a 29 gallon tank. Seems to be working for now. I also have the marina internal canister I use sometimes .
Do you test your water? I know turtles aren’t as sensitive as fish but might be a good idea.

 

I actually have two filters going in there because I believed one to not be enough. The side they are on has quite a bit of flow, but the other end of the tank is quite mellow. Image of that they are.
To clean them I squeeze out the sponges inside them in old tank water like you would for your fish tank.

 

good idea using two , I just got another turtle I'm gonna try the cascade 300 for now just to save space until I can upgrade her. I really like the 600 and that spray bar option so I should like the smaller model. Looks like your top fin has that also. Nice to have, Does your turtle seem any better?

 

I just did a water test for ammonia and nitrates and it is as follows:
Ammonia - <0.25PPM (very slight hint of green, mostly yellow)
Nitrate 5-10PPM (orange)

He has gotten slightly better. I have noticed that he can open both eyes and the fungus has gone down.

As for the filters:
- Top Fin - I think its great. Easy to clean, easy to use - quality is about a 3/5, but it was about 10$. I would say it is a good filter for only chemical filtration and very small particles. Larger particles you would want a HOB or something that sits down into the tank with a large opening because this has a sponge right up to the intake so it cannot really take in larger particles. This is just the smallest model, but overall I would say its a good filter for the money. I would say 4/5 rating overall.

-Aqueon - Great Concept and good attempt at it, but horrible design. Reason being is the break point to clean it, where the motor and filter separate, is right in the middle. Whenever you try to stick it onto something it buckles - and although the suction cups are good quality and the sucker sticks really good, once its on and it has buckled, so you have to take it off, you cannot get it off the fix it. Once you get it on there, it works great - better flow than the top fin and more versatility with the spray bar - but it costs like 25$. Also the sponge pad in there is about 1/4th the size of the top fin one, but the intake is larger. Overall, not a bad filter, but pain in the pants to set up - I would say its about a 2/5 rating from me.

I bought these as a starter, I actually tried to return the aqueon one before it shipped, but I wasn't fast enough, so that's why I have two. I plan to buy the larger version of the Top Fin filter when these guys get upgraded to a 40B.

 

how is Jasper?