Zoo Med Aquatic Turtle Banquet Feeding Block

• 25 to 29% guaranteed calcium – the highest-value figure on the label, and the reason to have one in the tank.
• Slow-dissolving – the block releases over days rather than clouding the tank in an afternoon, which is what makes it workable for a weekend away.
• Something hard to bite – Zoo Med markets the block as helping maintain a turtle's beak, which grows continuously and needs abrasive work.
• Vitamin and mineral fortified – the declaration below includes vitamins A, D3, E, B12, C and the B group, plus trace minerals.
• Two sizes on one page – Regular for hatchlings and single small turtles, Giant for adults and multi-turtle tanks.

Transcribed from Zoo Med's published declaration, in the manufacturer's order, checked 7 August 2026.

Calcium Sulphate, Soybean Meal, Wheat Flour, Fish Meal, Wheat Mill Run, Corn Gluten Meal, Fish Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Kale, Lecithin, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Kelp, L-Lysine, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Vitamin C), Choline Chloride, Iron Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Beta Carotene, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Manganese Sulphate, Zinc Sulphate, Ferrous Sulphate, Copper Sulphate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodate, Propionic Acid (preservative).

The single preservative declared is propionic acid. There is no ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT in the declaration, and no artificial colour – the colour comes from iron oxide and beta carotene.

Zoo Med does not publish a phosphorus guarantee for this block, so a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio cannot be calculated from the label. Dicalcium phosphate appears eighth in the ingredient list, well after the two calcium sources, but that is an ordering observation and not a substitute for a declared figure. If a stated Ca:P ratio matters to your feeding plan, work it from the staple diet, where Zoo Med publishes both numbers.

Zoo Med does not publish a net weight for either block, so size the choice by your animal rather than by grams. A block that is gone in a day was too small; one still sitting untouched after a week was too big for that tank.

Drop the block into the water and leave it. It is designed to sit there and be worked at, not to be eaten in a sitting.

Watch the water for the first few days. Calcium sulphate is the first ingredient, so a dissolving block adds calcium sulphate to the tank and will lift general hardness – usually a non-issue in a turtle tank, but worth knowing if you are also keeping fish with the turtle.

Remove any block that has gone soft, slimy or is being ignored. Uneaten food breaking down is the fastest route to a turtle tank going off, and turtle tanks are already the hardest tanks in the shop to keep clear.

Suitable for: red-eared sliders, cooters, Australian long-necked and short-necked turtles, map turtles, musk turtles and other aquatic and semi-aquatic species that will take food in water. Useful as a calcium top-up alongside a proper diet, and as a short-term supplementary food source over a weekend away.

Not suitable for: a staple diet at 2.5% minimum protein, feeding a turtle while you are away for longer than a few days, tortoises and other fully terrestrial species, or as a replacement for UVB lighting. Not suitable either as the only calcium source for a growing hatchling, which needs calcium in its daily food, not just a block in the corner.

Dietary calcium is only half the equation. Turtles need UVB light to synthesise vitamin D3 and use the calcium they eat, and a turtle kept without adequate UVB will not get the benefit of any calcium supplement, block or otherwise.

The block also does not feed a turtle. If you are away for more than a long weekend, arrange for someone to feed properly rather than relying on a supplement block to carry the animal.

Store the unopened blocks somewhere dry and sealed. They are hygroscopic – calcium sulphate takes up moisture from humid air, and a block left open in a Queensland summer will soften on the shelf before it ever reaches the tank.

Zoo Med does not publish a shelf life or best-before period for the blocks. Buy what you will use.

• Zoo Med Aquatic Turtle Food Adult Maintenance – the staple diet this block supplements rather than replaces.
• Zoo Med Aquatic Turtle Food Growth Formula – the higher-protein staple for hatchlings and juveniles still growing shell.
• Zoo Med Aquatic Turtle UVB & Heat Lighting Kit – the UVB without which dietary calcium is largely wasted.
• Zoo Med Aquatic Turtle Lighting Combo – the alternative lighting route for an existing basking setup.
• Zoo Med ReptiSafe Water Conditioner – for the water changes a turtle tank needs whether or not there is a block in it.

Foods do not carry a manufacturer warranty in the way equipment does, but they are covered by the consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law, which apply to this product regardless of anything the manufacturer states.

Standard freight. Shelf stable, no cold chain, no dangerous goods handling.

Can I feed my turtle only banquet blocks while I am on holiday?

Only for a few days. The Zoo Med Aquatic Turtle Banquet Block guarantees a minimum of 2.5% crude protein and 0.25% crude fat, which is a supplement-level analysis, not a diet. For anything longer than a long weekend, arrange for someone to feed the turtle its normal food.

What is the block actually made of?

Calcium sulphate is the first ingredient, which is what makes the block hard and slow to dissolve. Bound into it are soybean meal, wheat flour, fish meal, corn gluten meal, fish oil, kale, dried kelp and a full vitamin and mineral premix. The complete declaration is listed in full above.

Will it cloud or foul my tank?

A block dissolving as intended releases slowly and should not cloud a filtered tank. It does add calcium sulphate to the water and will lift general hardness over time. A block that has been ignored and gone soft is a different matter – take it out, because decomposing food is what actually fouls a turtle tank.

What is the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio?

It cannot be stated from the label. Zoo Med guarantees calcium at 25 to 29% but publishes no phosphorus minimum for this block, so any ratio quoted for it would be a guess. Calcium sulphate and calcium carbonate both sit above dicalcium phosphate in the ingredient order, but that is not a substitute for a declared figure.

Does the block replace a calcium and D3 supplement?

No. The block delivers calcium into the water for a turtle to gnaw at when it chooses to, which is not a measured dose. A turtle's calcium status depends far more on its staple diet and on having adequate UVB lighting to use that calcium at all.

What is the difference between the Regular and Giant blocks?

Size only – Regular is Zoo Med item BB-50 and Giant is BB-52, with the same formulation and the same guaranteed analysis. Choose Regular for hatchlings, juveniles and single small turtles, and Giant for adults or tanks where more than one turtle is working on the same block.