Fly River Turtle

[dave_oddballs]

hi, thinking about buying a fly river turtle, i know they are expensive and hard to come by due to the fact its illegal to export them, been offered one for £180 from a couple who can no longer house it, this is cheap as when you can actually find one they are between £400-£500.
my tank is 7 foot long, 2.5 foot wide and the same high, the turtle is described as 'dinner plate' size so im guessing around a foot. is my tank big enough? and can they live with big fish?
and just general information on the fly river turtles if anyone knows about them please.
cheers,
Dave

 

[bae1994]

i could be wrong but id say no especially as you want rays in there

 

[simonas]

I agree with BAE re the rays however I once emailed a bloke who sells a lot on aquarist ads who had one and he said his got on great with aros peacock bass etc and had no probs coping with the rough and tumble of big fish.

Beautiful creatures though and I would love one in a tank

I think CFC had one perhaps pm him

 

[dave_oddballs]

well if its not going to be ok with rays then i can't have it, there is a few video's on you tube of fly river turtles with rays so im not sure, but if there is any doubt id leave it because as much as id love it, its the rays the tank is for.
shame, they are beautiful turtles and rare to find, especially in the uk, and cheap!

 

[Davo86]

You can get the odd aggressive one Dave but usually they are harmless, They are vegetarian by nature and generally only eat fruit/veg,
I have a customer who keeps one with an array of cats and knew someone who kept one with a mbu puffer (until the puffer turned on the turtle)

Also I know both Mark7616 and CFC have kept these with rays although i'm not sure for how long, if you search i'm sure both have a thread showing this,

 

[bae1994]

the other thing id be worried about is if the turtle decided to go rest on one of the rays and the ray strikes back

 

[dave_oddballs]

thats unlikely though isn't it, the ray would shoot off, or at least try, they use their sting as a last resort, if they feel their life is threatened, like people stand on them and get stung, the ray is squashed and can't move so it stings.
on the classifieds they have gone for anything from £400 to £550 so £180 is good, and they emailed me today saying they would send it via currier or meet me half way which is good, just got to get £180 now after i've spent all my money on rays and tiger fish lol.

i will have a look for the threads!

Dave