Turtles And Crayfish And Frogs, Oh My!

[stauchistory]

This is my first post after my brief introduction a few days ago, so I'm optimistic about this forum being helpful to me.

I have a tank set up with a Red-Eared Slider that was purchased at a store, and we also have some things we caught in a creek... 2 crayfish, a frog, and 4 fish (1 is a Bluegill, not sure of the rest). They all get along real well, but know to stay away from the big crayfish. He has molted at least 8 times since we caught him, and recently turned blue after a molt.

I have your basic gravel in the tank, and some creek rocks as well. The 2 crayfish have their tunnels dug around the rocks and each has their own territory. I'm wondering what the best way to clean the gravel in a tank like this is, and is there something that will burrow under the gravel to help clean it? I can see gunk built up along the glass, and noticed some tiny white worms crawling on the glass under the water line. Are these works useful or a problem?

Thanks in advance.

 

[CTGoldfish]

May I see a pic of these worms?

 

[stauchistory]

May I see a pic of these worms?

WOW, to be honest, they are VERY small, but I'll give it a shot later on. If you are familiar with pods in SW aquariums, they are the same size in width, only longer.

 

[Asp]

Sorry If i'm misreading but eventually the red ear will destroy everything else in that tank (I'm assuming its a small one at the moment), my old 12" monsters wouldn't have let anything that they could eat live peacefully!

 

[keithp]

What type of frog is it? I would think the fish might be a danger to the frog, trying to eat it or drown it. Some frogs need more land than others, and vice versa, some require more water than land. I would assume if the frogs prey gets in the water, the turtle or fish would snap it up quickly.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

RES should kept alone. (i have 2 babies. they really even at the smallest size can destroy fish) crayfish will probably eat fish. crayfish will probably eat frogs. RES will probably kill crayfish and fish and frogs.

how big is that tank, by the way?

 

[stauchistory]

Sorry about being absent from my thread for a few days. It was a bit hectic here for me. To address some of your questions:

Below is a blown-up cropped image of the worms in the tank. It's not a good photo but really the best I was able to take:

The tank is 30g, and the water level is just a bit less than half of the tank height (including gravel and rocks). The RES I'm guessing is approx. 5" across the shell, and he doesn't other the fish, frog, or crayfish. The fish actually steal the krill I feed him if he doesn't act fast. The crayfish are burrowed under the rocks in caves they built. Once in a while the grog goes into the large crayfish's cave, and I mean he is right there at those big claws, but the crayfish doesn't appear interested.

I'm not sure what type of frog this is, but my daughter actually caught it in the neighbor's swimming pool. The crayfish were caught in a local creek as were the fish (one is a Bluegill). They all really live in harmony and don't bother each other, but I'm sure one day they may.

 

[Asp]

RES are very predatory, if a bit dim. Eventually he will work out that his tank mates are edible, its just a matter of time!

 

[keithp]

Your setup basically is a living ecosystem, and all of those animals are part of the same food chain, eventually you'll be left with a fat turtle and fat, bitten bluegill. You need to give all those animals their own tank, they cannot safely stay together.

And perhaps the worms might be parasites living on your animals, which if that is the case it's not good.

If there are wild caught, I would put them back where you found them.

 

[CTGoldfish]

Those are some tiny worms,I've never seen little worms with that grayish/brown color
I might be able to identify the frog if you give some detail or a pic