Tutrle + Fish

[agusf]

Hello all

A week or so I got two baby turtles as a gift and Im keeping them well fed in a plastic tank with heating, lighting and good water.
I have a 150 liter aquarium, and whilst buying food for them yesterday the pet store owner told me I could put the turtles in the
aquarium as long as they are with peaceful community fish larger than the turtles mouthes. so the Idea slipped into my mind, would
this be safe? Ive been considering returning some fish to the store to make space for the turtles.

 

[Jenste]

Do not do this - - fish are part of a turtle's natural diet! Once they get big enough, the turtles will be able to eat the fish - and even when they are small they will do serious damage by latching on the the fin or body.

The little plastic tank has to go - - what species do you have? That will let you know how large of a tank you will need to buy them.

If you don't know what species, just upload a picture on here (up load it to photobucket first then here) and a forum member will be able to ID them for you.

 

[agusf]

:0 okay well IDK what species it is, but Ive hed turtles and I know its not the common red slider ear turtle found in US with the red thing on the side of their faces.
I will get photos up asap, but are you sure? not even a BN pleco?

 

[fishnovice]

:0 okay well IDK what species it is, but Ive hed turtles and I know its not the common red slider ear turtle found in US with the red thing on the side of their faces.
I will get photos up asap, but are you sure? not even a BN pleco?

Jenste is right -turtles and fish don't mix unless you want the fish to end up as dinner! Even if the turtles are tiny babies now they will soon double in size and eat tankmates.Also turtles are VERY messy, 10 x worse than large common plecs! I have big plecs and turtles so can make the comparison. It is virtually impossible to keep water quality good enough for fish with messy turtles pooing in the tank, except maybe when they are tiny babies. Please post photos or at least descriptions of your turtles for a correct species ID. Many common turtle (maps, sliders, cumberland)females can and do grow as big as dinner plates in a few years. Even males will reach at least 6in. A small tank or plastic crate may be OK for the first 6 months of a turtle hatchling's life but they will eventually need at least a 1metre tank. The only exception is musk turtles which remain small.

 

[cory mccabe]

Will a pleco hurt my musk turtle?

 

[karawr]

It depends how long your pleco is. If it's big enough it might latch on to his shell and do serious damage. You just have to watch them, and if he isn't paying any attention to the turtle then it should be fine. But as soon as he starts sucking on his shell I would separate.

 

[cory mccabe]

Cheers

 

[Brandi.]

I have (had) 2 baby RES turtles in my 55-gallon tank (yes, they will be transferred to a pond when they grow bigger). I was told that as long as the fish aren't too small for the turtle to eat, or too big to eat the turtle, they would be fine. I have 8 red eye tetras, a giant danio, to plecos, two sharks (not sure what kind they are) and a baby Koi (who will also be moved to the pond when he gets bigger). I have a floating log for the turtle to bask on. So far, we've had no problems between the turtles and the fish. No nipping, no eating, nothing... All the fish/turtles get fed twice a day, and have a diet of flakes, turtle pellets, and shrimp. They do great together.

 

[fishguy2727]

I have had them together, it is possible. I raised my turtles with fish and fed them only pellet food. I had an 8" common snapper in with turtles much smaller than him and fish and had no issues. If they are raised together, never fed live food, and are kept fed it is possible.

HOWEVER, anything that goes in with turtles has to be assumed to end up as food eventually, there are no guarantees. Fast, active, larger species have the best chance.

Also, turtles are extremely messy and adding fish to the tank makes that issues even harder to deal with. I was doing weekly 90% water changes on that tank.

Top priority:
ID and get a proper setup for these turtles. The setup needs to include: a lot of water, aggressive filtration, possibly a shatterproof water heater, basking area large enough for both to get out and dry off under a proper basking light (ideally mercury vapor).