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So, last night I decided to try adding some new things to my tank. I bought a pleco and a large apple snail. Before the evening was up, I witnessed the turts gang up on the pleco and try to take a chop out of it. Well...I can't say I wasn't warned. My hope was that with a larger pleco than turtle, that he might stand a chance. I didn't want to wake up to a dead one, so I scooped him out and put him in with the guppies.

The snail was slow to warm up and get going. They recognized that it was something different in their tank, but didn't seem to pay it much attention. The snail, I should mention, is about the same size at the turts, only a tad smaller. Shortly before I went to bed, he was up and moving around with the turts still paying him no attention. At some point in the night I woke up and decided to check on him. He was laying on his back (if there is such a thing ) and had this long white thing coming out of his shell along with his body. I thought for sure that he was dead, or at least injured to the point of death. I scooped him out and put him in the guppie tank as well. When I got up to leave for school this morning he was crawling peacefully around the new tank...they white thing was gone.

I guess I am just going to have to put up with the fact that the turts aren't going to tolerate anything living in their tank with them. I tried. So here's a question...when my turts age and become vegetarians, will I be able to add them back in? Maybe?

I'd say probably not. Mine eat mainly veggies/plants and their tank is huge compared to what they were in. I thought I could put a crayfish in there with no problem. It lasted about 20 min before they ripped the poor thing to shreds, and it was at least 6 inches long...the turts are 5in. Now they've got a taste for meat and I don't think I'd even risk putting another turtle in there

At what point do the turts start becoming more vegetarian in nature? Mine will be a year old in May. So I guess my other question is at what point do I need to stop feeding pellets every day?

Yeah same question. Mine will be a year old in August but I feel like maybe he should be cut back.

Also, mine will eat the little snails, he won't eat the big apple snail. And sometimes he will only eat the little snails after they have died. I have two snails left now, my big one and my little yellow one that I have had since day one. I still can't find my black one....which I probably will today when I clean the tank *cringes*

But yeah that cut back to feeding every other day is a good question. Especially since Michelangelo now has snails, guppies, and anacharis to chew on. Plus he got a worm today but I don't know where that went either (looks around floor)

Your pics of your (large) snail and turt living together is what tempted me to try it...it just didn't work. What more can I say? I'm going to throw my rocks that need cleaned over in the other tank and rotate them for cleaning by the pleco and snail. Rock number one has already been cleaned!

Throw some anacharis in too with the snail as mine loves the stuff. But he'll leave a slim trail which he'll eat later on the plants.

missibsu wrote:At what point do the turts start becoming more vegetarian in nature? Mine will be a year old in May. So I guess my other question is at what point do I need to stop feeding pellets every day?

I've read anywhere between 6 months old to one year old you should go to feeding pellets every other day.

I cut mine back to 3x a week after a visit to the vet. Rocks had escaped from the tank and injured herself and he said they were being overfed. They were maybe 6mos old then.

I think then, that I will go ahead and cut back on the pellets. They have veggies in their tank each day anyway, so it's not like they will starve. Thanks for the info!

I'd start leaving a bit of leafy green in the tank from the time they start eating pellets. Anachris is particularly good to start them off with--it won't wilt or rot in the tank.

Yep I think I'll cut Michelangelo back. He won't like it but oh well. He's got other food in there.

Marisa: My turts have been eating leafy greens, carrots, and select fruits as a treat from day one. I'm always surprised to read a post that says 'my turtle won't eat vegetables'. Mine love the stuff and devour it. I throw various types of greens in each day and it's always gone when I get home.

missibsu, you sound like you've got some sensible (and healthy) turts. To me, even though they lean toward animal protein when young, the fact that they're growing (and have a bigger appetite) and usually curious about what's put in the tank makes adding some plant/vegetable matter early a good thing to do. They can get fixated on a food/particular foods fairly quickly, so if they're used to eating, say, only pellets, it becomes harder to widen their diet with new foods. Variety is good!

I have 2 RES about 7 months old. Theyre about 3 inches now. They live in a tank with a 3" blue crawfish about 10 apple snails, minnows, and I just got a baby map 1" (soo cute). The lobster has no problem fending for himself. He's got at least 2 hiding spaces that the turts cant get to. He's also got a lot of courage: he tried to grab a piece of tuna out of one RES's mouth before he got taught whos boss in the tank. This lobster is as fast as grease lightning. He can move about 12" in the blink of an eye. Hes also nocturnal so he almost never comes out during the day.

I did find one snail eaten up about 2 weeks ago but I havent had any causualties since..

I was worried about the baby map but hes doing great. The lobster has a healthy respect for him and the other two turts seems to like him. They swim up to him and look him over for awhile and then swim away... The baby actually follows one of the RES around alot. Its really cute. The only agression ive ever seen towards him is at feeding time. He gets pushed out of the way alot..

Maybe feeding the baby separately would be good... (I'd still be careful keeping everyone together because he's so much smaller than the others. And I'd be careful of that lobster snipping feet, etac. with its claws.)