redearslider.com

Simple questions really. My kids wanted to add their 2 Gold fish to my turtle tank and I said sure. Actually did this about 3 months ago and everyone is at peace with each other. I estimate my turtle at about 7 months old. Other than my turtle possibly eating the gold fish, are there any other concerns? I've heard Gold fish produce high amounts of ammonia? Could that possibly be a concern? I attached a picture of my setup, although it has changed a little since this original pic.

Goldfish do produce high amounts of amonia I'm not sure though if that's bad for the turtle you might want to look that up

In the fish world, goldfish have a well deserved reputation for producing waste ammonia.

Turtles blow that production rate away. They produce lots and lots of ammonia. That's one of the reasons for the recommendation to over filter a turtle tank and provide a large volume of water.

The general guideline here is 10 gallons for every inch of the shell length, measured from front to back with a straight edge, with a filter rated for four times the water volume. With the understanding that as you increase water volume, that filter rating can go down. So a ten gallon really needs a filter rated at 40 gallons, but a 100 gallon may not need 400 gallons of filtering. It would help, but isn't as critical at lower water volumes.

All of that a long winded way of saying, you will need a much larger tank for your turtle soon, and will definitely want a larger tank if you want to add goldfish.

There's also the strong possibility that your turtle will eat the goldfish. My turtle is nearly three years old. I have fish with her that have been there for almost two and a half years. I also had different fish I'd added which were eaten within months of being added.

I have 3 large kinda like small koi. 2 Chinese suckers and 2 wild sunfish in the same tank as my turtles. My only concern is that they might become lunch! None of my turtles seam interested in them so I think they will live a good long life.

It looks like you have a canister filter so you probably will be able to handle the excess waste. The bigger concern is that goldfish grow to the size of their container, they may get too big for that tank.
See if you can talk your kids into something that stays smaller like a minnow or guppy.

Goldfish are also considered fatty and more prone to parasitic infections (when compared to minnows).

steve wrote:Goldfish are also considered fatty and more prone to parasitic infections (when compared to minnows).

Good thing I'm not planning on eating them anytime soon!

And my minnows are fine also. I forgot I have 2 minnows.oops.

I do think some of the bright red gold fish will get a turtles attention quickly. Other than that, I don't plan on eating them either

I have 2 goldfish that have survived about a year with my turtle. I originally bought 6 but he snacked on the rest. The 2 that survived are already 5+ inches. Goldfish can grow 12+ inches which is too much for smaller tanks. Just something to think about.

steve wrote:Goldfish are also considered fatty and more prone to parasitic infections (when compared to minnows).

Don't forget their endogenous thiaminase!

You're right! Man, it's been forever since that word has been brought up. If I recall, minnows have some too.

My goldfish are fine. I have them tested weekly!
Joking aside, all fish can carry diseases and this should be a consideration before you add them to your tank.

I'm always thinking of getting some for a treat but it's been years since I used them. There are many other things they like and don't have to chase down.

I don't feed them live fish as a treat either. Actually I did put some minnows in the tank a while back but all they are doing is getting bigger. Ha ha.