Habitat - Indoor :: Mixing a RES with other fish.

[MudTJ]

Just a baby slider and he is in a 10 gallon tank for now. I also have a 150 gallon fish tank at home with about 5 chiclids in there. About 3-4" long and bigger. Once the turtle grows up some how would it do with the other fish? Would it eat them or?

[sonyj]

An RES will eat (or try to eat) any fish that swims in it's tank. And just because he doesn't eat them immediately doesn't mean that he won't ever eat them.

But I agree with getting him into a bigger tank. A ten gallon is much too small for an RES that is any amount over 1 inch in length. Recommended habitat size is ten gallons per inch of turtle.

[Turtleboy]

its all about the chances, i put 5 guppy fries in with clark and over the course of 5 months he's eaten all except one. theres that one that is still alive, and its either because he can't catch it, or he got tired of catching it, or he's just smart and likes to have company

[pearlie369]

One of my babes loves her fish friends. We had purchased a dozen fish as a treat when we first got her. She did eat half of them, and then we think she became friends with the fish. There is one we have that actually cleans all the shedding skin off of our little girl, and she chases the sucker fish around and forces him to clean her shell. The fish have become huge, the goldfish are about 4inches and fat as heck, and we are thinking of moving up to a 140gal tank just so they can all still be together and not get cramped. Now knowing all of this you would think it would be safe to add some other rare finds into the system we have to help with the cleaning. Well, I bought 4 little fiddler crabs, thinking they could help clean the tank, but my little girl decided to have a crab feast instead. So you can always try to put them together, but there's no way to tell for sure. Some like fish and others I suppose like fiddler crabs.

[gloveman]

its better just to try cheaper fish.....in the two dollor range.....and then you take your chances with that

[sarah]

One of my turtles refuses to eat the fish and the other eats everything.... so it just depends I guess on your turtle.

[johann's mom]

ours live with 2 oscars and insanely large plecos....so far they get along well....there may be a time for a turtle feast as they get larger,but for now it works. two of them are so used to having other fish in the tank they just don't even seem to care.

[MikeReda]

Well, I just set-up my new 90 gallon tank yesterday (see pics in the Photo Gallery), and I gave my old 10 gallon to my partner as a fish aquarium. We bought fish for the 10 gallon today, and I thought a Pleco might be a nice addition to my 90 gallon to help clean the bottom. BAD IDEA! The poor thing lasted about three minutes. I put it in and it just went right to the bottom and sat very still. (Is it possible for a fish to look frightened?) Anyhow, the turts hardly seemed to notice it. I walked away to look at the guppies in the 10 gallon, and when I returned, the Pleco was in about 5 pieces. Apparently my turts LOVE sushi. They've never been around fish before, and I don't think I'll ever put another fish in there, unless I intend it to be eaten. It was a pretty grizzly scene. My larger turt (about 4 inches) actually had a little spot of blood near its mouth. Who knew they were such bloodthirsty killers! I think I'll start doubling the veggies I offer.

[CApears4u2]

Hey Mike,
Although slightly 'graphic', that was funny. My 2 RES (as of yet unnamed) are tiny and just today i bought 5 minnows, among other accessories. Actually one of my RES has grown twice the size as the other in just 2 months! The other is still the same size as when I first acquired them both - maybe 1.5" at best. Not a good sign I'm afraid.

Anyway, the five minnows are still surviving but my larger RES does give chase on occasion. I think if they get used to having fish around. and are fed well, they will probably not eat them. I too am thinking about getting a Plecostamous (sp?) as my tank is getting green fast. It's still near a window so I'm sure that's why... I still have a lot to learn... will spend more time reading!

P4U2

[sonyj]

Our pleco has survived for over a year now in the tank with Koopa. It's grown right along side of Koopa and has been known to hitch a ride on his shell from time to time (never when I have the camera handy ) With that said, I still wouldn't put it past Koopa to tear him to shreds if he wakes up one day and sees the pleco for what he is... a fish. If it happens then I'm not going to get another one, but for now they are living good together.

All turtles are different with different personalities, maybe this is why some let fish live and some don't.

[CApears4u2]

Thanks Sonja,

I'll see how my minnows survive and go from there. My turtles are still very tiny so maybe a larger Pleco will intimidate them as boss of the tank. We'll see!!

Oh, I've offered various veggies from time to time and they are totally NOT interested in any of them. Any suggestions?

P4U2

[sonyj]

...Oh, I've offered various veggies from time to time and they are totally NOT interested in any of them. Any suggestions?

P4U2

Sometimes the trick to getting them to eat their veggies is to not offer them anything else for a little while. It's tough love, but it usually works. After a couple of days of not getting what they want to eat, they will usually eat the veggies or at least try them. Also, you can try soaking the veggies in the water from tuna before feeding them. As they learn to eat the veggies simply wean them off the tuna. Things like tuna, shrimp, live prey, feeders etc aren't good for daily feeding since they are high in protein. Focus on getting them to eat their veggies daily with a staple of pellets and the other treats thrown in for variety occasionally.

[MikeReda]

Actually one of my RES has grown twice the size as the other in just 2 months! The other is still the same size as when I first acquired them both - maybe 1.5" at best. Not a good sign I'm afraid.
P4U2

I wouldn't worry about the size right now. My turts were about the size of 50 cent pieces when I got them. One was a bit bigger, so they got the names "Big One" and "Little One". The "Little One" soon became the "Big One" and vice-versa. They just grew at different speeds. The other one is just now finally starting to catch-up in size (two years later). I take mine out of the tank to feed them, and I place them in two seperate bowls filled with water. This way I am sure one is not stealing food from the other. Hope this helps. I think its great that you are reading-up on this site. It is a wonderful resource.

Oh, I forgot to mention, foods high in protein make them grow REALLY fast. My "Big One" actually started pyramiding (the shell gets bumpy, like little pyramids on each scute). I was feeding them mealworms almost every day. I learned on this site that I should only be feeding them pellets the size of their head every OTHER day, and offering veggies every day. They always beg for food, but tough love is best. They do get the occasional treat of mealworms or something, but not often.

[CApears4u2]

Okay, a quickie then i gotta pick up my girls...

All 5 minnows still thriving. A good sign I guess for them.
Also got rid of ALL the gravel and replaced it with small river rock. The things I'm learning here!
Oh, bought a small placostomus (sp?) and he seems to be doing okay. Of course this is AFTER I clean my tank. Anyway was told by the fish guy that they are nocternal and feed at night. I assume he'll eat the leftover turtle sticks but I 'm also going to get him some Pleco wafers... Will continue to monitor the situation...

I'm giving my little guy just a bit more protein than the big guy, also more calcium as his shell is much softer. Tried a couple of young, tender dandelion leaves yesterday and they didn't touch'em. Will try the tuna trick soon. I also tried a tiny bit of leftover steamed broccoli with a bit of calcium powder for Little Guy and he loved it but I just read about broccoli being a no-no - only allowed on occasion. Will keep trying other stuff. Printed the lists of good & bad foods so I'll keep trying.

I guess most of this post belongs in another topic but I thought I'd add it all since i DID get a new Pleco...

CP4U

[mullman]

I will take a pic of my current setup today.
Two turtles are eating pellets very well.
Pleco is keeping the tank literally spotless.
My Thermofilter (90 GPH) is just amazing in this tiny 10g tank.
Water temp is 80 deg during the day, and 78 at night.
Basking temp on the Turtle Dock is 92 and they "sun" on it alot, then jump in to cool off.
I got rid of all the gravel and rocks and I did not think I would enjoy the look, but it is awesome.

I bought 5 feeder minnows the other day and 3 are left.
2 died of natural causes and the turts would not touch them.

I might get 2-3 fancy guppies today and see how they do.
Everyone seems really happy