Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 6:45 pm
The bacteria wouldn't hurt the fish if your turtle is healthy and the water is maintanined fairly clean, so if you don't let the water get out of hand then yes, it's fine.
However seeing as fish live completely in the water (with a few exceptions), water quality is much more important to them than to turtles, so if you want your fish to live healthy (until they get eaten), you should probably test your pH, nitrate, ammonia, and phosphorus levels in the water and adjust before placing them into the tank. Usually you don't need to, since the water is pretty good, but there are some instances that the water has shot up in conecntrations of something, and while you may not be able to see it (the water is still crystal clear), it may be killing your fish. Unless you plan on putting in some pricey fish in there (which will more than likely get eaten by your turtles, maybe not in a day, but in a few months), then you can skip water testing. Oh, and if you don't already condition your water with some form of dechlorinator, and you get your water off the tap, you should probably add some dechlorinator too, chlorine kills fish.
Snails, like said above, are cheap alternatives to adding some life to your tank, the turtles eat them, they reproduce quickly, but sometimes too quickly, causing an invasion, so I would decide against snails.
Some people have added small crusteceans to their set-ups, such as small crayfish, but unless your turtle gets the upper hand and eats them first, they have been known to fight back and injure turtles, so I advise against them too.
Overall, best tank mates are small cheap fish, and expect them to go missing at anytime if your turtle catches them in its mouth.
Hey hey hey.
