Other Turtle Discussion :: How does your turtle eat the live fish?

[Opus]

Opus just hides in his tunnel 'till a rosy red minnow comes too close and bites it once and than swallows it whole!and have you ever given a 5mm crab too your turtle for dinner?opus loves!crabs!!

[adam85491]

Well, I'de have to say you probably shouldn't feed crabs-and even if you could it'd be one a month tops..as for feeder fish again limited to maybe a half dozen a month-too much protein.

My turtle often chases the fish around until he gets it..not much hiding spots for the fish so it's pretty easy. Some times they don't swim away and he just creeps up behind them and eats them..it doesn't bother me though the other family members aren't all that fond.

[greek]

i will buy couple of guppies to see if my turtles are going to eat them..
i think they will live long among my turtles

[Lauriebeth83]

I bought 3 rosy reds over a month ago and within the first day my turt swallowed one whole while the fish was trying to steal his food. But the other 2 are still surviving in my tank. He does chase them around at times but he hasn't eaten any yet. Not sure if he just can't catch them or doesn't want to but i like them being in there. The help alot in keeping the bottom of the tank clean and if he does decide to eat them i can just go get more since they are so cheap.

[Tenodera]

Wow! The only live thing Serra has eaten is woodlice and earthworms.
CRUNCH goes the shell and the fish feed on the guts...blech.

Yea, crabs should be fed too often since if the shell is broken is swallowed and the turtle might try to swallow a very sharp piece. Also, crabs and other crustaceans are known to carry shell diseases that can be transmitted to turtles.

[Opus]

OMG!!!!!I FED HIM 5 CRABS!!!!!WHAT DO I DO?he seems ok!but he hasn't taken his early morning 5mm sized piece of dump!is there a cure?

[Tenodera]

Well as long as you stop feeding him so many crabs it should be ok. But check his shell once a week and watch him for any symptoms

[xsavingsaturdayx]

If you want to add variety in opus's diet, you can try gutloaded crickets, earthworms, snails, guppies. Just dont ever feed opus anything like 'crab, crayfish, etc' like tenodera said, they can harm your turtle, if not get him sick..and I know you dont want that, right?

Just remember that all of the foods I mentioned above shouldnt be fed too often, i'd say once every two weeks is fine. Try adding an aquatic plant in there! They are very nutritious for opus, it offers him a snack whenever he wants and will help keep the water cleaner as well!

[kmichael55]

So, Kevin, woodlice are ok?? I thought of feeding them that before, thought maybe the calcium would be good, but I wasn't sure.

[Tenodera]

hmmmm.... welll

I used to feed them to Serra once a week, but recently I recall that woodlice are a kind of crustacean and that can be linked to shell rot? I'm not too entirely sure. Maybe once in a while is ok....

[WyredHardware]

Kokoro does not eat live fish.. I have had some in her tank a week after I got here and the same fish are still alive. I took one out one time. Killed it... then fed it to her.. she liked that but live... nope.

[scripta_elegans]

I put a dozen Rosies and a dozen Ghost shrimp in about every 3 months. They do eventually disappear, but there is far more hunting and chasing than eating. I have 1 Rosie in there now that is going on 6 months! I should also mention that we go to the vet once a year at least, and I check for parasites monthly. I don't think most people would want to do it, but I think it's interesting.

[Opus]

Oh!he ate another one!this time he ripped it apart!theirs only 3 left!!!!!!!

[Bridget]

I just got a guppy for my turtle. She won't eat it but watches it swim around the tank. I am hoping she will eventually eat it. I also got her some Anarchis, and was that a great buy. She is either eating the plant or sitting in it.

[GPRenegade]

Helmholtz chases them around the tank at full speed... I put three in once and he didn't stop swimming until he had eaten all three of them.