Other Turtle Discussion :: holy moly!

[jeggy]

ok, so the other day i decide to buy some more feeder fish just to liven up my aquarium and also since the 3 that i have in there (1 goldfish, 2 ....i dont know what they are) are about half the size of my turtle. and even though he still tries to chase them down to eat, he cant catch them. as im at the pet store, i see these bright colorfull fishes called neon tetras.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... safe%3Doff

i buy a half dozen of these, along with the half dozen guppie. i get them home and add them to my tank after i change the water. about an hour later i start to see my turtle chase the new fishies. hahahahha, i laugh to myself and at my lil turtle cause im thinking, if he cant catch the other larger, therefore, slower fish how can he get these super-quick-speedy-gonzales fishes? hahahaha, stupid lil turtle. fishies arn't for turtles, they're for kid..... uuhhh, ooops. trix comercial got to me there. anyways, after laughing at my turlte i go on about my buisness.
next morning when i go to check up on my turtle before i go to work, i notice theres a couple fishes missing. huh? what happen to the fishies? my turtle couldnt have caught some did he? he must have. what else could have happen to them? alien abductions? my turtle really did catch them dint he.
so today after work (actually after going to the bank to deposit my paycheck only to remember that today is a holiday and the bank was closed) i go to petco to buy more neon tetras. this time i buy about 20 of them. they guy only wrote down 1 dozen since there were just a bit too many to count with the fishes swimming all crazy and all. when i get them home i put the unopened bag in the tank so the water temps can equalize smoothly. while the bag was in the tank, my turtle imediately swims up to it and starts chomping at it trying to get ot the fishies inside. hahahaha, agian i laugh at my lil turtle for his futile atempts to get the fishies. but i was actually rooting for him to be able to tear the bag open and have himself a smorgashboard of neons. but the bag was too thick.
so now after the bag sittind in the tank for about an hours or so, i open it up and let the fishes out. woooohoohoohoo, boy is my turtle excited! hes chasing the neons like monty python chasing women. heheheh. as i sat and watch him chase the fishes CHOMP! he gets one! WOW! i've never seen him catch one before. im excited no too. these neons are about half the size of his head too. a minute later SNATCH! grabs one by the tailfin. the neon struggles but gulp, my turtle swallows it whole. whoa! he just swallows them alive seconds later another chomp. thats three already, all within minutes of each other. this is awsome. just one after another! chomp, gulp, chomp, gulp. hes eating like crazy. i actually lost count of how many he ate! one thins for sure, hes gotta be full. no way can he eat that many fhishes and still want more to eat. but he does! he begs me for pellets, he continues to chase the neons! WOW! this is the most excited i have been i have been since i adopted him.

sorry for the long post and long link to the pic of the neon tetra but i thank you for sticking around to read my lil story. the story of the first time i experince seeing my turtle (i really need to give him a name already) eat live food.

[new turtle-lover]

They will eat even though they are full.

How big is your turtle? You shouldn't put all of them in at once...

[jenaero]

I remember the first time I watched my girls rip minnows apart. Gross but interesting at the same time I don't think I could feed those cute neons tho. I don't feel bad for ugly guppies and minnows. I know my girls will eat fish until they throw up so be careful with how many you buy.

[cam722]

You have to be aware that ANYTHING you put in with your turtle they will consider food. I'd not get him any new fishes either for decoration or for food. You need to realize that fish are high protein and that too much protein can cause a lot of health problems from pyramiding to organ damage.

new turtle_lover is right. A turtle will eat even though it's full. You can't go by the fact that they are eating and determine they are hungry. Just doesn't work with turtles. I'm not sure as to the nutritional value of neon tetras (yes, I know what they are and have owned them) but goldfish are not the best choice for feeder fish for your turtle. They are too fatty and low nutritional value. The better choice would be rosey minnows or feeder guppies.

I too enjoy the entertainment of watching the turtles chasing after the fish.. I've had about a dozen minnows in my tank with the 2 turtles for months and months now.. we're finally down to 3 ...

[jeggy]

hes about 3 inches long.
i wonder, would he try to eat a frog if i put one in there?

[jenaero]

short answer is yes. Some frogs/toads are toxic if eaten so I wouldn't risk it.

[Boogerbutt02]

When we had a lot of rain, there was tadpoles everywhere, so I caught about 6 every couple of days and put them in the tank for my turtle to eat... She loved them... but the down side was it made the water go cloudy after about the 3rd time, so I stopped.