redearslider.com

Im getting a 125g tank soon, and wouldnt mind making it a bit more active. ive had them for 2 years, and ive tried a few guppies in there, but they seem to go missing, anyone try fish in the tank that survived? and would there bacteria hurt the fish at all?? thanks

I keep rosy red minnows, guppies and goldfish in with my res. The guppies reproduce pretty quick so there's always some in there. I do have to tell you that goldfish are quite fatty and aren't a good feeder for turtles. I throw in a dozen every few months, and only when the store has nothing else. I also kept snails in there for a while until their breeding got out of control.

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.

i put some gold fish in there today and they got eaten

Unfortunately goldfish don't swim very fast so they get eaten faster than any fish I know. The guppies are a better challenge for a turtle since they swim very fast.

I know I already asked this in another thread but it was kinda off topic and didn't get answered...

you guys get plain guppies (as someone informed me), and here we mainly only get fancy tailed ones since people don't usually use them for feeder fish, is it ok to use the fancy ones?

we don't get rosies (or what ever they are)

Fancy guppies are fine but for the price of them I wouldn't use them as feeders. Here I can get a dozen feeders for $2.39 or one single fancy guppy for the same price...

yeah tell me about it... $10 NZ... around $5 US each for the fancy ones here.. but we just don't get the feeders coz they arn't popular.

people don't really use feeder fish here

Feeder fish aren't really necessary for a balanced diet. The only reason I have any guppies in the tank with my baby RES is because people on this board seemed to be having a lot of fun with having a turtle set up with fish & plants & snail & the works! So I went out & got a dozen for a buck & they have been multiplying like rabbits! Thank goodness I have an aquatic frog that can help clean up all these fish. Yipes.

yeah, i just wanted them for the extra stuff to look at in the tank, so as long as they arn't going to be a problem to the turt i may get some.