General Care Discussion :: lonely turt?

[Pluckt007]

hola everybody,
well i stole a 40 gallon tank from my grandmothers house. so now the little bugger has plenty of room to grow and be merry. but this post is about other fish. everything new, the turtle bites at. be it ornaments, lettuce, or even the tip of a sock that made its way on to the tank, and of course, me. i want to get a fish in there with him. but the last time, it took 5 seconds and a goldfish had become dinner. is this the way he is? what if i put a bigger fish than him in the tank, will he still attack it? or what if i put like 20 little tetras in there, he cant eat 20 tetras at one time, so the remaining ones will leave him used to living with fish? i dont know. what about another turtle? will he attack him too? or should i just let him be, all lonely?

[DocShay]

Turtles are very solitary reptiles, they don't need - or generally want the company of others.

But, some fish are okay. I'll been successful with Tinfoin Barbs, I have 2 of them - i'm sure my turtles would love to eat them, but these fish are just to quick to catch!

Its not fish size you wanna go for, its speed! Finfoil barbs work well, I also got a chinese algae eater thats lightning quick (although he sure is one ugly sucker).

[SpotsMama]

Anything else living that you put in your turtle tank will eventually (probably - not 100% of the time) become a meal for your turtle. If the fish is bigger, then the turtle will just eat it a chunk at a time - very painful for the fish.

You might try rosie red minnows instead of goldfish in the tank. Minnows are a lot faster than goldfish so they may (or may not, depending on how fast your turtle is) last longer. I've got one minnow that's living in Spot's tank for about a year and a half. One of these days Spot is going to eat him but so far he's hanging on. Also, goldfish aren't particularly good for a turtle as they are too fatty. Minnows, on the other hand, are lean.

Sometimes a couple of turtles get along for awhile but eventually most of them wind up fighting and have to be separated. Then you have to have two tanks, two filters, two lighting setups, etc etc. Can get expensive.

Don't worry about your turtle being lonely. They are basically loners and do fine without company in the tank.

[DocShay]

Also, many others would advise NOT getting a secound turtle.

I got a 2nd one before I found this place, or looked into it. I lucked out, and these 2 don't fight much. They flutter now and again, and i've seen them each snap at one another very very rarly - but no direct contact has ever been made. Had them together for about a year now.

But..I got lucky. If they fight and hurt one another, you need to take them apart before any damage is done, or even death. That means another big tank, more equipment, maintance etc etc. If you can afford to do that and want to take the risk...then maybe try it - but if you can't. Don't take that kind of risk.


EDIT: I see you and I are on the same page mama

[mikee]

Plu-7 -- Even if you get a bigger fish the turtle will take bites out of his fins until he can't swim properly and that will make him an easier meal.
Fish can only run and cannot fight back.