General Care Discussion :: Fish Eating Turtle!!!!

[Cusson]

ok so i started with 6 original guppies, then they lived fine with my turtle they never really bothered him and and he never went near them. Then last week i got about 15-20 more. Instantly i was finding their bodies shredded and ripped apart all across my tank and withing about 4 days they were all dead and only the 6 original ones lived on... (my first question is was my turtle eating these fish or were the other fish eating these fish?)

but now that all those fish are dead my turtle seems to be peeling pretty badly.. i can see a large piece hanging off his flipper as i type, and the fish are constantly like nibbling at him.

Are they eating the dead skin or possibly trying to eat him?! :O

Why is my turtle peeling so badly is this ok?

[industrial_girl_2000]

Is it the skin of your turtle that is "peeling" or the shell? When your turtle is in the water, are there wispy thin light pieces of skin hanging off? If so, that's normal for them. Also, what is your water temp? If the water temp is too high, that can make a turtle shed more skin than normal.

Unfortunately, turtles will try to eat anything that is in their tank, that's just what they do. If you don't want to find fish pieces everywhere, then maybe put less fish in there next time, or don't put any in there at all. You really don't need more than 6-10 in the tank with him anyway, because you don't want him overeating. The guppies won't eat other guppies, it is the turtle making the big mess, LOL. Eventually the weak slow guppies will get eaten & only the fast ones will live. You may find that one or two of these guppies will be able to out-swim your turtle pretty well.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Yes, the fish are probably eating the dead turtle skin. It's fine. I doubt the fish can hurt him with their mouths anyways. And if they both him too much, he'll probably just eat them too!

[Vtolds]

Its probably just like sea turtles that go too a specific place with fish that clean there shell and pretty much clean them up.

[marisa]

What are the temps of the water and basking area?

How badly is your turtle shedding? If he's been eating a lot of protein/fish, he could be going through a growth spurt. How long has he been shedding?

How often do you clean the water? A lot of debris in the water will lead to a high ammonia level, which will contribute to skin shedding.

[Cusson]

ok well it is his actual skin that is peeling not just his shell. I usually keep the water at around 78 degrees fahrenheit sometimes it gets a little warm though... 80 MAX. I dont mind that the fish are dying as long as i know it is him that is eating them and not the other fish killing fish... The water was kinda dirty for a little while becuase i went on a short trip but i came home and cleaned it and now it has stayed clean.

Somehow all the fish are dead now, so no more fish to worry about anyways and glad to hear the peeling isnt that big of a deal. Thanks guys

[kgielda]

Harvey always eats them whole- in 1 gulp! It usually takes about 10 minutes for him to get them all. He looks so cute when he's hunting.