General Care Discussion :: My Ninja

[bloodparrotgirl]

Alrighty so I did post a little blurb in the intro section and I wanted to elaborate the situation that I am in with my little RES.
So I bought my 125gal fish tank and Ninja was included with the deal, and it was a full fish tank, with water and fish and the works. He did have a piece of driftwood in the tank that he could sit on an rest. Sometimes when I am cleaning the fish tank, (I do this about once every one to two weeks), I take Ninja out and place him in a smallish betta bowl and let him hang out in front of the window so he can look outside, I really think he loves that.
So when I took over the tank he seemed to do well with the transition. The tank is still full of water but with his piece of wood I have stablized it, (tied a string to it) to keep it in one spot. I guess that's his little Basking area. I don't have a heat lamp on the tank for him, because it's a glass top and there is actually a canopy top over that.
I do know that Ninja has already eatten a couple of small fish that I had in the tank, which I do have to say really upset me, as I said in my hello post I am a fish keeper first, but usually he just eats the fish food that I throw in the tank, he usually gets protein pellets for fish, along with flake food, and then twice a week they are feed blood worms. I have eels in my tank so that's why I feed the worms. So far he seems to be doing pretty good in the tank, he cruises around, walks on the bottom of the tank, hangs out in the plants.
I love Ninja, and I would love to keep him til he can't no more, but the problem is I don't have room for another tank, and I don't have the resources to buy the equipment right now. Are there any suggestions you guys can make for keep my little guy healthy and happy where he is?

[octpusgirl8]

Well...if you can't won't buy him any equipment, you hsould really give him to someone who is willing to provide him what he needs. Turtles need special UVB lighting as well as heat for basking in order to metabolize calcium. Without proper lighting, he will live a short unhealthy life. Read over the care info on redearslider.com and see if you think you'll be up for caring for this little guy.

FYI, it's only a matter of time until he eats more of your fish, that's just what turtles do

[TheComputerGremlin]

How big is Ninja? Honestly, I have to agree with octpusgirl, if you cannot provide him with the basic necessities (water around 76 degrees, a heat bulb, a UVB bulb, a proper basking area, proper turtle pellets, vegetables, cuttlebone), you need to find a new home for him. Without these basics, the turtle will live a short and cruel life, even if you think he's fine, turtles can hide their illnesses and dissatisfaction easily.

No matter what type of tank you have, giving him a few of the basics should be hard. A good basking platform can be made out of plexiglass and attached to the side of the tank. Directly overtop of this platform you can place an incandescent bulb for heat and a UVB bulb. There are a number of good examples of tanks on this board that utilize the large canopies with the larger tanks. He MUST be fed turtle pellets, which are just as cheap as fish pellets. Fish food is okay occasionally, but not as a staple to the diet. And he will continue eating your fish, so don't put anything in there you want to keep around. He'll need a 70-120 gallon tank, depending on his/her final size. And as he gets bigger, less fish will be able to be safely kept with him. I can't say that he won't start nipping at your eels as well.

[megcornell]

Hi!
What exactly do you have in your 125g tank? For tropical fish, you'd need a heater and good filtration anyways, so I'm assuming those requirements need to be met regardless.
Are you planning on keeping the turtle in that tank or in a different one?
Your best plan of action would be to read up on the requirements of a turtle on the main page and see if you can't meet those. Things like a UVB light can wait, but necessities like temperature and basking areas need to be met immediately.
Since you're an avid fish keeper, you probably won't want to keep your turtle with your fish popluation, since they are avid hunters. With a tank as large as you have though, you could easily divide it for now.