General Care Discussion :: Fish with my turtles

[Kiranin]

Hi I was wondering what types of fish can help with my tanks cleanliness. And maybe help with their waste.

Also if anyone could tell me how to get my turtles to eat in another tank so as to help with keeping their main tank clean I would greatly appreciate it.

[SpotsMama]

A few rosey red minnows lived in Spot's tank for several years and they did a marvolous job of keep the bottom of the tank clean. He wasn't that interested in eating minnows, so they lasted a long time. Finally, though, he ate the next to last one, and I liberated the last one in our out-door pond to try to save it.

Spot would always eat in a separate container without hesitation. I just put him in a big mixing bowl every morning with some water and his meal and he would eat it right up. I understand, though, some turtles are less comfortable in a mixing bowl. You might try giving your turtle some privacy while he eats if he's slow to eat in front of you while he's in a mixing bowl.

[Kiranin]

ok, and what about their temperature while they´re in the bowl, cause the big heater I have takes hours to heat up right if I unplug it.

[Kiranin]

also at the pet shop they showed me some tiny scavenging striped and white catfish, what about those?

[SpotsMama]

A lot of people just take a scoop of tank water for the feeding bowl. If your tank's too small for that, you could use plan faucet water, adding a couple of cups of microwaved warm water to bring the temp up a few degrees.

A pretty little catfish would probably do a good job for you while it lived. But your turtle would probably eat it up really fast. Catfish aren't as fast as rosey reds and they cost more. Some turtles really love to eat the rosies and if yours is like that, then there's probably no fish you could leave in the tank to keep it clean, so you'd have to resign yourself to scooping out the solids with a net, then vacuuming up the crumbs, like I do now.