General Care Discussion :: Cumberland Slider, Albino Oscar, and Plecos?

[Vyirus]

Ok so I have had my 6 year old Cumberland Slider for about 2.5 months, she is living in a 75 gallon tank with 4 filters, basking area, so on so forth......today I decided I wanted to get a algae eater so it would help with some of the clean up in the tank. Well I ended up walking out with 2 plecos, and an Albino Oscar only costing me about 18 bucks. It has been a couple hours, and Koopa (my Cumberland slider) doesnt seem to interested in the Oscar at all, the plecos are in hiding within the rocks so I dont really think there will be to much of a problem there. But I really dont know if my Cumberland has been introduced to fish when she was younger, as she is 6 years old already, and I acquired her from someone who acquired her from someone else. If she is showing no interest in the fish will there be a problem in the future?

[SpenceMasta]

your 18 dollars is a sunk cost, its a gamble whether or not your fish are gonna be eaten tomorrow, a year from now, or never at all

if you want to help their survival chances provide hiding spots or areas your turtle cant reach, but even that's not a 100% deterrent, just dont be surprised if one of those guys go missing, you have prey and predator living together

[mikee]

V-us The answer is YES! Fact of life: turtles like to eat fish. The plecos can hide and the Osker may be fast but at some point the turtle will eat them. If they can't catch them right away they will nip at them until they cannot swim as fast. It may take some time but the slider will eat the fish.

[str1p]

its a gamble, ive had my oscar with my res for over a year now, but my oscar is a lot larger than my turtle.

[jay2487]

I hear many people say its a sure thing that the fish will get eaten, I guess my turtles are just different than everyone else. They chase my 30+fish every once in a while but it rarely results in a bite or death. As for plecos, I have seen mine get bitten right on the face and swim away like it was nothing. Oscars are one of the smartest fish out there so if anyone can survive it's that guy. Now I do strive to keep my water perfect quality and don't use any chemicals in my tank. This helps to keep my fish as strong as possible because when one is sick or weak the turtles can sense it and will hunt it non stop until its gone.

[Vyirus]

Thanks for the advice everyone,

So far no attempts from my Cumberland she doesnt even seem interested in them at all, last night when I turned out the lights, my Oscar came right out and was swimming all around the tank with the turtle paying no attention to her at all. After about a half an hour my Cumberland went to sleep as her usual routine and the Oscar and Plecos went about there business all around the tank. But this morning as soon as I turned on the lights they 3 fish instantly go and hide behind the rocks. Mostly the Oscar, I have one concern now about him tho, it seems there is no physical damage to him at all, but he seems to be swimming more to one side. Could the turtle have done this, or could it possibly be just something wrong with the oscar not related?

[jay2487]

it could be that the turtle nipped a fin or it could be he's still getting used to his new surroundings and water parameters. Hopefully the turtle nipped him a little, it will make him avoid the turtle more and have a better chance at survival.

[bradmeisel]

good luck. I put in rosies regularly. Usually most are gone within a day, but stripey has lived through three batches. I am not optimistic though.

[seanwb]

I can foresee a problem here

75 gallon tank sounds like it may be the right size for the Slider depending how big it is. It is too small for a fully grown Oscar. Depending on the sort of pleco you got, it may on the small size for those.

Put then all together, and when fully grown you are going to need a much bigger tank to maintain a good water quaility for the fish

[jay2487]

More than likely he'll have to get rid of the pleco before its fully grown and the oscar should be just fine in a 75gal. If not it will be atleast 5 years before its big enough to worry about and by then the turtle will have probably claimed him