General Care Discussion :: Just got two turtles and have some questions

[greerman29]

I have two baby red eared slider that are around 2 inches.


First question is that I read they like live food when they are young. I don't know what to give them that would be small enough though. If I could, I'd really like to feed them some small fish and watch them chase them around. Are they too small for live meals or are there good small things I can feed them?

Second question. Are there any fish that can coexist with red eared sliders? I assume that the turtles would just eat them all which leads to my next question. If there are feeder fish living in the tank will the turtles eat too much at one time or will they be able to contain themselves until they get hungry?


Thanks for any help.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

You can get them some feeder fish,or guppies.My turtles were able to catch fish when they were just 1 inch.In my opinion they arent to small,they might not want to eat them at first,but they will catch on to it.

Honestly their is no other animal other than a turtle that can coexist in the same tank,sooner or later.What ever animal you put in there,is going to become dinner.

I would give them 6 fish at the most.Keep in mind that live food isnt a staple.I offer my turtles fish,once a month.

[missibsu]

Just keep in mind that live food isn't required. Just because they may prefer live foods at a younger age doesn't mean that they need them. A good pellet food, such as reptomin baby would be good for your turts. It is also never too early to introduce veggies into the diet. The veggies will eventually become the staple food and the sooner you get them eating the veggies, the easier it is.

When I added feeder guppies to my tank, I did a dozen at a time. They ate most, but left 3 or 4. These eventually bred and repopulated the tank. RES are oppertunistic eaters, so they will eat whatever you give them. I don't know the rationale for why mine didn't eat all of the fish, but I have heard of others with the same experience.

Other live foods that you can offer as a treat would be something like earthworms, or gut loaded crickets. The earthworm cut into pieces might even be a better way to go for younger turts if the guppies don't work. Just cut them into small pieces.

[scmom0305]

I've given my yearling lettus, carrots, and greenbeens, he didn't touch a one. Any suggestions on how to get him to actualy eat them?? Oh i didn't give him all of those at once, lol, and I tried to make sure they were about the size of a small pellet.

[pumpkinsherbet]

rosie red minnows and ghost shrimp are two very inexpensive live feeders that you can get. i paid $0.52 for two rosie reds and my little ones had no trouble chomping them down.

if you want to stick something else in the tank with them i would recommend going with something cheap. ghost shrimp are cheap (bought two for the same price as the rosies) and last a little bit longer. difficult to see they can also help clean up the tank a little bit before they become a meal.

i don't like to give my little ones live feeders more than once a month, too much protein is bad for them.