General Care Discussion :: Adding critters to the tank

[Shelby Craig]

Im always thinking of new ideas for my turtle tank and right now my idea is adding small catfish, but still big enough to where my turtles wont see them as food (like that's going to happen) and crawdads to clean up what the filter leaves behind, would this be a good idea or just a waste of Time/money depending on how i get the critters.

If anyone has any better ideas it would be appreciated, i don't care for people to down my ideas at all since i usually do that myself anyway.

[SSMcLeod]

Catfish okay idea - they do like substrate that they can kinda muck around in - and can get stressed if they do not have hiding places.

Any sorta shell fish is just a bad idea unless your putting it in there for food. I routinely drop in about a dozen or so ghost shrimp (about a dollar at my LPS) and they are all gone within a week. They are just to slow, and a turtles jaws just rip right through them - yes they are smaller than crawdads, but eventually your turtle will be big enough to eat them anyways

[Linus]

Anything in your tank that moves beside the turtle should be considered food. The best you can get is probably a Chinese Algae Eater. Fast as hell, even though my turt still catches them.

[richieboy]

I just got an electric yellow cichlid. My turtle has also been living with 3 goldfish. She doesn't bother with them, she's 7 and never been fed fish. I think the cichlid would do well because its fast and seems smart. There are a whole bunch of types of cichlids. Some get BIG, this one stays at 5" about. I did some research and found it was a more docile type too.

[Linus]

Cichlids are social fish and need to be kept in colonys.

[richieboy]

Really, pet store guy didn't say that and I didn't catch it anywhere else. Should I get more? How many to keep them happy?

[siva]

Crawfish can hurt the turt so I wouldn't add them

[Linus]

They can be kept by them selves but they are more outgoing in groups of 6+. They should also have lots of rocks to hide in.

[SSMcLeod]

Any of the "sharks" are solo creatures and are generally fast enough to evade a turtle... but most cichalids, barbs, tetras are social fish.

[siva]

Any of the sharks except the Bala which is a schooler

[Peva]

My turtle is slow by eats pretty much everything. Took her more than a month to eat 10 minnows, but usually, small speedy fish are tough for turts to get. Larger fish are good too - especially when they compare to the turtle in size well.

[regalesse]

my guys have a trio of blood parrots and two corys in their tank. my guys leave all of them alone but will tear up a minnow or shrimp if they are in the tank.

[Deorc Val]

Hey, Shelby Craig! I love adding critters to my tank because it entertains the turtles and us! The best way to play it safe is to ONLY put edible friends in your tank. I have a colony of guppies and minnows, the minnows are the ones that survive the longest since they're quick! I also put ghost shrimp for funsies, they surprisingly last a while. I even put crawdads! BUT, crawdads are the most expensive to put in, $2 each... And, if they don't have adequate hiding areas they will be eaten as soon as they're spotted. The turtles much prefer a crawdad chase to any fish I have in the tank.
Keep in mind though that crawdads have pinchers! I've read a story about a crawdad pinching a RES's neck and wounding it. My turtles are all over 6 inches, and they're in a 150 gallon tank. The crawdads at my local pet store are also youngish...

I've also been thinking about catfish! They are great for cleaning up the bottom of the tank! However, I've done lots of reading and there are only a few different types that are safe enough to put with your pet turts. They have barbs! I read a story about a catfish killing a small RES after a barb broke off in his mouth. Cory catfish seem to be the safest bet, although they stay small enough to become a meal. They're quick and smart though, if they have enough hiding area they should last a while.

We're going to experiment with 2 Corys next month. We'll see how it goes! (For the fish...)

Oh yeah, and I wanted to put snails in my tank but they cary parasites and worms! Not worth it!

[Deorc Val]

All in all, it's up the environment you're trying to create for your turts. You can go the "pond" route like mine, with lots of cheap feeders. The fun thing about lots of fish is that you can see how they act in a group. The minnows stay with their kind and the guppies stay with theirs. It's like a mini eco system...

OR you can get a few beautiful fish, that would also be considered pets. The bigger prettier fish are also cool to watch, but you will need to make sure that their needs are also met.

[SINI5T3R]

Ya chinese algae eaters are crazy fast. They get annoying when your trying to net them. Even the people at the pet stores haverpblems catching them hahaha. Cichlids are great for turtle tanks. They usually fight for themself if they need too. Iv seen my cichlids attack my turtles when the turtles mess with them. Scares the he'll out of the turtle lol so funny