Habitat - Indoor :: What kind of fish can i put with my baby RES?

[theturtlekeeper]

It's a 20 Gallon Tank and my baby RES is lonely

[untsmurf]

I voted a month or so, but or so actually means four years.

You should put in some rosy reds, some being two or three since it's just a hatchling. Don't put anything in your tank that you don't want eaten because that's what will happen to the majority of what goes in there. (sorry for the awkward wording, but it's late and I'm tired)

[BullDog]

RES do not get lonely. Any fish you put in there will become a meal.
Stick with leaner fish like guppies or minnows. Stay away from goldfish because they are fatty and carry disease. Also, stay away from anything with spikes, like plecos, since they can potentially harm your turtle when he eats it.

[theturtlekeeper]

Can i put a female baby RES with it or is it too young?

[untsmurf]

No you shouldn't add a new turtle to your tank. There are several reasons for this:
-RES are very aggressive turtles and as Bulldog said, they don't get lonely. They kill the majority of what goes in their tank including other turtles.
-In order to be sure that you're adding a female, it would have to be at least 4'' long which would be much larger than your hatchling. The larger turtle would then be able to cause serious harm to your smaller turtle
-being that your turtle is a hatchling, you don't know it's sex. adding a female could create problems down the road, especially if you have a male turtle
-you would need to set up a quarantine tank for 60-90 days to ensure that you aren't introducing a sick turtle into your healthy turtle's tank
-then you would need to get a larger habitat for the new turtle and your turtle to live in. This tank would need to be in the 75-100 gallon range if you wanted it to last long at all
-there are other things you can add to your tank that pose no risk to your new turtle i.e. plants, decorations, fish, ping pong balls, large rocks, etc. These will provide your turtle with some injury-free entertainment.

Take some time and read through the main site for more info turtle care.

[theturtlekeeper]

well ive had a RES in the past for about 20 years or so and i was just wondering by the way is it a good idea to put a big basking dock like other peaple have because ive seen alot of those

[untsmurf]

Yeah, the larger basking docks work great. The smaller ones are good but they don't last as long because once your turtle grows it will way down the dock. The plastic, multi-leveled ones with the green carpet are really good, I hear. They support some pretty large turtles and can allow you to fill your tank up more than the floating docks would.

[theturtlekeeper]

is there a place to see other peoples basking area? I would want some ideas..

[untsmurf]

There's a sticky for ATBA's (above tank basking areas) here:
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15260