Will he be able to catch zebra danios? or do I have to supply him with slower moving fish like guppies?
Painted Turtle Setup
- Thread starter Liquid_Pyro
- Start date
Zebra danios might be a bit fast for him. If you put them in his tank, he might catch them eventually, but it could take a few days. Guppies and slow moving fish work best. Mine could catch goldfish the easiest, but I stopped due to risk of diseases. If you quarintine yours first, they should be fine.
Painted turtles don't need fish to eat. There are a lot better choices of food for them if that's what your goal is. But as for danios, I've kept them with turtles before and they are way too fast for most turtles to catch.
Oh I am aware, but if I had some extra fish...culling off a few...as I said it wouldn't be the main diet
I would recommend a stock tank prob 100 gal or 120,, your turtle will get pretty large. stock tanks work great.. more natural.. I keep my two diamond back terrapins in one in the house looks awesome.
Its a male, so he only gets to be 5inches...I dont think a 100 gal is necessary...although I would love one
I realize this thread's a bit old, but thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. I have a wild caught Eastern Painted that I've had for about 3 years and she's doing great so I must not be messing things up too badly. 
Sorry for the rambling! Best of luck with your new turtle!
You need a UVA/UVB light and a heat lamp. I use ReptiSun 5.0 UV lamps and a regular halogen spot for heat.
My understanding is that painteds are good swimmers and quite comfortable in deep water from an early age. I've had mine in up to 20" of water without a problem. The greater danger is water that is too shallow. It need to be at least as deep as the shell is long, otherwise the turtle could get itself stuck upside down and drown.
As Vicious said, 12 on/off works fine. (Vicious, by the way, is awesome and has helped me a LOT with my painted.)
Anything that is stable and not abrasive should be fine, though mine has trouble on smooth surfaces. I had a DIY platform made of roofing slates for a while, but I've switched to a floating turtle dock and it's great.
They need to be under water to swallow, so they can't be fed on dry land. To cut down on mess in the tank, you can have a separate feeding tub. Just be sure it doesn't get too cold. A (relatively) small container of water can cool off surprisingly quickly, which makes for an unhappy turtle.
Don't have a good answer on that. When I found my painted, she was about 1.5" shell diameter. 3 years later she's about 3.75". I have no idea if that's typical or idea, but I do know that it is dangerous for them to grow too fast. Basically, their insides can grow faster than their shells if you feed to much, which eventually leads to organ failure. Turtles eat all kinds of things and there are many resources online with different feeding ideas, just be aware not giving too much protein and maintaining a good calcium/phosphorus ratio.
I've kept danios with my painted. Started with 11 and was down to 6 after about 2 weeks. After careful observation, I realized that she wasn't fast enough to chase the fish and could only catch them if she could ambush them. (I was trying to keep her from eating the fish, so in my case I removed a bunch of tank decorations. If you *want* the turtle to eat the fish, you might try making sure there are plenty of hiding spots.) It's been about 2 years I think and now I'm down to 2 danios. They seem to have gotten just slow enough. Not sure if I'll get more or try a different tank mate or what, but that will have to wait until after the move.
Sorry for the rambling! Best of luck with your new turtle!
