Turtle/fish tank

RollendChang

RollendChang

10 Gal is changin
Sep 10, 2004
43
0
0
42
Cincinnati, Ohio
I have a turtle who's shell is about 1-1 1/2 inches in diamiter and I am looking to set up maybe a 10 galtank for him to live it. I was thinking of filling it about half way up and putting a rock formation it it stickign out of the water for him to chill on. What if any fish could I put in there that would leave him alone and that he would leave alone.
 
first what kind of turtle. i'm sure you can 'google' and see if you can keep fish with it. but if you are going to mix, and i'm no expert but a few problems come to mind. in order to keep fish, you need certain things to make the water suitable...i'm sure that the same is true for the turtle. first, you are going to need a filter...a STRONG filter because turtles make a TON of waste. so i'd get a filter that handles a much larger than 10 gallon tank...like maybe as much as a 50 gallon. and then you have to think about the water splashing down from the filter to the half filled tank if you are going to use the Penguin 170.

then of course there is the whole 'cycle' that you have to worry about for the fishes.

you could try getting 'feeder fish' to see if the turtle has an interest in eating fish. i'd just stay away from big fish and your turtle will be ok. use your gut instinct and don't use expensive fish. sorry if this was completely unhelpful...
 
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as a rule of thumb a turtle needs 10 gallons per inch of turtle minimum, so your turtle needs at least 10 1/2. turtles can grow big: mine is now 6 inches. you should not keep a turtle and fish together, first, because as spikor said, turtles are messy and produce a lot of waste. second, turtle + fish = food for the turtle (if not immediately, eventually)

here's a forum where you can learn all you need about turtles. very nice people!

http://www.turtletimes.com/Forums/index.php?
 
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ONe of the teachers in our school has big turtles in with some hefty sized goldfish...in a tank that is really too small might I add...I havn't checked in the class recently to see if all the fish are still there or not...lol....and there are 2 turtles in this tank. Their shells are a good 8-10 inches in diameter and the goldfish are at least 6-8 inches. I think the tank may be a 20 tall, but not sure...either way, it's too small, but they all seemed to be doing well last time I popped in....no signs of illness or anything, though I imagine it's just a matter of time.

It really is amazing how well some of the fish do in these classroom tanks which never seem to get cleaned....truly amazing ! One of the teachers has 4-8inch goldfish in a 10 gallon...a temporary home..she took them out of her pond to keep them from freezing solid. They also look very healthy and well...sturdy fish these goldfish !
 
A turtle will take a chunk out of even large fish at times. I don;t suggest mixing them unless you wan to stock feeders and are okay with replacing them as they become meals.
 
I have seen indoor ponds with fish and young painted turtles. They do very well and do not bother the fish unless its time for fighting for food. But mind you, your turtles must be regular fed to the point where they will leave your fish alone.
Now with that, I think it would be coold to build an indoor pond with a few turtles kept with Gambusia and Minnows. It might be a fun pool.
jim
 
ive kept turtle far longer than ive kept fish... almost 20 years now, and the #1 rule with mixing turtles and fish is this: never ever get attached to any fish you add, because they can become food at any time.

the pleco i have now is about 6" or so, and he lived the first couple years with my (then hatchling) florida redbellied cooter (the pleco was about 1" when i got him) with no problems at all... when the pleco got too large for the 29gallon tank, he moved into the fish aquarium. i recently purchased another small pleco and tried to itro him to the same turtle with very bad results. even a pleco makes for good food aperently. i also kept an electric blue cichlid with that same turtle for a couple years and also never had a problem there. it just depends on your turtle and the fish. you can never say any fish is going to survive when there is a turtle present.

also, what kind of turtle do you have?
different turtles can be kept in different levels of water. if it is a mud/musk turtle its going to need far less water that your average aquatic turt. but if its a painted or slider or other fully aquatic, then you can fill the tank about 3/4 of the way. however, a 1=2" turtle shouldnt have more than a few inches of water untill it is bigger/stronger and able to better reach the surface.

i wouldnt use rocks for basking, as it can scrape the carapace and lead to shell rot or infection. i use large pieces of floating driftwood. rocks for underwater structure are fine as long as there is nowhere the turtle might get stuck and drown.

if you have a mud or musk turtle, or possibly a southern painted, a 10 gallon might do, but if you have a midland, western or eastern painted, or a slider, cooter or other larger aquatic turtle, you will MINIMALLY need a 55gallon setup within a year or two depending on your turtles growth rate.

as for turtle filtration, i use the Fluval 4Plus canister. one of those in each 55gallon turtle tank i have does a great job.

and yes, the www.turtletimes.com forums are a very very good place to read up and get help with alot of things.

sorry for the long post,
~KM
 
Hey whats up? Ive kept turtles for a long time also. You should get a 20 gallon long because as the trutle grows he will need a bigger tank. It will save you money in the long run. as for filtering you could get an underwater filter or get the filters that go on the back of the tank. But with the filters that go on the back (or also known as HOB) you might have to make the intake tube longer so that it can reach the water. the water level i think should be as high as wide the turtles shell is or double. As for the substrate you can use aquarium sand or gravel (make sure you clean it before yo use it!) Here is a very good website for information about turtles. http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/ it is a very good site and should provide the answers you need.
 
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