Turtle for a 29 gal?

LOL, I had an RES that would do that until he would fall over backward, splashing water everywhere!

I am thinking I need another Stinkpot, lol.

Kristina
 
Thanks a lot guys (and gals), this helps a lot.

That stinkpot in that picture is EXACTLY what I'm looking for. I would probably start him in the aquarium because I would like to be able to see through the glass. But I have a bunch of those tubs around I could use if I needed to.

I would like some more info on the the basking platform above the tank as well if you've got any.

And is that a Convict in that tank? What other types of fish could you keep with a Stinkpot?

And where is a good place to find some info on these?

Thanks again!!!!!
 
I know nothing bout turtles even though I had a RES as a kid but if I did I would be sneakin over and taking yours Vicious_Fish lol that vid was cute.
 
Gerdass said:
Thanks a lot guys (and gals), this helps a lot.

That stinkpot in that picture is EXACTLY what I'm looking for. I would probably start him in the aquarium because I would like to be able to see through the glass. But I have a bunch of those tubs around I could use if I needed to.

I would like some more info on the the basking platform above the tank as well if you've got any.

And is that a Convict in that tank? What other types of fish could you keep with a Stinkpot?

And where is a good place to find some info on these?

Thanks again!!!!!
Click to expand...

The best place for info is the link that Vicious originally gave you, Austin's Turtle Page. It is a GREAT site.

Let me pull up some links, and some pics of my cheapy platform. For a 29 gal tank, you could even use a 10 gal tank with a broken bottom for a platform. You remove the bottom, replace HALF with plexi, add a ramp and something with texture and you are good to go! It just stacks on top if the 29.

Kristina
 
Gerdass said:
Thanks a lot guys (and gals), this helps a lot.

That stinkpot in that picture is EXACTLY what I'm looking for. I would probably start him in the aquarium because I would like to be able to see through the glass. But I have a bunch of those tubs around I could use if I needed to.

I would like some more info on the the basking platform above the tank as well if you've got any.

And is that a Convict in that tank? What other types of fish could you keep with a Stinkpot?

And where is a good place to find some info on these?

Thanks again!!!!!
Click to expand...

Stinkpots are an excellent choice for a turtle. Much better than the commonly available Red-Eared Slider. When looking for one, make sure it's not a hatchling because they are pretty fragile at that size and sometimes it's hard to get them to eat. If you can find a captive bred yearling.

Most musk turtles do not bask but that doesn't mean you shouldn't provide one for them. I have one available at all times for my pair of stinkpots even though they have never used it (to my knowledge). But some turtles like to bask more than others.

Yes, that is a female convict cichild. I use to raise them for feeders and thought I'd drop one in to see if my musk turtle would eat it but it never did. They sort of became "friends" and the convict would follow the turtle all around the tank. Usually fish and turtle don't mix but because stinkpots eat mainly small insects, crusteaceans and snails, they don't bother fish (usually). I keep my pair with that same convict, a large pleco and about 20 Giant Danios in a 100 gallon rubbermaid stock tank.

Here's an excellent care sheet on Stinkpots.
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-stinkpot.htm
 
Thanks again.

I never really thought about fish with a Turtle, but of course when I saw your fish in there, being a fish guy, I started thinking about what I could maybe do.

From what I've read so far, I've found varying information about how deep the water should be and what type of substrate to use. Can you give me any info on this?
 
Stinkpots are not deep water turtles. They like shallow water with plenty of things to climb on and explore around like rocks, caves, driftwood and plants. Make sure the water is at least twice as deep as the turtle is wide in case it happens to flip over. Babies should be kept in water only a few inches deep but as they get older you can make it deeper. They can't "float" at the surface like basking turtles can so if the water is too deep and they don't have a place to climb out and rest on, they can get fatigue which can result in drowning. I like to keep floating plants like anachairs in my tanks for resting and nibbling on. Stinkpots would rather climb to the surface to breath instead of swim.

I don't use any substrate in my tanks. It's just too much of a pain to clean and you run the risk of the turtle accidentally ingesting it during feeding. You can use ceramic tiles for the bottom of your tank if you don't like how a bare bottom looks.
 
Well, if you can keep them with fish, is it safe to assume that the larger the better as the turtle would be less likely to try to eat a bigger fish?

Also, do they do better in groups or by themselves or does it not matter?
 
Some turtles are more nippy and fish predatory than others. Quick fish are actually better than bigger fish. If it's a bigger fish a turtle might just kill it bite by bite. But like I mentioned Stinkpots are not very predatory when it comes to fish but there are always exceptions. I know for a fact that the Giant Danios I keep with my stinkpots are way too fast for them to catch if they were hungry.

Here's a video of me feeding my pair of stinkpots. You can see that the danios are very quick and totally ignored by my turtles.

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Turtles can live just fine by themselves. In fact, I don't think there is a single species out there that needs company. The only reason I keep a pair together is that I would like to breed them when they get a little older.
 
Maybe some zebras or something would work. I could try it and if necessary, I could put them in my 10 gallon if the turtle gets too nippy with them. But your stinkpot doesn't bother your pleco? You can't get a much easier target than that. I guess it will be a try and see kind of a thing.

Again, thanks for all of the help. I think I'm on my way to getting something figured out. I'll keep doing my research.

I'm sure I'll be back with some more questions.
 
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