Update ? turtles !

[MatteoTheEnder22]

So I‘ve been really inactive for the last couple of years but I decided to come back full force again into the hobby and back into mfk. Having said that I recently got my first fish again after 5 years out of the hobby and it’s a little electric blue acara, I got him at petco (I know I’ll do better next time) and he’s living in my 30 gallon turtle grow out as of now. I truthfully don’t know where to add this thread but considering he’s living with my turtles and this is I guess an update I’ll put it here. So down to the nitty gritty in the aquarium it’s around 9inches full with water, I’ve added in some of that dirt that makes plants grow better, I got three golden ribbon plants and two pothos stems I’m trying to grow, there’s a 60 gal canister filter, and the other inhabitants of the aquarium are my caramel red ear slider and my pink belly side neck turtle. They both are around 2inches and my acara is around an inch, he’s been in there for about a day and the turtles don’t really care for him. Also this is just a growout for the turtles as they are still small I’m gonna be getting them a stock tank when they grow bigger. I’ll add pictures of them right now but keep in mind I’m not the best photographer nor aquascaper.

 

[FrancisFloe]

Those turtles are really cute! I also keep sub aquatic turtles, and as far as I know, red eared sliders are aggressive and opportunistic. Right now the fish is half their size but when the turtles get bigger they'll definitely take a go at it, unless the acara can also keep up with the growth. But they're turtles so Im sure the fish can catch up. If the fish is 1/4 the size of the turtles then its time to separate them or the sooner the better.

 

[MatteoTheEnder22]

Thanks ! They really are I love aquatic turtles so much I really wanna start getting more species down the line. As well as my red ear slider as of now actually is quite timid the one who’s the I guess “tank boss” would be my pbs and even then it’s just that he is much more curious and a little more bold from what I’ve seen there isn’t any aggression as of yet and knocking on wood I hope there isn’t any later on. Also for the acara ima leave him in here for around a month and if I see that he isn’t doing well ima ask my teacher if he would like to take him and put him in his pond or ima buy a 20 gallon aquarium and grow him out in there.
Btw what species of turtles do you own??

 

[FrancisFloe]

Thanks ! They really are I love aquatic turtles so much I really wanna start getting more species down the line. As well as my red ear slider as of now actually is quite timid the one who’s the I guess “tank boss” would be my pbs and even then it’s just that he is much more curious and a little more bold from what I’ve seen there isn’t any aggression as of yet and knocking on wood I hope there isn’t any later on. Also for the acara ima leave him in here for around a month and if I see that he isn’t doing well ima ask my teacher if he would like to take him and put him in his pond or ima buy a 20 gallon aquarium and grow him out in there.
Btw what species of turtles do you own??

I used to have red eared sliders, but right now I have two Asian box turtles. Goodluck on yours!

 

[MatteoTheEnder22]

I used to have red eared sliders, but right now I have two Asian box turtles. Goodluck on yours!

Ooo nice and goodluck with yours as well !!!

 

[jjohnwm]

Turtles are great if set-up properly; assuming you have a proper basking light and provide a high-quality diet, your set-up looks decent...for now...but as you know, they are a long-term commitment and will need vastly larger quarters as they grow. But they are unbelievable waste-producers, who will foul the water at rates which infamously dirty fish like goldfish and plecos can only dream about. In order to maintain the water quality at a level that won't seriously harm your fish, you need to plan on changing a lot of water, and doing it frequently.

I think the single biggest favour you can do your turtles and fish is to feed the turtles in a separate container. Put a couple inches of tank-temperature water into a bucket or small tank, put the turtles and their food into that at feeding time, and leave them there for an hour or so after they eat, which is usually enough time for them to produce their first major post-meal poop. Doing it this way keeps your tank water much cleaner and healthier. Your turtles will be nervous at first but quickly learn the routine; they'll come to hand without the need to chase them or root around the tank for them.

Another thing is to stop buying invisible turtles; I assume you must have at least a few invisible ones in there, because why otherwise would you have enough uneaten food floating in that tank for 10 or 12 specimens? I'm serious; that is way too much food to ever put in at once, and you achieve nothing by this practice other than dirty water and wasted food. At their current size, those turtles would do nicely on maybe 5 or 6 of those pellets daily, for each turtle...and that's generous.

The way things are now...the water conditions in that tank will be very poor, regardless of how big and expensive your filter is. which is hard on the turtles and extremely hard on any fish. That poor little cichlid will be living a rough life. Less food...preferably none in the tank...and more water changes!

 

[FrancisFloe]

I think the single biggest favour you can do your turtles and fish is to feed the turtles in a separate container. Put a couple inches of tank-temperature water into a bucket or small tank, put the turtles and their food into that at feeding time, and leave them there for an hour or so after they eat, which is usually enough time for them to produce their first major post-meal poop. Doing it this way keeps your tank water much cleaner and healthier. Your turtles will be nervous at first but quickly learn the routine; they'll come to hand without the need to chase them or root around the tank for them.

Another thing is to stop buying invisible turtles; I assume you must have at least a few invisible ones in there, because why otherwise would you have enough uneaten food floating in that tank for 10 or 12 specimens? I'm serious; that is way too much food to ever put in at once, and you achieve nothing by this practice other than dirty water and wasted food. At their current size, those turtles would do nicely on maybe 5 or 6 of those pellets daily, for each turtle...and that's generous.

Yes I agree with jjohnwm, I do feed my turtles on water but because I have no fish living in it and I do heavy water changes every week then it's fine but for your case, you should do it on seperate container. Also everytime i feed I just give them the right amount and I make sure they eat every piece before I leave, if they dont within 5-10 minutes I remove it. It also took a while for them to get use to me but now i handfeed them no prob and its fun!

 

[MatteoTheEnder22]

Turtles are great if set-up properly; assuming you have a proper basking light and provide a high-quality diet, your set-up looks decent...for now...but as you know, they are a long-term commitment and will need vastly larger quarters as they grow. But they are unbelievable waste-producers, who will foul the water at rates which infamously dirty fish like goldfish and plecos can only dream about. In order to maintain the water quality at a level that won't seriously harm your fish, you need to plan on changing a lot of water, and doing it frequently.

I think the single biggest favour you can do your turtles and fish is to feed the turtles in a separate container. Put a couple inches of tank-temperature water into a bucket or small tank, put the turtles and their food into that at feeding time, and leave them there for an hour or so after they eat, which is usually enough time for them to produce their first major post-meal poop. Doing it this way keeps your tank water much cleaner and healthier. Your turtles will be nervous at first but quickly learn the routine; they'll come to hand without the need to chase them or root around the tank for them.

Another thing is to stop buying invisible turtles; I assume you must have at least a few invisible ones in there, because why otherwise would you have enough uneaten food floating in that tank for 10 or 12 specimens? I'm serious; that is way too much food to ever put in at once, and you achieve nothing by this practice other than dirty water and wasted food. At their current size, those turtles would do nicely on maybe 5 or 6 of those pellets daily, for each turtle...and that's generous.

The way things are now...the water conditions in that tank will be very poor, regardless of how big and expensive your filter is. which is hard on the turtles and extremely hard on any fish. That poor little cichlid will be living a rough life. Less food...preferably none in the tank...and more water changes!

Alright will do ! I’ve honestly been just concerned with getting them started on food as they are young and I was nervous for the first month of having them, I’ll start feeding them in a bucket now as the anxiety has left. How long would it take for them to get completely used to feeding in the bucket? Also I’ve been doing a 50% water change on them every week. And yeah they have their uvb and basking bulb and my plan for when they are bigger is get them outside in the Florida sun, and when it gets colder I’ll bring em in. I fully intend on keeping these turtles for the rest of their lives and if the situation arises that I can’t keep them anymore I have some friends who’ll care for em if needed. But obviously I’m planning to put the animals health above everything else.

 

[MatteoTheEnder22]

Yes I agree with jjohnwm, I do feed my turtles on water but because I have no fish living in it and I do heavy water changes every week then it's fine but for your case, you should do it on seperate container. Also everytime i feed I just give them the right amount and I make sure they eat every piece before I leave, if they dont within 5-10 minutes I remove it. It also took a while for them to get use to me but now i handfeed them no prob and its fun!

How long would you say it would take for them to start getting comfortable around me or are they still too small for that??

 

[FrancisFloe]

How long would you say it would take for them to start getting comfortable around me or are they still too small for that??

Took me around 3 weeks to a month, they were almost adults and skittish when i got them so hatchlings might take faster, not really sure.