Can a turtle be a tank mate

[Warborg]

You will find people who raised pacu from 2" to 16-18" inside of one year.That sort of fish is not designed for a 265.

And with the water lowered in the tank.

I have seen Pacus that big(3 feet+) before in public aquariums but not in people's homes

 

[Dave Merlau]

It doesn't matter if people have raised captive Pacu to that size or not. The photos tell you how large this fish is supposed to get if he's well cared for. What matters is what size your tank should be to keep a Pacu.

MFK has multiple posts you can easily find in a search from people who own (owned) Pacu's in the 20-32+ inch range.


https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/pacu-growth-rate.256545/
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/pacu-growth-rate.116817/
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/pacu-growth-rate.252273/
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/can-i-get-tank-size-for-red-belly-pacu.394031/

You will find people who raised pacu from 2" to 16-18" inside of one year.

If this is the math this forum uses then I guess every single person here needs to release their pets. Nothing you can offer is the same as what any animal "should" have. May you all have a good day.

 

[Imsobored152]

In my experience you can keep Kinosternidae (musk and mud turtles) species with fish without much trouble. There's always a risk that the turtle will get nippy, but these species are far more interested in carrion (non-living food) or invertebrates than fish. Trionychidae (soft-shell turtles) are a different story.

Kinosternids are also a better fit for a fish tank because they don't need a terrestrial basking area. Most of these species will readily perform heliothermy (if they need to warm up) by floating on the surface and exposing their shell to the heat source. You'll need a relatively calm tank... probably one run on vertical sponge filters or undergravel filters rather than external filters and that doesn't have aggressive fish... fish can also kill a turtle after all.

I agree. Stink pot/mud/musk turtles should be fine with large fish. They dont get much bigger than 4" i believe. You should provide them with a means of leaving the water, but alot wont ever get out

 

[pacu mom]

pacu mom again

akskirmish had a magnificent beast of a pacu in a 500 gallon tank. This was one of his last threads with pics of his pacu. In his thread he mentioned possibly putting down his pacu because his tank was inadequate.
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/update-mainly-pacu.388666/

Keep in mind that pacu can live 30+ years in the right conditions. Maintaining good water parameters is a must, which is very difficult to do in a smaller tank. With poor water parameters, pacu can die suddenly at about 2 years. Also, upgrading to a larger tank can be harder to do than initially planned. I'm in the longest tank upgrade in the history of fish forums with extenuating circumstances postponing setting up our big tank.

 

[Clothsack]

How long does it take to get that large? I've never seen a captive pacu that large. I might have to start planning yesterday

It doesn't really matter howlong it takes. A pacu outgrows a 265 really fast. Unless ure going upgrade ur tank in the near future i think its a better option to sell the pacu or give it away for free. Ive read that selling large Pacu is a pain so unless ur keeping the fella for life u might start selling him of sooner or later before no one wants him, or has space for him and might have to put him down

 

[duanes]

I have watched turtles pull and eat ducks from the surface.
If a fish is sleeping, and the turtle is stealthy enough, the fish is toast.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

If this is the math this forum uses then I guess every single person here needs to release their pets. Nothing you can offer is the same as what any animal "should" have. May you all have a good day.

definitely the wrong philosophy and stance to take in a forum were people can and do keep monster fish in extremely suitable habitats, which isn't a 265 and then adopt the ever famous "well we can't have the amazon in our house so it doesn't matter anyway" position.

You've already been told pacu will grow that big given the right circumstances, so giving them the wrong circumstances and killing them prematurely isn't the answer. Don't get defensive with people who are passionate about keeping fish in the right conditions.

 

[duanes]

The Milwaukee zoo has a 10,000 gal Amazon aquarium with a bunch of pacu, at least as large as the photos in this thread. The keeper told me he gets call from people offering him pacu and red tail cats about once per week, and cannot take any more of them.
They also have a 3 ft turlle. The pacu steals bananas from the turtles mouth.
Probably the reason you see few pacu get to true size, is that they don't make it in the wimpy few hundred gallon tanks keepers "think" are adequate.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

If this is the math this forum uses then I guess every single person here needs to release their pets. Nothing you can offer is the same as what any animal "should" have. May you all have a good day.

What a ridiculous view point.

The math is buy fish that won't outgrow your tank.