Purchased a Mata Mata Turtle recently and was looking around for information them from experienced keepers. I have consulted with zoologists and others but was wondering what other practical experience people had with them. There seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding whether to keep them deep water or shallow water but mine does not move much as he has found his favorite spot and hangs out there most of the time, even orienting himself the same way. I also saw that there is a thread referencing different turtles but the attachment is no longer there (can't post any links yet as this is my first post but it's the MFKers guide to turtles and fish together).
My experience so far has been that the turtle eats everything that passes in front of its face but it swallows them. I saw some saying that you can expect fish to be injured when the turtle bites them but mine has not exhibited much of a bite as when it eats sometimes the fish are stuck halfway between being in and out of his mouth and they don't get damaged or snapped in half. In fact, even after he bites down on them a bit to get them all the way in they are still swimming around in his throat as he starts to swallow them as evidenced by the wiggling of his neck when he has eaten a few of them at once.
I have some video of it eating but not sure if the link will publish or embed since again, this is my first post. (Edit, would not let me post the video but you can view it on FB by searching for the Northern Virginia Aquarium)
I was contemplating putting some fish with it that it could a) eat that are native to where it lives but also b) that might subsist with it for at least a short period of time or until it grows too large. Some of the verious neon tetras might make an interesting addition to the tank (it's a 5' long tank and the feeders stay far away from him on the other side now that they've figured out he's dangerous to them) and potentially even breed as I allow the water level to evaporate a few inches before topping off which could trigger some breeding. I was also thinking that larger fish such silver dollars, discus (probably way too expensive), or perhaps even oscars might work although the oscars are a long shot since they would eat the live fish before the turtle could. Angels are also a possibility although I think they might be a bit meaner and pick on the turtle a bit (as well as eat the neon tetras).
Any thoughts on this? The tank is growing in in terms of vegetation (I use some parrots feather and java moss to provide cover on the top and also some loose vegetation to hide in as I'm not inclined to add many leaves (as well as some large pothos) and am going to add a few more species of fully aquatic plants to provide further coverage) so some herbivores might work out well. Flow is pretty slow as it's on a simple closed loop powered by a mag 5 running from one end to the other. The fish would not be the centerpiece of the tank but would be some nice flashes of color and hopefully encourage the turtle to hunt around a bit more and perhaps drive some of the feeders in his direction periodically. Not worried if he eats them as that's acceptable risk but definitely don't want to add fish that will pick on him, either.
Any suggestions or pointing me in the right direction on this forum would be much appreciated!
My experience so far has been that the turtle eats everything that passes in front of its face but it swallows them. I saw some saying that you can expect fish to be injured when the turtle bites them but mine has not exhibited much of a bite as when it eats sometimes the fish are stuck halfway between being in and out of his mouth and they don't get damaged or snapped in half. In fact, even after he bites down on them a bit to get them all the way in they are still swimming around in his throat as he starts to swallow them as evidenced by the wiggling of his neck when he has eaten a few of them at once.
I have some video of it eating but not sure if the link will publish or embed since again, this is my first post. (Edit, would not let me post the video but you can view it on FB by searching for the Northern Virginia Aquarium)
I was contemplating putting some fish with it that it could a) eat that are native to where it lives but also b) that might subsist with it for at least a short period of time or until it grows too large. Some of the verious neon tetras might make an interesting addition to the tank (it's a 5' long tank and the feeders stay far away from him on the other side now that they've figured out he's dangerous to them) and potentially even breed as I allow the water level to evaporate a few inches before topping off which could trigger some breeding. I was also thinking that larger fish such silver dollars, discus (probably way too expensive), or perhaps even oscars might work although the oscars are a long shot since they would eat the live fish before the turtle could. Angels are also a possibility although I think they might be a bit meaner and pick on the turtle a bit (as well as eat the neon tetras).
Any thoughts on this? The tank is growing in in terms of vegetation (I use some parrots feather and java moss to provide cover on the top and also some loose vegetation to hide in as I'm not inclined to add many leaves (as well as some large pothos) and am going to add a few more species of fully aquatic plants to provide further coverage) so some herbivores might work out well. Flow is pretty slow as it's on a simple closed loop powered by a mag 5 running from one end to the other. The fish would not be the centerpiece of the tank but would be some nice flashes of color and hopefully encourage the turtle to hunt around a bit more and perhaps drive some of the feeders in his direction periodically. Not worried if he eats them as that's acceptable risk but definitely don't want to add fish that will pick on him, either.
Any suggestions or pointing me in the right direction on this forum would be much appreciated!
