mata mata

[snakeguy101]

i heard mata matas cant chew or bite but suck in and swallow their prey hole a baby wouldnt be able to eat my fish

they will only swallow their food whole and wont bother anything too big to eat whole. I keep mine with all sorts of fish....

 

[thesnakeguy]

I've never kept Matas, but I know folks who have had them and I've seen them in public aquaria. They do not seem to be the sort of turtle that would agrressively chase or bother your fish, unless, as has been stated previously, your fish were small enough to be eaten.

The ones I've seen just seem to sit quietly and basically ignore everything else around them, except food.

Cheers!

Simon

 

[snakeguy101]

18 to 20 inches tall but i was thinking of getting a 300 dollar 4 incher i know he shouldnt be able to eat my fish becuase my smallest fish is five inches but would it be okay also i have a powerhead in the tank would i need to get rid of it?

no, the powerhead is fine so long as it isnt too strong. Also you are definitely going to need to add something for him to climb on. Mine is over 13" and in a 24" deep tank and has no problem swimming but I think that a smaller one would have trouble swimming especially if there was a strong current.

 

[cudamaster13]

thanks i will stack some of my driftwood till the wood reaches the top of the tank if i get one

 

[HPIZZLE]

thanks i will stack some of my driftwood till the wood reaches the top of the tank if i get one

sounds good. just make sure it cant get wedged in the dw

 

[cudamaster13]

no, the powerhead is fine so long as it isnt too strong. Also you are definitely going to need to add something for him to climb on. Mine is over 13" and in a 24" deep tank and has no problem swimming but I think that a smaller one would have trouble swimming especially if there was a strong current.

powerhead is somewat strong it is a reef powerhead it right now is faceing the bottom of the tank would i still be fine if i posistioned it faceing middle of tank im still adding the driftwood ladder for it

 

[coura]

Ok Im sorry if Im a buzz kill but if you want a mata, save more money and buy yourself a medium size one, its a much more wiser investiment. I know several people here that got over their heads because of baby 170 euro each at a reptile show, all died in a matter of weeks. This is no turtle to mess around, unless cb babys are available and even then with cb turtles is allways better to buy yearlings.

 

[cudamaster13]

im going to buy a five incher from one of my local shops but i still want to know if i have to rearange my powerhead

 

[snakeguy101]

it would probably be best to just take it out. If you have to leave it in for what ever reason, make sure that there is a spot with little to no current

 

[coura]

im going to buy a five incher from one of my local shops but i still want to know if i have to rearange my powerhead

Oh by the way you know that you need a good stock of healty feeder fish for it? Recent brougth store feeders dont do, either home bred fis or fish made for human consupcion is best bet. BIG PAIN to feed big ones. No cyprinids. Mosquito fish or guppys for young ones and small tilapia and trout for big ones. Avoid feeding previously frozen fish and if it takes dead stuff dont overdue marine fish if you use it at all. Like in softys avoid big chunks of food, a good rule is use food half the length of the turt mouth.