Musk turtles in oscar tank

[Soil]

Does anyone have experience with this combination? I kept a red ear before for several years but I dont know how turtles do with fish. Musk's seems pretty small, and the oscar fairly large, thus the turt will probably not consider it food.. ...or is it?

Also, I've read that the musk they secrete smells pretty bad - does this efect the water in a way which might damage the fish?

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Does anyone have experience with this combination? I kept a red ear before for several years but I dont know how turtles do with fish. Musk's seems pretty small, and the oscar fairly large, thus the turt will probably not consider it food.. ...or is it?

Also, I've read that the musk they secrete smells pretty bad - does this efect the water in a way which might damage the fish?

How big of a tank is it? Keeping turtles with fish is a hit or miss kind of thing, some are fine with fish and some are not. I keep my pair of musks with a female convict and pleco. They don't bother them at all. Keeping the turtles well fed (but not fat) will help some as well.

Musk turtle aren't the best swimmers and can actually drown in a deep tank. If you do decide to keep one with your oscar (I figure it's a large tank because you have one) make sure there is a gradual slope for the musk turtle to climb to get to shallow water. You can stack rocks to accomplish this. They like to be able to reach the surface without having to swim. Having floating plants on the surface for them to rest in helps too.

As for a smell, they are called musk turtles but they rarely musk in captivity and only do it if you handle them roughly. It's a defense mechanism that I've only encountered with wild musks on one occasion.

Don't forget that turtles are messy and will dirty the tank up so make sure to double the filtration that is recommend for whatever size tank you have. Hope this helps.

 

[Soil]

Thanks for the info, I think it'll help alot (= The tank is 120g. I actually have a big log of some sort which goes all the way up to the surface, and a couple of big floating oakleaf plants. Lucky me I guess since I had no idea water turtles drowned due to swimming problems.

The fish rarely goes close to the bottom during daytime, but (though I've never been able to see it) my guess is they sleep under the log somewhere - are musk turts daycritters, nocturnal or kinda over all idle? Wouldnt want them to sneeking up on the oscars

 

[Vicious_Fish]

They can be both. Mine are active pretty much anytime of the day (or whenever they see me). Some are more active at night. A musk turtle will probably leave your oscar alone at night. If you give it a try just be prepared to separate them. Musk turtles are not active hunters. They would rather eat small things like insects, snails, worms and carrion then to bother tackling a large, healthy fish.

 

[coura]

I wouldnt risk this particular combo The prob is not the turt but the fish. Oscars can get pretty nasty at times and places like the eyes and nouse of a turt are vulnerable to bites. If you incist make shure both animals are of the same size

 

[Miguel]

a musk turtle is not suitable for a fish tank, period. As Seth said, it basks, it loves to come out of the water, it is a poor swimmer. Also,, it won't be able to defend itself from the Oscar, if the latter is of an agressive persuasion.

 

[Soil]

How deep is your tank Vicious Fish? I've been reading tons of info about them and come to the conclution that it will need a shallow tank to grow a few inches in, and then it'll do fine in the 120 (or most likely - all animals are different..). I got a day/night timer for the lights, which I assume is UVB since the owners before me bought them for plant-growing purposes, and also two pieces of driftwood on which it can climb in case its a poor swimmer. It says everywhere that musk turts dont need basking areas, and keepers have written on forums that even though they provide basking, the turtles choose not to.

heres a pic of the tank - http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170992As for the oscars I dont know, the big one isnt agressive at all, though the small one likes to pick on my catfish at times.. in a worst case scenario I'll simply get him an all-turtle-tank

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Well I currently keep my pair of Stinkpots in a 100 gallon stock tank that is about 2 feet deep. I have slate steps that gradually go toward the surface so that the turtles don't have to swim from the bottom up to get a breath. I also have a large piece of driftwood for them to climb as well as lots of anacharis for them to rest on. They originally were kept in a 40 gallon rubbermaid tub with about a foot of water in it. Baby Musks should be started off in smaller, shallow tubs with only a few inches of water in them. In the wild Musk Turtles live close to shore in shallow, warm water with lots of floating plants in it for hiding and resting on.

I've changed my setup a little since I took these pics a few weeks ago but this is my 100 gallon stock tank setup with an egg laying area.

My old, 40 gallon tub.

 

[coura]

Your new setup is so darn sweet Vicious They should be really happy

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Your new setup is so darn sweet Vicious They should be really happy

Thanks man. I'm soaking some driftwood in a big tub of water at the moment. I hope that it gets nice and water logged soon so I can add it to the setup.