Has anyone mixed turtles with fish? Several turtle keepers have suggested it with cichlids and other large aggressives. I am trying it with my small turtle and a couple of large Dempseys. It's been working well for a good while. Water quality is the hardest thing to keep up with. They all eat the same food even.
Turtles...
- Thread starter Jamo3030
- Start date
I kept Convicts with turtle for a while. And an Oscar while waiting for a new tank about a year ago. Never had any problems.
If he doesnt even try to chase them around then you should have nothing to worry about but if you do see him bothering any of them it wont work for the fish then its just a matter of time
I keep a large pleco and P. polleni with Musk and Mud Turtles without any issues.
Keeping fish and turtles is hit or miss. Sometimes it works and sometimes it's a disaster. The key to it is space, water quality, keeping the turtles well fed, cover for the fish and of course the species of turtle you're dealing with. Over the years I've found that it's best to let baby turtles grow up with fish and not view them as food.
Keeping fish and turtles is hit or miss. Sometimes it works and sometimes it's a disaster. The key to it is space, water quality, keeping the turtles well fed, cover for the fish and of course the species of turtle you're dealing with. Over the years I've found that it's best to let baby turtles grow up with fish and not view them as food.
I've kept turtles for many years now... It really just depends on the individual turtle. Some species do better than others. For instance Maps seem to ignore fish completely while sliders usually end up eating most fish. I have found if you raise fish with them from a very young age, you have a better chance of it working out long term. I have a 125gal with a 8in female RES. I threw in a few dozen feeder guppies one day and she chased them around for about a week and then lost interest. I then got a pair of small Convicts and she chased them around for a few days as well but qickley lost interest. They have since spawned and are defending their fry. The RES is actually scared of them, as they are very aggressive parents and do not back down to the turtle. After seeing how well the Convicts worked out I decided to try and put a Salvini in with her that was causing some problems in one of my other tanks. Well, unfortunately the Sal didnt last more than an hour without being eaten... So, its pretty much hit or miss for the most part. I'd test the waters by starting with something cheap!
I have 2 eastern spinybacks that were raised in a fish tank. When I emptied the tank a clown loach and a pleco hid and popped out later so, I put them in the new turtle tank. Its been about 2 years and they are like peas and carrots. Enough food, water quality, etc. No prob.