Fish For Turtle Tank

J

jbacker7

Small Fish
#1
Jun 29, 2008
34
0
0
Northeast Nebraska
#1
I'm looking for some new fish for my turtle tank and was wondering what you guys thought. Its a 20 gallon long tank with about 15 gallons of water in it and I have one molly left so I kinda planned to have a list like this.

(I'd like livebearers on this list...my turtle will keep them in check, have no fear :p)

2 mollies, 1m and 1f
4 guppies, 1m and 3f
2 or 3 cory cats, 1m and 1f or 1m and 2f

Any different suggestions? Too many fish? Thanks alot you guys are a lot of help!
 

sweetpickles7

sweetpickles7

Superstar Fish
#3
Feb 13, 2007
1,239
0
0
Central Illinois
#3
Turtles are messy but with the right filter you could possible add some fish with a turtle. What kind of turtle do you have because in the near future you might have to upgrade your tank anyways and i would wait til then to add fish? You wouldnt be able to add those fish though. You would need fast fish, like g danios or something along those lines.
 

J

jbacker7

Small Fish
#4
Jun 29, 2008
34
0
0
Northeast Nebraska
#4
He's just a baby painted turtle, hes about an inch long, I plan on upgrading my filter to an AquaClear 50 when I put the fish in and considering the tank has about 15 gallons of water in it the 50 should work. If he eats the fish its really not a big deal to me. Do I have too many fish on my list?
 

F

FishGeek

Elite Fish
#5
May 13, 2005
4,294
5
0
38
South Carolina
#5
Honestly I would just get some of those feeder Comets and stick them in there. That way if he does eat them (if or when) you wont be loosing out on money. Just watch their sizes and make sure to keep the tank clean.
 

J

jbacker7

Small Fish
#8
Jun 29, 2008
34
0
0
Northeast Nebraska
#8
Yeah you're probably right, I just hate how plain they are. I like to sit and watch my aquarium and I guess I just don't find any form of goldfish very interesting. I had mollies before with him and he never tried to eat them, he'd take a snap at one now and then but they were too quick for him..and they didn't seem very quick.
 

J

jbacker7

Small Fish
#12
Jun 29, 2008
34
0
0
Northeast Nebraska
#12
Now this may sound crazy because I really know nothing about cichlids but I was thinking maybe some convicts? Just a pair of those and 3 cory cats? It'd be kind of a weird combo but I like the convicts. Perhaps dwarf cichlids. What do you guys think?
 

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J

jbacker7

Small Fish
#14
Jun 29, 2008
34
0
0
Northeast Nebraska
#14
Yea, I've been doin some research though and the dwarf cichlids sound pretty sensitive. I'd like to have some cichlids but I don't think my tank is very suited to them. Maybe I'll set up a tank for them in the future. For now my mollies seemed to do well with my turtle and they've got some personality so I think I'll just stock it back up so I'll have...

4 mollies, 1m 3f
3 cories
 

J

jbacker7

Small Fish
#16
Jun 29, 2008
34
0
0
Northeast Nebraska
#16
Well today I bought my new filter rated for 60 gallons :), and added 3 emerald cory cats. Bad news....while I was at the fish store trying to think of which fish I should add I started watching the cichlids and really started to like them. I almost bought the two convicts I saw but thought I better ask you guys if you really think I could keep them in my tank. It has about 18 gallons of water in it now with 1 molly and 3 cories and of course the turtle. I'll post pictures shortly. Do you think it could work?
 

M

Mercury

Large Fish
#17
Jun 11, 2008
325
0
0
31
Illinois
#17
I think that your turtle will destroy any fish it can once it gets big enough. I wouldn't put fish in a turtle tank unless they were feeders (for feeding) or pond fish like blue gills and pans, or if the tank was larger and had thick plants for fish to hide in. But some turtles are really lazy. Maybe you'll be lucky and yours will be.
 

J

jbacker7

Small Fish
#18
Jun 29, 2008
34
0
0
Northeast Nebraska
#18
From what I read....convicts are crazy breeders..The ones I saw at the store today were about the size of my turtle, an inch and half long. He wouldn't try anything with them, and the fry would probably keep him occupied. And they sound quite aggressive and he wouldn't put up with that, he'd just swim away. My substrate as of now is river rock. Would that be ok? Let me go find the camera....
 

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J

jbacker7

Small Fish
#19
Jun 29, 2008
34
0
0
Northeast Nebraska
#19
Well here are the photos....

Do you think my tank is suitable right now for a pair of convicts? If not suggestions to make it please! Thanks for being so helpful with no flaming or arrogance like I've experienced on other forums!





 

MikeS

MikeS

Large Fish
#20
Oct 5, 2006
328
0
0
Nor Cal
#20
I started off the same way you did when I was a teenager. That turtle will grow, and whatever he catches will become food, no questions. Fish might be fine now with him, but sooner or later, they become food.

The other thing is that the turtle creates one hell of a bio-load. Even with a decent filter, water changes will be often, and most likely the large fluctuations in water parameters will kill them.

Also, be prepared to buy a much larger aquarium for it.
 

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