Gatito Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Have heard a wee bit about people having convict cichlids in with turtles, and am wondering whether this would be worth looking into for my turtle tank? Have always liked convicts, but not really keen on having a cichlid tank at the moment. Have a nice grunty canister filter arriving in the next day or so to replace the old hang-on one, so water quality (for a turtle tank) will be at it’s best once that’s running. Is it ok to have a couple of these fish in with my turtle? He’s about 12cm shell, and while he will chase small feeder fish, he’s not overly aggressive and will ignore them too. My worry is whether the fish can exist happily in the tank, with regards to water quality etc, and whether they’re quick enough/what size they would need to be to hold their own if the turtle decides to give them a go. I do small water changes almost daily (with feeding), and the water was nice and clear with the old filter, so the new one will be a big improvement even on that. Any experience/thoughts or opinion would be much appreciated. The water volume in his current tank is about 100L - whole tank is 90cm x 45cm x 46cm, with a pretty spacious basking shelf. While he’s happy enough in there now, am also wondering whether I would need a bigger one if I put a convict or two in there… *scratches head* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 100L of water is probably on the small side for turtle + convicts. The way it normally works is people put young convicts in as feeder fish, only to find some learn to live with the turtles and grow up and breed etc. I wouldn't intentially set one up though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted May 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Posted as a reply to the link I put on the cichlid board: Ive seen them in tanks together and they seem fine provided they have enough room, convicts are pretty rugged - can handle a large variety of water conditions and can tank care of themselves - if youve got some spare ones swimming around u could always try if it works everyones happy if not then the turtle is at least , aren't those dimensions (90x45x46) 186L id say around 2.5cm+ would be able to outrun etc but i havnt been keeping them for that long. Good luck though let us know Just some Convict living conditions from a site Tank: At least 20 gallons, 25 per mated pair (24 inches) Strata: Lower middle PH: 6.0 to 8.0 (very wide range tolerated if kept stable) Hardness: Soft to neutral Temperature: 68°- 80°F (20° to 27° C) (wide range tolerated if kept stable) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted May 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 100L of water is probably on the small side for turtle + convicts. The way it normally works is people put young convicts in as feeder fish, only to find some learn to live with the turtles and grow up and breed etc. I wouldn't intentially set one up though. Thanks SpidersWeb. Pity... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 i had a turtle in a community tank for a while. you need really good filtration as the turtles are dirty little critter & put alot of urine & faeces into the water which can create water quality probs. the turtle will also eat what ever he can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted May 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Maybe i'll give it a go one day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subzer0 Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 if you are already feeding your turtle live fish to eat wouldn't he think the fish you have put in are to eat as well?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Anything that moves is food in the eyes of a turtle so it will try but whether it gets it today or some other day depends on how fast the fish is and how hungry the turt gets :lol: Convicts are about the only fish ive had survive for ages in a turtle tank, give it ago i say and it gives the turtle some excerise/something to do! Ppl who think its cruel get over it, thats life lol p.s if you want the fish to have a better chance give em some where to hide like in some rocks etc and keep the turts well fed at all times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 my red ear is currently living with guppies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted May 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2007 if you are already feeding your turtle live fish to eat wouldn't he think the fish you have put in are to eat as well?? Turtle isn't being fed live fish - i have given him wild mollies to chase in the past. He's pretty well fed so wasn't too bothered, caught a couple but after that it was just half-hearted chase attempts - he'd give up after a few seconds or so. my red ear is currently living with guppies Lol, how do the guppies feel about their housemate? The mollies i chucked in (that didn't get eaten) weren't bothered too much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted May 8, 2007 Report Share Posted May 8, 2007 they have no worries. if he gets too close they swim away. i think he's just too lazy to chase them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted May 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2007 Same story with mine - i think after the one or two that he caught he decided they weren't worth the effort Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick777 Posted June 11, 2007 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Surprisingly, my year-old turtles are scared by them, guess they've never seen anything alive and moving in their tank (except for the poor little crabs which they enjoyed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick777 Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Sorry I take back what I said earlier, my turtles now feed on them!!! I chuck in 23 convicts a couple of weeks ago and now only less than 10 left!!! hopefully the survivors can stick around longer!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted June 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Sorry I take back what I said earlier, my turtles now feed on them!!! I chuck in 23 convicts a couple of weeks ago and now only less than 10 left!!! hopefully the survivors can stick around longer!!! Hopefully they're getting faster! I haven't ended up putting anything in with Vegas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Holden Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 I have hundreds of guppies, and also 4 or 5 albino cories in with two turtles, initially I had just a baby turtle by itself and the tank was chokka with plant but now I have another turtle as well in the tank (bit of a midget as it was not kept properly), perhaps the turtles get a few but never ever seen it happen and the cheekier guppies will compete for meat when I feed the turtles. One thing I have found is that the mixture works very well to stabilise the water quality - the plants are growing like crazy as there is plenty of fertilizer in the water, only have a fluval 2 internal filter that gets cleaned every 3 - 5 days or so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick777 Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Wait until they get bigger!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Holden Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 When they were in the swimming pool, I had large and small goldfish, thousands of Gambusia , and the only things that ate them were a bloody cheeky blue heron and a local kingfisher, even then they could not keep up, the largest of the females is pretty damn big now and some of the males are not much smaller !! guess I just feed them too much for them to bother using the energy to chase fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick777 Posted June 20, 2007 Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 hahaha!! :lol: :lol: try starving them for a day or two, you'll notice some reduction in your gambusia! :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Holden Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 I tried to upload a couple of photos but failed, there really are hundreds of guppies in their tank, no gambusia in this tank but there are still heaps in the outside ponds and tanks, two of the oversexed males are sort of hibernating at the moment anyways and not really interested in eating anything of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick777 Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 It's interesting when they are hibernating, they still try to get away when you annoy them while having their eyes closed! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted June 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 It's interesting when they are hibernating, they still try to get away when you annoy them while having their eyes closed! :lol: like little kids being roused for school - "no, just 5 more minutes" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick777 Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 yea, do you know if they are conscious when doing that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick777 Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 New convicts count: 7 & 70+ fry :lol: :lol: 23 were chuck in with the turtles about a month and a bit ago!! 7 out 23 still alive as of today, 2 managed to mate and produced 70+ fry... :lol: the pair became really aggressive, they are INDEED the terrorists in the tank....even my turtles are scared by them. :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaM Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 My large turtles have lived happily in ponds for months with 17 small and large gold fish that were waiting for me to finish their new pond. No-one got eaten but I one fish has a nice triangular bit out of its tail after swimming past a turtle eating some ox heart....just an accident tho! Looks cool having other creatures in with the turtles.....Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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