Turtles And Native Fish???

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sxc_celly

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Hi guys,

Ive got some hatchling turtles im holding back and also another yearling pair about 8cm shell length. What sort of natives can you guys reccommend? Are eel tail catfish, scats, perch, murray cod and barramundi etc alright alright? (All fish would be 4 - 8cm of course). THX

Celeste
 
All of those fish are predators and there is a risk they would harass or harm your turts.

If you are keen on mixing native fish with them, try some small rainbow fish or smelts.
 
I have kept murray cod with my turtles for ever. buy a couple of cod and you will probably be left with one fast one. also buy Small cod about 4-6 cm and give them lots of hiding places . But if you have long necks none of your fish will last long! The other fish that seem to last a long time i have found were small barred or sooty grunter. but only put one in as they hang in schools and can become aggressive.
 
I have kept all of those (except scats) with turtles and the only one i would suggest you dont get is the eel tail catfish. They have a venomous spine and although generally are a passive fish they can become very nasty if attacked, i kept them with my turtles for years but one day a catfish had an altercation with the turtle(most likely started by the turtle) and it kept attacking the turtle. Although it didnt seriously harm the turtle im sure if it was left to keep attacking it the turtle would have died eventually, although a little bit smaller than the turtle, the turtle could not escape or defend itself.

Another thing to be careful of it the fish are of reasonable size is their feeding response, if they are going for the same food item i have no doubt a big enough fish could severely damage a turtle if it bites it head. If the fish arnt very big compared to the turtles it wont be an issue, but something like a barramundi will soon be big enough to be a potential hazard IMO(never tried to find out).

It also depends on how much you care about the animals you are keeping a lot of ppl couldnt care less about fish, as they are "just fish", but i got kicked off a forum yesterday for saying that a fish is no more 'special' than a reptile so there is no point going there.

Mixing fish is even more complicated, were you planning on keeping one native fish or a variety?

It also depends a lot on what you keep them in and how well its setup, there are a lot of 'zoo' type places with heaps of different fish, turtles and even things like crocs and platypi(platypuses lol) but they seem to know what they are doing and would know a lot more than can be learnt on this forum.

As with mixing anything there will be a risk, its up to you if you want to take it. A lot of it comes down to experience and/or knowledge of the animals you are dealing with, not so much this species is ok with that species.

It also depends on if the turtles are long necks or short necks, short necks CAN be safely kept with small fish under ideal conditions but long necks can catch food size fish without much trouble. Even that is a bit over simplified as turtles vary alot between species.

after all that ranting i would put it in the too hard basket, but then again i mix plenty of fish and turtles without any problems.
 
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i wouldnt keep any of the smaller natives with your turts, they will just get eaten, i'm going to be keeping mary river cod, eel tailed cats and salmon tailed cats with my mary river turtle eventually, as long as the fish are not to big your they will be fine
 
i wouldnt keep any of the smaller natives with your turts, they will just get eaten, i'm going to be keeping mary river cod, eel tailed cats and salmon tailed cats with my mary river turtle eventually, as long as the fish are not to big your they will be fine

Pehaps try getting stabbed by a massive catfish and imagine how much it would hurt if you were only a tiny fraction of the size, it wouldnt be very nice, they also cause alot of bleeding. It is possible you may never have problems but its a pointless risk IMO.
 
They are not natives but the only things that I've had survive with my long neck are some sort of barbs that were sold as feeder fish (which is good cause they are cheap). Only grow to about 50mm max. I've had one for about 4 years, he must be fast or smart. The turtle doesn't even seem to bother hunting them anymore. :)
 
i been talking to craig and gab and they suggest catfish
 
i been talking to craig and gab and they suggest catfish

Yes that would suggest they havnt had problems, neither had i for many years, but when you have seen one stabbing the crap out of your turtle you dont go telling others its a good idea to put them together. You can do it if you want chances are it wont be a problem i would just strongly suggest you dont.
 
Thanks everyone. Im just wondering what to put in with them. They are 2 20c piece long neck turtles in one display, and 2 8cm across shell murray shortnecks in another display. I was wanting a native natural look. Im thinking salmontail catfish maybe some small murray cod with the murray turtles, etc. Dont think ill go scats, barra or eel-tail at the moment. I need something that wont bother the turtles, but thats quick enought to escape that looks natural/native lol Any more suggestions much appreciated!! Thanks!
 
I keep Turtles and rainbows together. the rainbows are adults and tey dont usually gat touched by the turtles, but the turtles are well fed. I have found anything else i put in there like smelt and blue eyes get eaten pretty quick, especially by the long necks. Just remember to keep the turtles fed on a mixed diet so they dont get too hungry but dont over feed them so the get fat and die.
 
i have had gudgeons, rainbows and blueeyes with mine and only rainbows have survived
 
True. We've got lots of rainbows at work, theyre just not as unique as id like lol. I really like the red scats, murray cod, salmontail and barra. But i dont want to risk my turtles lol. Any other fish suggestions at all?
 
hey. i keep goldfish with my turtle and the gold fish was like tones bigger than what would fit down the turtles mouth and 1 night the turtle caught the gold fish and i was like .... wat the hell you couldnt fit that down your throught.... and he sat there for like 2 hours ripping the gold fish apart with his foot..... so now i dont keep gold fish in there... way to violent....
well i just thought i would share that with peoples so yeah
 
i used to keep my turtle with an archer fish, barra and barcoo grunter and never had probs
 
oooo archer fish are so dam cool i would get one but my fish tank is getting 2 full. they are like ooooo a cricket lets spit at it!!! FTW!!!
 
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