new setup!

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pdrobber

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just got my fluval 405 filter hooked up in 55 gallon long tank. Moving my 2.5" RES into it as soon as the water heats up/stabilizes.

What plants/fish do people keep in the tank usually? I want to get some inexpensive, fast fish that have maybe some chance of living for some time.

I plan on going to pick up some gravel, gravel cleaner vacuum (to use for 25% water changes too), plants, fish, and some decorations as hides for fish.
 

Yvonne G

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RES make a terrible mess out of plants. I was continuously cleaning out my filter from all the plant debris because of the turtles.

It has been my experience that a turtle won't expend too much energy chasing the fish. If he happens to catch one, he WILL eat it, but if they're too fast for him they're pretty safe.

The turtles absolutely LOVE water hyacinth. I'll bet if you plant some of that Vallisneria or Amazon sword, they might stand a chance of living for a while.
 

tortoises101

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Your RES is small, so it probably won't be interested in plants. But in case your turtle does like to eat aquatic plants, then you should choose edible plants, as even plants he won't eat will likely be torn or trampled. Water lettuce, water hyacinth, duckweed, and anacharis are the edible plants for aquatic turtles. I think water lettuce would be your best bet. Why? Duckweed is very small, clogs filters easily, and although high in protein and calcium, is very hard to get rid of if your turtle can't keep up with it's growth speed OR if he simply does not want to eat it. Anacharis is nutritious, and since turtles begin to eat plants past the 4" mark, it could work in tanks with small turtles, but they do need strong lighting. Water hyacinth is a poor choice for indoor growers, and from listening to experience it leads me to believe that they can only thrive when grown outdoors for most or all of the year. In Canada, we don't see much water hyacinth for sale, as they don't thrive up here in the north. (if you have success growing them indoors, start a new thread so we can learn from your success) So that leaves only water lettuce. They do need high humidity, but they don't need such strong lighting, and are quite attractive when spread across the surface. They also have a reputation of drawing more waste from the water than other plants. There's also a dwarf version, so those may suit your turtle better depending on it's size.

As for fish, minnows, barbs, guppies, platys, and mollies are all suitable. Anything else such as goldfish, catfish, eels, cichlids, etc are all likely to be eaten or injured. If you choose large fish to keep with your turt they're likely to view the turtle as food or injure it.
 

Cre8ruckas

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i have 3 painters and they catch alot of fish but dont seem to be quick enough to grab one on my giant danios, they are fast and nice sized at about 3inches.
 

oscar

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I don't use any gravel in my tank then I don't have to worry about the turtles; ingesting any of it. also its much easier to keep my tank clean without it. I don't think the turtles care if it is there or not. As to plants when i brought turtles, map, res and painted in for the winter I also put some duckweed in tank with them it lasted about two weeks before it was gone.
 

DerekS

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My turtles don't touch java fern. I have 3 RES about 2 inches. Occasionally they will uproot them but its the only plant I found that they wont devour.
 
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