This is my little red eared turtles image eating my pet gold fish which died of natural causes. Should I be worried? Is there anything I should do?
-
I edited your question to be more clear, if I have altered your intent please feel free to make more edits.– James JenkinsCommented Dec 23, 2017 at 11:13
-
Don't keep fish and turtles together.– djsmiley2kStaysInsideCommented Dec 29, 2017 at 15:14
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
Firstly, you shouldn't keep fish and turtles together, the habitats are too different to be properly replicated in a home environment (you'll never have enough room and hiding places for them for example).
If you feel you must give feeder fish, these should be kept seperately until feeding, so you can make sure they are free from infection (as many feeder fish stock are badly maintained and could possibly be medicated, which wouldn't be good for your turtle).
As the turtle has already eaten, there's nothing you can do now other than keep an eye on your turtle, make sure it's waters clean and you keep on top of all tank maintenance.
While you can find sources which say this kind of feeding of feeder fish is fine, you can also find plenty which say it's a bad idea. My sources are largely from talking to people I trust on the subject however here are some links which I found useful:
Why don't captive turtles eat plants?
answered Dec 29, 2017 at 15:15
-
Not sure this is a good answer, first google hit is Goldfish and minnows are often kept with turtles because of their low cost; if they are eaten, they can easily and affordably be replaced. Commented Dec 29, 2017 at 16:50
-
1@JamesJenkins doesn't mean it's a good idea. if you google bettas you'll find thousands of links showing them in glasses without heaters. Also not good for Bettas. Goldfish that are kept as 'feeders' often carry infections as why would you spend money on medication for something that's just going to be food for something else? A hell of a lot has been learnt about fish and turtle and keeping any aquatic animals in the last 5-10 years which wasn't known before, about the welfare of both, and a lot of people haven't kept up to date, or just don't care. Commented Dec 30, 2017 at 9:46
-
You can improve your answer by adding references that support your statements. Commented Dec 30, 2017 at 11:16
-
Thhanks for the chat - I come from a lot of sites where 'sources' aren't as useful or important :) Commented Dec 31, 2017 at 13:59
Turtles and fish are always a bad mix. Goldfish are dirty and turtles are dirtier. Fish cannot survive in an environment high in organic waste. Fortunately, turtles have cast iron guts and can eat just about anything. Still, keep an eye out for both parasites and illness, just to be safe.
-
Point of interest: cast iron is closer to glass than steel in resilience. Commented Oct 15, 2019 at 13:26