The new kid

[Matik24]

Hey, my name is Matt and I'm obviously new to this forum. Im pretty interested in fish so I've made my aquarium my hobby. I have to admit that its pretty fun and it looks great.

My set up is this:
55 gallon glass aquarium (48" x 13" x 21" 625 lbs)
Freshwater filled up to 15.5" out of 21"
1 fluval C4 power filter
1 fluval M 200 watt submersible heater

I've got a large size sunken ship
decoration, some type of small corner cave decoration. 1 fake plant (to hide the heater, and a large floating corner beach.

2 small dark colored Angelfish
2 small Silver Dollars
3 Bala Sharks (1 is medium, 2 are small)
1 small Common Plecostomus
1 small Striped Raphael Catfish
5 small common goldfish
1 Banded Leporinus

And... *drumroll*
1 Chinese Golden Thread Turtle with a shell the size of the palm of my hand.

I know you may be thinking that my tank is a little over populated but since all my fish are small, there seems to be a lot of room. I plan on getting another tank in the future when they grow up. It's true what they say, "One aquarium is never enough."

 

[Nomadu571]

Hello and welcome! Your tanks sound great, any chance of posting pics? We all love pics here as many as you care to take! Lol I also have freshwater fish and a musk turtle, he's not quite as big as your turtle he's only a hatchling. Any pics of him are welcome too! Most of us here suffer from multiple tank syndrome so we feel your need for more tanks!

Feel free to ask anything there are many people on here who have lots of experience and are willing to help you out as much as they can. Enjoy the site!

 

[Matik24]

Here are some pics as requested. I will put them in a timeline because there may be quite a few...

 

[Nomadu571]

Tank looks great, very bright. You keep your turtle in the same tank then, How is he/she with the fish? Not tried eating them yet? Have u got the UVB bulb and a basking lamp etc?

 

[sharkmom]

Watch the banded yellow guy they grow fact mine got to be like 9 inchs and was mean had to trade him in.he was picking on others and I don't like mean guys he is cool but just not for my tank

 

[Matik24]

The turtle is the main reason why I got a tank so big and how I got into fish in the first place. When I first got him (his name is Pete or Petie) a year ago, he was half his size maybe even smaller. I kept him in a small 10 gallon tank by himself and for reasons unknown to myself, I never thought about putting fish in with him I just kept him alone until one day when I came home I found that my younger cousins had won 7 goldfish but didn't have a place for them so they just put them in Pete's tank and left them there. It blew my mind when I realized he could live with fish. It definitely made it more fun. When he started to get bigger, I decided to upgrade to the 55 gallon tank and keep him with more tropical and cooler-looking fish. He never eats the live fish or bothers them, although when I introduced my first angelfish Pete chased him and bit him but not bad enough to leave a mark. I guess he was just curious or trying to establish dominance. He hasn't bitten anything else since then. They live in harmony with each other which is pretty cool. Here are some pics of Pete when he was smaller and living in the 10 gallon...

 

[herp_mommy]

the turtle is cute. they can be very messy though. The silver dollars will get huge, so will the leporinus. I'm sure you've already heard that though As Nomadu said, most of us suffer from MTS (multiple tank syndrome) I myself have 6 tanks. If you have the time and money, go ahead and set up a second tank. You'll find this hobby very rewarding! welcome to the forum!

 

[bruinsbro1997]

to AA!

Nice turtle, I like them but my mom won't let me get one, she says one fish tank in the hosue is enough.

 

[Nomadu571]

Do u have the UVB bulb, as he needs that in order to metabolise calcium for his shell? And a nice basking lamp, so he can come out the water an regulate his temperature? Most people don't keep them with fish as eventually they will eat the fish, if they can't catch them they will bide his time and pounce in the night, but that's most people not all. If kept with fish at an early age they can sometimes be harmonious. Let's hope he stays placid and doesn't eat the fish, I've thought about fish in with my musk had a few panda Cory in his tank for a while, but his favourite sport was to chase them, not eat but chase, and I Diddnt think it was fair on the fish.

Love turtles however they are very cute and cool, and are so interesting to watch when they are young and curious.

 

[Matik24]

Yes I have the UVB light. As for the basking lamp that's a no. I think he uses the UVB light to regulate his temperature since I have his beach so close to it, it does get pretty warm. I have taken him to my local pet store and they were amazed by how healthy he was and how nice his shell was so I'm doing something right. I do plan to get another tank when he is bigger and make it more of a terrarium for him complete with the basking lamp though. As of right now, I should really save my money

 

[Nomadu571]

I hear you on that, I'm saving for a bigger tank which I hope to make him a nice aquaterranium. I was just checking on the UVB as you can't see it properly in the pics, so I was just checking, im not one of these guys who will say you need this and that, if u have the UVB that's probably the main thing. He looks very heathy, so I'm sure your doing a great job, both of us trying our best.
The basking lamp depends how much he comes out the water, my musk barely ventures out of the water so having the basking light on can be a waste of time mostly. Lol.

Keep updating with him, all of us are interested.

 

[Matik24]

I have actually made another thread about this since this was the "new member" thread. My other one is called 55g Turtle-Tank with fish. I hope to attract other turtle keepers or just some people with experience like you so please check it out.

 

[Nomadu571]

Cool, will do. nice to know there are some turtle keepers on here incase the need arises.

 

[Nomadu571]

Just a quick pic of my musk, "dec" he was posing so I thought I'd share with you. He's only around an inch at the mo.

 

[Matik24]

Wow that guy is sweet. How much did you get him for? What's his name?

 

[Nomadu571]

I'm in the uk, so we got him for £25 roughly. He's called Dec, after two tv hosts called 'Ant and Dec' (the mrs choice)! Once we get a bigger setup were going to get him a friend, either a map turtle or a girlfriend musk, to be his 'Ant' lol. He is by far my favourite pet.

 

[redsea]

Welcome to AA! Very cool turle and Anglefish!

 

[NoFishingAllowed]

Awww, he is smiling in one of the pics! super cute! i need to see this floating beach!

 

[Jeffekins]

to AA!

Nice turtle, I like them but my mom won't let me get one, she says one fish tank in the hosue is enough.

haha i hear that; i would always come home with animals anyway. fish, birds, bearded dragon. pretty much anything but a massive dog

 

[jlk]

Hi and welcome!!!! I LOVE the turtle! Just a note on your fish-you have tropicals mixed with coldwater fish (common goldfish). Your common goldfish are going to cause you the most problems because they grow to be 12-18inches in a very short amount of time and realistically need to be in a pond environment. They are also very messy fish and may prove to reek havoc on your tanks bioload. I would consider rehoming them in the very near future. Please be careful and research your fish! Good luck!!!!