Looking for some advice

[Coursair]

Set up your Turtles in a SEPARATE tank. That will be the best for fish and Turtles.

You can use a large rectangular Rubbermaid tub as a temp turtle home.

UV light
Heat light
Lights on for 12 hours a day. Off at night.
Basking area
Big filter

Check with reptile/amphibian section for Slider advice.
Read Everything you can find !!!
Here and online. GOOGLE is your friend !
YouTube has some good vids of Turtle set ups ( some bad ones too)


Fish
Research all your fish.
If you can't get a larger tank, start over with smaller fish that won't outgrow your tank.

Hex tanks hold less fish than rectangular tanks of the same size, less surface to air ratio, less oxygen and swimming room.
Read everything you can, read more, ask questions, Google it, read more. Watch YouTube vids. Ask questions.

Keep learning. Your Fish and Turtles deserve the BEST care possible.

Tina
I've managed a Reptile Specialty store in the past
Was a member of the Northern California Herpetological Society in the 1980s before reptiles were "cool". I was one of the few female members.

Just so you know i have Turtle experience.

 

[Mikejr20]

Here are a few pics of the new set up. (for now)

 

[Mikejr20]

So if I were to restock my tank what would be some good fish to have in my tank? I like colorful, always moving, and exotic or oddball types that you wouldn't usually see in a everyday tank. But also open to the usual fish too.

 

[Mikejr20]

Looks like I'm getting a 55 gal tank. I think it's long? 48x13x20. I plan on having a basking set up on one side for the turtles and some drift wood and fake plates throughout. I'm still looking for stocking options from those experienced aquatic hobbyists since I'm fairly new to this.

 

[Nomadu571]

Looks like I'm getting a 55 gal tank. I think it's long? 48x13x20. I plan on having a basking set up on one side for the turtles and some drift wood and fake plates throughout. I'm still looking for stocking options from those experienced aquatic hobbyists since I'm fairly new to this.

I think the problem you have is not many people are going to recommend fish because of the turts, obviously they may be eaten so people are reluctant to suggest future turtle food. However if your determined to have fish with them then I'd suggest fast moving fish that are larger than the turtles mouth, so they are not snack size treats If he can catch em.

Edit; and no long fins. Bottom feeders are probably a no too as they are likely to get picked off.

 

[Mikejr20]

My turtles usually don't mess with my fish unless it's ghost shrimp or feeder guppies/gold fish. Ive had smaller fish (expensive then feeder) like cichlids and mollies and they didn't bother them. I mean I've seen some really neat tank set ups on this forum and was considering moving them to my 29 gal tank and using that as their tank and maybe throwing in a couple fish and decorations donuts not so blah. But I've been doing some reading and looking at live plants and driftwood with rocks stacked up to make hiding spots and crevices. I'm just a noob to the hobby and looking for some advice (like my title says) and if I got a stocking list suited for just fish then of course I would take your guys advice and work on a fish only aquarium.

 

[w1kk3d]

Hey brother, I'm relatively new to the hobby as well. Actually, I had 3 50 - 60 gallon tanks when I was a kid that I maintained with my parents. I recently purchased a 55 gallon tank and setup a planted tank. I also like really colorful fish as well and this is what I have so far:

5 glass cats
1 dwarf gourami
4 striped loaches
1 orange loach
3 striped killifish
2 otos
3 dwarf puffers
3 mollies (transplanted from my kids 10 gallon tank because he didn't want them anymore)
2 crabs (might get 2 more)

Might get one additional species/school of fish but I think that I'm pretty much at my limit. Have a fair amount of plants with dual T5 lights and 3 large pieces of driftwood. Substrate consists of 1/2 playground sand and fluorite. Currently using a HOB filter but ordered a Fluval 405 canister filter and should get it this coming week. Overall, I really like my setup and although I was worried about the puffers at first, all the fish are getting along very well. Believe it or not, I had 8 zebra danios which were very aggressive and killed 3 of their own. Wound up taking them back for the killifish. While they are all great to watch, my definite favorites are the puffers and crabs. The puffers are so very interesting and have such personality, it's amazing. Good luck!

 

[Mikejr20]

Just added 6 tiger barbs and 80 feeder guppies to my collection.

 

[davy 1983]

is this still your hex tank?

 

[Mikejr20]

Yea the 55 gal didn't go through like I thought it would. I'm looking at taking the turtles out along with the feeder guppies and putting them in my 29 gal set up as a tank for the turtles, so they can have their basking platform and swimming area with guppies whenever they get hungry.

 

[absolutangel04]

I strongly advise you to not get anymore fish until you get your situation figured out with your current fish. They won't live forever in a tank that size, and adding more of them won't help the situation. You have been given a lot of advise about your set-up already and I definitely agree that you should get the turtles out and then worry about stocking the hex tank. Turtles will dirty up the water more than a fish will so it is harder to keep fish with them, even if the turtles don't eat the fish.

 

[Mikejr20]

Yea I know they'll dirty the water more quickly then fish. I plan on putting a HOB on the turtle tank and possibly getting another marineland C-360 canister filter for their tank too. I have one for my hex and I love it never seen the water so clear. So how about those set ups? The feeder guppies are just feeder fish for the bigger fish and turtles, they'll be gone within the next couple days.

 

[davy 1983]

i dont know where in all this advice that someones said to add more fish, should of used that money on saving for a bigger tank or sortin ur turtles out, i know it can be hard not to buy fish when u see them at the lfs but you have to think whats best for ur tank at the moment.

 

[Mikejr20]

I understand no one said to add fish. What about my tank set ups I listed above? Do they seem adequate for now until I can get a bigger tank for my fish?

 

[Mikejr20]

Anyone wanting a freshwater shark? I seen on aqadvisor.com he can become 79 inches! The other fish I think I can handle getting a bigger tank. The next biggest fish is my common pleco, he can get to be 18 inches. About what size tank would be good for a fish that size? He's about 7-8 inches now.

 

[absolutangel04]

Yea I know they'll dirty the water more quickly then fish. I plan on putting a HOB on the turtle tank and possibly getting another marineland C-360 canister filter for their tank too. I have one for my hex and I love it never seen the water so clear. So how about those set ups? The feeder guppies are just feeder fish for the bigger fish and turtles, they'll be gone within the next couple days.

Sorry to be a buzz-kill, but again, the answer is no. Your rainbow shark, bala shark, and pleco will all outgrow that tank much quicker than you think and 29g is still not enough for 2 turtles. You would be better off re-homing most of your fish and getting some that will live happily in your tank. When you get a bigger tank, then you can put bigger fish in it. A common pleco should be in about a 125g minimum tank IMO.
The 29g for the turtles might be ok for awhile they grow. Keep the water clean and look into a bigger set-up for them for their long term care. No matter what, it is important to get them out of your current set-up.

 

[Mikejr20]

Yea I understand and I'm working on it. So what are my options with the fish that I have to rehome? Will a lfs take them?

 

[Mikejr20]

So here's my plan. I'm gonna rehome all my fish (except my tiger barbs) and my 2 turtles. I'm gonna go back to my 29gal tank and put my marineland multi stage 360 canister filter along with my marineland 200 bio wheel HOB filter back as my main set up. My fish will include:

6-tiger barbs
6-giant danios
6-black phantom tetras
6-red eye tetras

*****maybe a smaller pleco to keep the algae down.*****

Would this be a good set up?

Also what should the decor be like? I like the look of the play sand at the bottom. Should I keep the fake log and fake plants? Or look into driftwood and real plants? I don't know if the play sand will support the real plants so what do I use as substrate then?

 

[Abrams96]

You need to re home the turtles to a MUCH larger tank...or give them to someone who can take care of them properly. Have you not read any of the previous posts? You should do some research before getting any animals!

 

[Mikejr20]

Did you not read my last post??? I said I'm rehoming my fish AND turtles. So obviously I'm not keeping them. Also in my last post was a set up for only 1 tank so wouldn't that tell you that I'm not keeping the turtles???