Hey reefers loving all your advice and help on my saltwater tank now would like some help on doing a freshwater tank for my turtle

Soren

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From your pictures, I am guessing this is a female since it does not have the long front claws of a male and the tail looks pretty short as opposed to a long tail on males. Also, the red ears do not seem apparent, and I think they are more bold on males than females.

Are you certain your turtle is a red-eared slider? Your pictures look more to me like a painted turtle (eastern or western, I can't remember which is yellow vs red on the belly). They also have red "ears" but in a much smaller and less-distinct mark. Also, painted turtles have black shell tops like your turtle's where red-eared sliders have a ringed pattern on each scute. The belly scutes on yours are mostly just yellow like a painted turtle while red-eared sliders tend to have more distinct black marks on nearly every belly scute.

A 40-gallon tank is probably good for your turtle (if it is less than 10 inches long), but a bigger tank is always better. Yours looks like a well-suited setup for a red-eared slider (or eastern? painted turtle, if that is what it is).

The concern with the turtle eating fish is that it will mess up water quality much faster. Your tank water looks good for a turtle tank, and they are pretty hardy in even poor-quality water (they live in murky ponds naturally in many cases).

Guppies and Endler's livebearers would be good choices for fish to be included, especially since they will reproduce readily to maintain population. In our turtle tank, the guppies reproduced excessively and were too fast for the turtle to catch. Mollies also may work, but are sometimes more difficult to care for and generally do better in brackish water long-term than in true freshwater. They also do not dart as fast as guppies or Endler's livebearers, and the larger size may make them easier to be caught and eaten. Other fish you could consider would be minnows, zebra danios, harlequin rasboras, many types of tetras, cherry barbs, or other middle-to-top-swimming fish. Bottom dwellers such as corydoras and kuhli loaches or algae-eating fish such as Plecostomus or Otocinclus will not be good choices, since they are more likely to be eaten due to inconsistent swimming patterns and slower swimming speed.

Adding another turtle may work, but I do not know how recommendable it would be. My main concern would be tank size, since more water would be needed for 2 turtles to avoid major water quality issues. Turtles tend to be dirtier than most commonly-kept water-dwelling pets. You also may deal with aggression issues with one already established, though I do not think aggression is very common with red-eared slider turtles (or painted turtles).
 

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From your pictures, I am guessing this is a female since it does not have the long front claws of a male and the tail looks pretty short as opposed to a long tail on males. Also, the red ears do not seem apparent, and I think they are more bold on males than females.

Are you certain your turtle is a red-eared slider? Your pictures look more to me like a painted turtle (eastern or western, I can't remember which is yellow vs red on the belly). They also have red "ears" but in a much smaller and less-distinct mark. Also, painted turtles have black shell tops like your turtle's where red-eared sliders have a ringed pattern on each scute. The belly scutes on yours are mostly just yellow like a painted turtle while red-eared sliders tend to have more distinct black marks on nearly every belly scute.

A 40-gallon tank is probably good for your turtle (if it is less than 10 inches long), but a bigger tank is always better. Yours looks like a well-suited setup for a red-eared slider (or eastern? painted turtle, if that is what it is).

The concern with the turtle eating fish is that it will mess up water quality much faster. Your tank water looks good for a turtle tank, and they are pretty hardy in even poor-quality water (they live in murky ponds naturally in many cases).

Guppies and Endler's livebearers would be good choices for fish to be included, especially since they will reproduce readily to maintain population. In our turtle tank, the guppies reproduced excessively and were too fast for the turtle to catch. Mollies also may work, but are sometimes more difficult to care for and generally do better in brackish water long-term than in true freshwater. They also do not dart as fast as guppies or Endler's livebearers, and the larger size may make them easier to be caught and eaten. Other fish you could consider would be minnows, zebra danios, harlequin rasboras, many types of tetras, cherry barbs, or other middle-to-top-swimming fish. Bottom dwellers such as corydoras and kuhli loaches or algae-eating fish such as Plecostomus or Otocinclus will not be good choices, since they are more likely to be eaten due to inconsistent swimming patterns and slower swimming speed.

Adding another turtle may work, but I do not know how recommendable it would be. My main concern would be tank size, since more water would be needed for 2 turtles to avoid major water quality issues. Turtles tend to be dirtier than most commonly-kept water-dwelling pets. You also may deal with aggression issues with one already established, though I do not think aggression is very common with red-eared slider turtles (or painted turtles).
The fish are possible if a powerful cleaning crew is kept, filtration probably strengthened
 

Soren

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The fish are possible if a powerful cleaning crew is kept, filtration probably strengthened
Yes, I agree. We kept guppies with our turtle.
The water-quality concern is specifically related to decaying fish, if killed by the turtle but left in the tank uneaten. They should be removed if this is an issue.
 
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Lilly Moore

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I just didn’t know also haven’t looked into freshwater fish much and I just like the colorful ones
 

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From your pictures, I am guessing this is a female since it does not have the long front claws of a male and the tail looks pretty short as opposed to a long tail on males. Also, the red ears do not seem apparent, and I think they are more bold on males than females.

Are you certain your turtle is a red-eared slider? Your pictures look more to me like a painted turtle (eastern or western, I can't remember which is yellow vs red on the belly). They also have red "ears" but in a much smaller and less-distinct mark. Also, painted turtles have black shell tops like your turtle's where red-eared sliders have a ringed pattern on each scute. The belly scutes on yours are mostly just yellow like a painted turtle while red-eared sliders tend to have more distinct black marks on nearly every belly scute.

A 40-gallon tank is probably good for your turtle (if it is less than 10 inches long), but a bigger tank is always better. Yours looks like a well-suited setup for a red-eared slider (or eastern? painted turtle, if that is what it is).

The concern with the turtle eating fish is that it will mess up water quality much faster. Your tank water looks good for a turtle tank, and they are pretty hardy in even poor-quality water (they live in murky ponds naturally in many cases).

Guppies and Endler's livebearers would be good choices for fish to be included, especially since they will reproduce readily to maintain population. In our turtle tank, the guppies reproduced excessively and were too fast for the turtle to catch. Mollies also may work, but are sometimes more difficult to care for and generally do better in brackish water long-term than in true freshwater. They also do not dart as fast as guppies or Endler's livebearers, and the larger size may make them easier to be caught and eaten. Other fish you could consider would be minnows, zebra danios, harlequin rasboras, many types of tetras, cherry barbs, or other middle-to-top-swimming fish. Bottom dwellers such as corydoras and kuhli loaches or algae-eating fish such as Plecostomus or Otocinclus will not be good choices, since they are more likely to be eaten due to inconsistent swimming patterns and slower swimming speed.

Adding another turtle may work, but I do not know how recommendable it would be. My main concern would be tank size, since more water would be needed for 2 turtles to avoid major water quality issues. Turtles tend to be dirtier than most commonly-kept water-dwelling pets. You also may deal with aggression issues with one already established, though I do not think aggression is very common with red-eared slider turtles (or painted turtles).
part of the reason I said potentially is that the cloaca seems to be a little high, although this can be do to the angle or it just being a little high. If OP gets another turtle, both should be sexed, I think this could help prevent agression
 

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Yes, I agree. We kept guppies with our turtle.
The water-quality concern is specifically related to decaying fish, if killed by the turtle but left in the tank uneaten. They should be removed if this is an issue.
A powerful cleanup crew along with regular cleaning can help keep everything in check
 

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Yes, I agree. We kept guppies with our turtle.
The water-quality concern is specifically related to decaying fish, if killed by the turtle but left in the tank uneaten. They should be removed if this is an issue.
Im thinking maybe Cold Mountain minnow for OP? thoughts?
 

Soren

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Im thinking maybe Cold Mountain minnow for OP? thoughts?
That is another good suggestion, since water temperature would be less critical (though still much the same as guppies or endlers, since they do fine in room-temperature water as well).

White cloud mountain minnows are typically cheap and readily available and should work well in community with a turtle.
 

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What clean-up crew members are compatible with a 10" turtle? We never had any so I am not aware what species work, but they would be useful.
ghost shrimp. If they have places to hide they evolved to evade turtles and can last a while, though they will have to be restocked every now and again
 
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Lilly Moore

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What about plants could I have Lily pads or what are some good plants because I know some help with Ammonia nitrates etc
 

Soren

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What does op mean and thank u for being so helpful
In forum context, it usually means Original Poster, meaning the person who started the thread.

Edit: I just checked posts above for why you might ask, and am confident that is what was meant. In this case, you are OP.
 

Soren

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What about plants could I have Lily pads or what are some good plants because I know some help with Ammonia nitrates etc
You could probably try most any freshwater plants, though the turtle may eat or destroy them. Best recommendations are probably common pond plants since they are relatively hardy and cheap. Lily pads would likely be hard to care for in such a small environment, though I cannot say for sure since I have no experience with them in aquariums.
 

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Hey reefers thanks for all the advice and helping me with my saltwater tank even if you don’t know you helped thanks now I’m doing a freshwater one for my turtle wondering what fish would go good and should I do brackish or freshwater also what are good fish that can go with my turtle
Don’t mean to break it to ya but…er…ah…that’s Turtle 2 Turtle.
 

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  • Mollies
  • guppies
  • Live bearers and what else can I have
you can have lots of fish with turtles. just be wary, they might disappear from time to time. But good picks are rainbows, certain more peaceful cichlids, angels, bigger bards, trout,
you get the gist. medium-larger sized fast moving fast.
 
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