# Eastern Long Neck Feed Advice



## Jacknife (Jun 15, 2013)

Hi all, yesterday a acquired an Eastern Long Neck Turtle from a friend who no longer bad time for it. 
It came with two feeder fish which have apparently been in there a couple of months as he decided he didn't want to eat them. 
My question is should I feed him in a seperate tank or feed him I his normal tank, I'm worried he may not be inclined to ea them in his own. 
I forgot to ask if he had kept feeding as usual on other feeder fish. 

And finally; should I remove them? They're doing no harm it seems and it's nice to have a bit if diversity I. The tank, but will this be a problem?


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## Cypher69 (Jun 15, 2013)

If the turtle is healthy then there is no need to worry about whether he eats the fish or not...instinct & hunger will kick in or maybe simply the fish are just too fast for him.
From my own experiences, solitary kept turtles weren't too interested in feeder fish, whereas a pair of turtles seemed to enjoy more the chase & hunt for the fish. 

How big is the tank?
Maybe the turtle senses it's not big enough to swim & chase the fish...?


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## Jacknife (Jun 15, 2013)

I do need to upgrade him to a 3 or 4ft tank soon, but also I think perhaps now the fish are a bit big for him to eat maybe...


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## Cypher69 (Jun 15, 2013)

It's like the sharks in a tank...if they're fed well, they don't need to hunt.


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## Rowie (Jun 15, 2013)

My turtle lives in a 6ft tank with at least fifty fish of various sizes and hundreds of shrimp. She shows pretty much no interest in catching them herself though and would rather climb the walls of the tank begging us for food to be hand fed instead.

I wouldn't bother trying to feed in a separate container as it can stress them out rather than entice them to eat. If you can, stun a guppy and hold it in front of it with tweezers. That might entice it to eat. Also maybe try other food items such as worms, woodies or crickets. Topaz, my turtle, feeds on a varied diet of fresh shrimp, fresh guppies, worms, crickets, woodies and also grasshoppers we find in the garden. It may also eat dead or immobile insects floating on the surface of the water too if you want to try that out as well.

Turtles dinners from pet stores are no good though. Pretty much the maccas equivalent of food for them, and blood worms are good every now and then as a treat but not as a part of their staple diet.


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## Tyl3r (Jun 15, 2013)

I would get rid of the pebbles on the floor first of all. I use straight Cal Grit (Called Turtle Grit, will PM you the forum sight of where to get it). 

Also, I would have about 50 in the tank so it has more of a chance to catch the fish to eat as the fish may be a little to fast for the turtle. Some pet stores sell Gold Fish as feeders. Please do not buy Gold Fish for your turtle to eat, it will end up in possible death of your turtle as they are very fatty. The feeders I feed my turtle are Guppies, Neon Tetras, Gambusia (catch from the local dam/river/lake system) and Gudgeons (also catch from the local dam/river/lake system).

Have a different variety of foods like Rowie said, have some shrimp in there too. I have 50-100 Glass Shrimp in there for my turtle. Also, feed garden worms, crickets, woodies and grasshoppers. I also give mine (Saw Shell Turtle) mosquito wrigglers. Keep the fish in there, they won't do any harm, if the turtles get the chance they will eat them. I also feed Donatello (my turtle) Hikari Cichlid Gold pellets, they give them essential Vitamins, including D3. Don't feed Turtle Dinners, as they are really fatty. 

What size is your tank? How big is your turtle SCL (Straight Carapace Length)?

Thanks, 
Tyler


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