keeping turtles with fish

[Noongato]

Hahaha he is in the middle, taking a breath. Should have figured. Most people have a tendancy to "centre" the important thing in the photo.

I have these carbon beady thingys in my filter that clain all that. But i have 2 big peices of driftwood, and the stick going across the tank is just a stick i scabbed from a creek AGES ago. So i dont know whether it might be influencing the 'tannin'
The driftwood and stick have been in that tank for well over a year with... not so often water changes.. I had golfish and slacked off..
The PH of the water is a higher number, 7.6 or so. Should i be concerned? I know acidic is worse for turtles but i dont know what the limit of alkaline is.
I was going to do another water change but i dont want to shock the turt with cold water from the tap.

 

[Noongato]

And all turtles get pretty big. All need to eventually move outside in a large pond unless you want to go loopy trying to house them inside

 

[IgotFrogs]

Mid go find out about some Purigen lol

 

[Noongato]

I will. But ive pestered the petshop 4 times today, 3 times yesterday. I think they would be sick of me

 

[bfg23]

Your saw-shell will only grow to average carapice size of 22cm. They are a smaller species of turtle, thats why i want one.
You can probably keep one in a six foot tank its entire life.

 

[IgotFrogs]

lol thats what they are there for ..... dont bother asking in a pet shop for ot tho .... would probably be a waist of time go to one that just deals with fish

 

[Noongato]

The one that deals with fish here tried to tell me yesterday that theres only 2 species of turtle in Australia, the long neck and penny turtle.
I dont think im even going to bother with them anymore.

 

[IgotFrogs]

Lol penny turtle .....

 

[Noongato]

How do you use this Purigen stuff? Cos my filter has a big stick with holes in it that spray water out. If that makes sense

 

[Noongato]

Back left of the photo, you can see it

 

[IgotFrogs]

Mid just pop the little baggy of it into where you put your filter wool in that will do the job

 

[Noongato]

It doesnt have filter wool. It has a plastic "cage" with carbon pellet things in there, looks like really big chunks of drawing charcoal snapped into little bits.

 

[IgotFrogs]

hrmmmm has it got a filter spounge?

 

[garycahill]

Just had a look at your pic to check out your filter.
There is no way that filter will be sufficient for even 1 turtle long term.
You will need to upgrade to an external filter of around 1200 - 1600 litres per hour flow.
Caresheet with all the info you need available here;
CARESHEETS - Australian Freshwater Turtles

 

[Noongato]

No Probs, will go filter shopping on pay day

 

[Frozenmouse]

carbon is no good its only really used to remove medications from the water it becomes saturated with toxins in about a week depending , but anyway carbon has a very short life in filters , considered a waste of time .
To find a suitable filter ,work out how much water you want to filter volume wise(hight of waterline in cms x width of tank in cms x length in cms then divide by 1000 thats your water in liters then multiply this figure by 5 and thats what i would use as a guide for your tank .
fluval make great canister filters and so do ehiem just remember you can never over filter so get the biggest you can afford (common sense prevails dont set up your tank like a washing machine have rocks and wood to break up the turbulence) .
Until you have your filter i would do a 50% water change every 3-4 days let the water sit for a day before you add it to let the chlorine evaporate off.
ps post some more pics.

 

[Slyther83]

wouldnt you have to get a basking area setup for almost any turtle? even soft shelled turtles, which are highly aquatic need that I believe.

...and with any turtle I think you will run the risk of them taking a chunk out of your fish. Pred tank gar + turtle would work though I reckon.. swampmates and the gars skin is pretty tough, and I doubt a 1-2 foot turtle would go after a 2-4 foot fish.. but thats just speculation

 

[Jakee]

Your saw-shell will only grow to average carapice size of 22cm. They are a smaller species of turtle, thats why i want one.
You can probably keep one in a six foot tank its entire life.

Saw Shelled Turtles grow to an average size of 30cm.

Jake

 

[garycahill]

The only turtle that I believe doesn't need a basking area is the Pig Nose. The males never come out of the water & females only to breed.

 

[bfg23]

well on further research jakee, it seems you are correct.

my information from 'Steve Swansons Field Guide to Australian Reptiles' says average adult carapace length is 23cm.