# turtles and malawies



## Fishboy2 (Jan 4, 2008)

can u u keep tutles (smaller ones) with most mbuna.
just think bout getting something unusual like a dwarf turtle that wont grow big enough to eat my 4 inched mbuna

tank size 75g
120 x 48 x 50

do any of u keep turtles /terrepins with tyours ???

please let me know
thanks


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

I've heard it's not a good idea. The turtle might not be big enough to eat one bit it sure can take a bite out of it.


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## Dave (Feb 9, 2003)

This is very hit or miss. To my knowledge all fresh water turtles have the capacity to eat fish. There are certainly lots of stories of fish being killed/eaten by turtles in the aquarium. I have had them eat them off of my stringer when out fishing. You may also hear of stories where turtle were kept with fish for years with no issues. The point is that predation on the fish while they are sleeping at night is a very real concern.

Don't just do what people tell you (yes you can, no you can't). Take the knowledge and apply it.


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## Fishfeind (Jan 16, 2007)

At our store we have a rather large pond with turtles. In there is a mix of brichardi, malawi such as venustus along with guppies and mollies. There have been no visible disappearances or injuries and the fish have bred like crazy.


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## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

I had kept a turtle in a 90G with a large male red zebra and a large male auratus. There were no issues witht he turtle eating them, but it did eat several tiger barbs and zebra danios. The turtle will eat what it can catch. It might not be big enough to eat the whole fish, but it will definitely reach a point where it can severely injure and/or kill a fish.

Not trying to discourage you, it can be done and looks really nice IMO. You will have to keep on top of your water changes though. It also helps if you feed the turtle in a separate container. They eat and soon after defecate, so by doing that you can help keep the water cleaner.


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## redstallion02 (Jan 17, 2008)

They will breed, but fish will breed in the wild with preditors.

I keep RES, and instead of culling fry, they end up in the turtle tank.

Some of the cichlids are 2 inches, some or peacocks up to 6 inches.

Now I know Red Ear Sliders are bigger than you are talking, but my turtles will eat the cichlids. There is visible damage at times. The only time these happen is at feeding time or at night.

My Turtles are only 4 inches right now and they will eat a full frown peacock without me knowing once they catch it.

Mbuna I thought would be safe. They were for a while but there again eventually they get caught.

But everyone will tell you something differant.


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## Fishboy2 (Jan 4, 2008)

what turtle would be best..
i would like to get as smaller one as possible ,,
i like snake necks, soft shells, musk turtles, which are all availanle in my lfs 
tank is 75 g

any advice appreciated


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

Turtles are very messy and prone to diseases. Water quality is very important for these creatures, you'd have to do water changes avery other day of decent volume. I wouldnt get one until all of your cichlids are fully grown. What do you plan to use as a dry spot? Floating log?


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## redstallion02 (Jan 17, 2008)

Musk are a good choice, although they do not like deep water, so you would have to set a plat form up for it to sit in water and they will also need to be able to get out of the water completely. The would be good with the cichlids as well.

Soft shell is going to be too big for your tank, Females are way too large for captivity purposes and males 75 gallon is going to be a min. They get pretty large.

Snake neck I do not know anything about.

As for them being prone to diseases, they are just like fish. Proper care and you will have no worries. With basking turtles you not only have to worry about tank temp, but you have to worry about air temp as they do get respatory infection if the air temp is cold and water is 75-80.

As for Ph, hardness, and temp, all are fine with african cichlids.

If I were to get a differant turtle I would go with the Northern Diamondback Terrapin male, max size is 6 inches and loves deeper water.

Turtles are messy that part is true. But a good filter will make life easy. I tend to slack on the water changes on the turtle tank, which is a 100 gallon with an eheim 2028. 2 red ear sliders and probably 6-10, 2"-5" africans in it. I just went 2 weeks without a water change and nitrates where less than 10 ppm, which honestly I know a lot of people who have trouble keeping thier cichlid tanks below 20.

I would not recommend going that long, like it has been said turtles are messy and thier poop is huge. Deffantly have to clean the substrate weekly.

Have plenty of hiding spots, make sure the turtle can not get into them or nock rocks over. They will dig and try to move stuff to look for food. You will be fine if you do all that.

Just make sure to research what the turtle needs as well.

I attached a picture of my setup. Turtles will climb like crazy so it is important to make sure the tank is 100 percent sealed off. I have 2 basking area's, both are 12x12 made out of plexiglass and slate. There are lights in the center of the tank for the water viewing. Then there are the lights for basking/heat lamp above the basking area's. This is a 6 foot 100 gallon tank.

Only other issue is feeding. I have had a problem with bloat so now I feed the turtles in a differant tank. The fish tend to grab the turtle food at times, which are larger pellets and I think they expand in the stomach of the fish and they can not digest them.

Also I would not go with rocks I have since switched to rocks/ pool filter sand easier to clean.


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## Fishboy2 (Jan 4, 2008)

cheers 4 all that dude .. i will have to do alot of planning and thinking .
the reason for getting one is that they look cool and are interesting.
my lfs keep snakenecks and musk turtles in with all their fish and just give them a a little platform for them to get out of the water.

your advice is muchly appreciated :thumb:


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## ubergoober (Mar 21, 2006)

I currently have a Diamond Back Terrapin(DBT) with Severums, Bolivian Rams, and a few Brichardi Juvies. I wouldn't recommend a DBT unless there are places for the fish to hide and sleep at night and you don't mind a fish disappearing occasionally. He is only 2 inches right now(bought from a local breeder so no laws broken) but I have seen him attempt to catch the Bolivian Rams. Eventually he will probably get one and once he gets older everyone may be on the menu including the much larger Severum. I have heard however that if the fish start larger and stay larger than the turtle they are less likely to view them as food. One nice thing is they have very similar eating habits to Cichlids so I can feed them the same pellets.

I would look into the Map Turtles as well. Both Maps and DBTs stay smaller but are carnivorous as Adults unlike some of the larger Aquatic Turtles(Sliders,Painteds) which are prone to eating more vegetation as they get older. 
Sliders are great.. especially if you can get a hold of a male which are often much smaller than the females.

Regardless do your research, take your time, and remember Turtles can live to be 50 years old so plan on him/her being a part of the family for a long, long time.

They are very cool though


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