Turtle and tetra

Question
QUESTION: I don't know if you know about turtles much but I am planning on getting a smaller turtle, about 6 inches or smaller, it is a red eared slider turtle and I wanted to put the turtle in the same tank as the tetra that Ii am going to buy will go into. Please tell me if this will work and if you know about turtles.

ANSWER: Hi Rachel,
 It won't work for long because the turtle will very quickly eat the tetra.  Do not put any fish in a turtle tank that you don't expect to get eaten.  Also, keep in mind that turtles foul their water very quickly so you need to do A LOT of water changes on a turtle tank (25% of the water, once a week would be an absolute minimum).

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I talked to another person and they said if I got a smaller turtle and a bigger tetra it might work and if I got a big tank it would work better. Do you think this would help?
ANSWER: Hi Rachel,
 It might work for a very short period of time but small turtles grow into large turtles and sliders naturally eat fish as their food.  That's what they call dinner. So, to put dinner in the tank with the turtle and not expect him to eat it is asking quite a bit from a turtle. It would be like
putting a bird and a cat in a small box and expecting the bird to survive.

 If you got a tetra that was actually larger than the turtle, it might have a chance but even then I wouldn't bet a lot of money on the tetra surviving for long.  Turtles may appear slow but they are remarkably good at what they do.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks, If I got a Fish that was bigger then my turtle (not a tetra) would the turtle try to eat the fish and like teeth on it or something like that?

Answer
Hi Rachel,
 Yes, the turtle will try to eat the fish. Turtles have what
is essentially a beak and it is very strong and very sharp.
I really suggest that you keep fish and turtles separate.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>