Musk turtles and Mystery Snails

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DiamondDrake

Feeder Fish
Oct 2, 2009
4
0
0
Spfd TN, USA
Hello, This is my first post. I can't seem to find information that I need to properly take care of my new turtle and I though maybe this would be a good place to come.

I just got a musk turtle from a previous owner who could no longer take care of it. He's (or she's) has a shell about the size of a reeses peanut butter cup. I can't afford a canister filter so I have purchased an intank whisper fountain filter. but I wanted to supplement this with some large black mystery snails. as I have seen videos on youtube of black snails being kept with musk turtles, the snails are much larger than the turtles head, but the turtle immediately went to attacking them, so I moved them to my dwarf frog tank. But I would like to have them co-exist with my musk turtle to help eat his leftovers.

Will the turtle be able to kill the large black mystery snails? or will he find out he can't and leave them alone? should I try it again? or leave them in with the african dwarf frogs and let it be?
 
Snails are a big part of a Musk Turtle's diet. I highly doubt it will leave them alone. Both of my Stinkpots love eating them.
 
Thanks. That's what I have read. but there is a video on you tube title musk turtle care that has an adult musk turtle in an aquarium with 2 black mystery snails and some small silver fish. the video is 7 minutes long and the musk turtle never pays them any attention. but when I put them in my tank my musk turtle immediately started nipping at them. I had to shoo him away to pull them out. I was hoping they would help keep the tank clear.

what would be good choices for tankmates for my musk turtle? anybody know of the results with a Chinese algae eater?
 
Turtles are very dirty animals and will pollute water quickly without good filtration. If you want to keep your tank clean you're going to have to do daily water changes seeing how it doesn't have adequate filtration at the moment. Fish will probably do poorly in your tank as a result of it.
 
I think the only way you might have had success with that is if you started with adult mystery/apple snails and a hatchling turtle. Even so your turtle might still try to eat the snails.

How big is the tank? If you're careful with feeding you should be able to keep things under control with that filter, but long term you'll want something a bit more substantial.
 
Its not a big tank, I'm sure I need bigger, its a 10 gallon tank. But right now I can't afford much more, the previous owner had him in the same sized aquarium with no light and no filter at all.

he seems fine, he likes to dig out the rocks and fake plants, and sit in the falling water from the filter. I have a small basking platform in the corner with stairs that lead down on both sides providing a hiding place that he likes. a lamp, and a heater.

2 days in, water is clear and no noticeable odor.

although, I am having trouble finding adequate information about the quantity and frequency I should feed the little guy.

any general pointers specific to musk turtles provided its from experience would be appreciated. I want him to be happy.
 
Your turtle sounds like it's a little over a year old. You should try to feed it once a day right now as much as it will eat in 5 minutes. As it gets older you can feed it every other day. Make sure you feed a good quality pellet like Reptomin. You can also feed it crickets, snails (lol), earthworms, thawed shrimp, fish fillets, and aquatic plants like anacharis and water lettuce.

If you can't afford a bigger tank right now you can always buy a rubbermaid tub. That's what I keep my musk turtles in. You can buy a 40 gallon one from Walmart for like $10 bucks.
 
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