Feeding and Nutrition :: Knew they are voracious eaters but this is ridiculous...

[Charles Bottinelli]

I keep two RES (4-inch and a 5-inch) in a 20-gal aquarium in our school's greenhouse in Littleton, Colorado. I moved them from my outdoor pond when the weather turned cold. I feed pellets (automatically, daily), mealworms, feeder goldfish, lettuce, cantaloupe, and bloodworms.

School was closed for 5 days over the TG holiday, so I wanted to ensure they had enough to eat. I let them gorge on meal worms Tuesday afternoon before I left school. I also put 50 medium-size feeders in the tank prior to leaving.

Imagine my surprise this morning: there was only one fish left! There were two partially eaten carcasses on the gravel, attesting to the holiday carnage.

Given their insatiable appetites (50 fish in five days + pellets twice a day) what would you suggest I do for our Winter Break when school will be closed from December 22 to January 8?

[jenaero]

The only thing I can suggest is bring them home with you and put them in a large rubbermaid or a large tank. They were able to catch all those fish because of the lack of space in the tank. Gorging like that is never a good idea....

[cam722]

do you feed them all those things daily? If so, that seems a lot excessive and way too much protein. I also agree with jen in that is a rather tiny space for 2 turtles that large. 50 feeder fish should last them for a long time.

I'd also suggest you take them home... get a cheap rubbermaid container and take the rest of their setup home with you. I'm assuming you have lights/filter and heater and a basking area.