Feeding and Nutrition :: How many minnows can be fed at a time?

[lorib]

I have 2 res that occasionally love feeder fish. I just don't know how many to give at a time. Once I thought I'd put in a bunch and just let them pick off what they wanted (hoping they would last a while). Well, it took them all of 30 minutes to eat all 30 fish in the tank! I guess I won't do that again. I hadn't intended for them to eat so many at once. They act like I starve them, but they get pellets daily as well as veggies(that they refuse to touch--they just plug up my filter). What would be a better approach to feeding these guys?

[Kemul]

How big are your turtles? I think about 10 minnows per turtle per month are
plenty enough.

[lorib]

One is about 5", the other about 7". I have been giving them fish about once a month, but I'll just not get as many. I didn't think they'd be such little piggies. They even have a single female guppy that lives in their tank that they won't touch, not sure why. They ate all her babies, but they don't bother her. Even when the minnows hide in her corner, they all get eaten, but she's always left behind. So weird.

[Kemul]

Hmm... maybe the turtles know the female guppy is a treat-producing agent, so
they leave her alone.

[lorib]

They will soon realize that there are no more babies cuz they ate all the males and she quit producing after a while.

[ptcake]

My RES enjoys rosy red minnows. I limit him to 8-10 per month. I thought I was doing something good, but a clerk at a small aquarium center advised not to offer minnows as they are not "native" to where a RES lives and therefore, the turtle cannot digest them properly. Since I don't feed them as a steady diet, but use them more as a treat, I decided not to remove them from my turtle's diet. Also, everything I've read on redearslider.com says rosy reds are fine. The clerk sold me krill which my turtle also enjoys. It seems the best diet is one of variety. I guess my turtle agrees as there are three minnows that are smarter than my RES and have lived with him for three months or more. He chases them every now and then, but gives up quickly. He'd rather devour jello shots which is the BEST way to be sure he eats vegetables. Also try romaine lettuce....my RES just loves it!

[jay2487]

Whoa, what kind of fish were the 30? In my tanks they survive way longer when I put in that many at a time. That female will have the sperm saved up for 6 more batches, that usually gives the first batch long enough to have a mature male, but that's not to say your turtle won't eat them all by then.

[lorib]

The 30 were minnows. It took them 30 minutes to eat them all. Needless to say I didn't feed them for a couple days. The lonely guppy has already birthed out all she had saved up, it's been about 3 months since she's had babies and even longer since she was with a mature male. Her biggest threat now is getting sucked up into my filter intake, which she also seems too smart for. I covered it but sometimes the turtles knock the screen off. It'll be interesting to see how long she lasts in there with them.