Feeding and Nutrition :: rosy reds

[mike22]

i have 3 baby res and i have been feeding them pellets and trying to get them to eat red leaf lettuce and never gave them fish cause i read they were bad. but my brother went to the new petsmart that opened and bought 5 rosie reds the tank seemed clean when i went their later that day. he put the fish in the turtle tank and i am wondering should i take them out they seem to amuse the turtes who havent cought one yet. or will they invest my turtles with parisites and ultimatley cause their death? pls help.

[steve]

Your RES will catch them eventually. While the conditions for feeder fish aren't very good, they probably won't cause anything serious. As for parasites, goldfish are more like to carry them than rosies.

[Ashley]

When Bowser was only 4 inches we got her a bunch of rosy reds, as well as some little goldfish...
She never even tried to chase them! They lived with her for over a month with no problems.

Fast forward til today...
We got 5 shiner minnows from a local aquarium store just to see her reaction...for 95 cents we thought at the very least that they would be a nice addition to her tank.

....she ate all 5 of them in a matter of minutes!

I guess now that she's stronger and since the new filter creates a current that makes her chase pellets she now has interest in chasing food.

She went crazy for them!

Now she's basking and super full.
I captioned her as saying "Ugggghhhhh...where are the Tums?"

[mike22]

thanks i was just worried that the rosies might be bad.they have cought one but four r still alive. and has anyone had good results from ghost shrimp

[steve]

Fish and shrimp are not the best things for them, a good pellet should be their main food right now.

[mike22]

i know i was just trying to expand their diet. they havent eaten anything but pellets i have underwater plants and i tried redleaf lettuce. so i figured maybe a little fish would help get them interested in trying new things. and i heard shrimp helpclean waste until they are eaten so i figured i would give them a try.

[steve]

Also try a veggie clip to hold lettuce in place. It lets them try out what you place there.

[mike22]

thanks for all your help guys i got the veggie clamp but the little guys r still stubborn lol

[worldpeace]

It takes a while for baby turtles to start eating their veggies. But make sure you persevere and keep offering greens to them even though they might refuse to eat them at first. It's easier for younger turtles to get used to veggies than an older one (i'm speaking from experience).