Given how beautiful seashells are and how easy they are to come by, it is only natural for most of us to want to add them to our tanks. Moreover, given how common they are in the wild, they will surely be perfectly fine in a tank, right?
Sadly, no. In fact, there are multiple reasons why seashells would not necessarily be the best thing to put into your tank.
First of all, they can be very sharp. Your turtles will likely walk as well as swim in your tank, especially in the basking areas. Therefore, having seashells around, especially as your turtles grow and move, runs the risk of them being cut open.
Secondly, seashells can disrupt the pH level in the tank. This can be a big problem as all sea creatures need to be kept in a perfectly balanced tank in order to thrive. Instead, opt for sand and maybe even wood to put in the tank to ensure that your turtles have something upon which they can rest and climb, and avoid putting seashells in with them.
Can I Put a Snail in My Turtle Tank?
Given that snails are shelled creatures and generally do well in tanks, they should be the perfect tank mates for your turtles, right? Well, not necessarily. It really depends on what you want the snails for.
Generally speaking, snails are great to keep in tanks as they can help to keep them clean, they are easy to keep and can be very friendly. They are also beautiful and can make any tank look even better. However, certain turtles may also find them to be quite tasty!
Some tank owners have proven that you can keep snails and turtles together – however, it would not be a surprise if you found that your turtle ate your snails. Snails are obviously quite slow, even compared to a turtle, even in water!
Moreover, certain turtles have particularly strong mouths and can easily get a snail. Therefore, unless you plan on keeping the snails in the tank with the turtles as a good food source, it is best to keep your snails and turtles apart.
You may find that they can live together, especially in bigger tanks with plenty of room and food sources for the both of them. However, generally speaking, it is best to keep them apart.
Can Turtles Live With Goldfish?
When it comes to goldfish, the same rule about snails applies to turtles. Some goldfish can do perfectly fine in tanks with turtles, and in fact, many choose to keep them together.
However, one of the reasons that turtles and goldfish are often kept together is that goldfish are easy to come by, easy to keep, and easy to replace. They are not expensive and can be found in any pet store. Therefore, if your turtles happen to eat your goldfish, you can simply replace them.
However, not only is this a waste of money, but it can also be considered cruel for the goldfish. Instead of keeping the two together, keep goldfish in one tank, and turtles in another. There are creatures that can live with turtles perfectly safely however, goldfish do not happen to be one of them.
Can Turtles Live with Koi Fish?
Some have found that keeping turtles and koi fish in their backyard ponds works perfectly well. However, this definitely isn’t the case for everyone. Therefore, if you would like to keep koi fish with turtles, there are a few things that you will need to ensure.
First, be careful of the species of turtles that you choose. The bigger the species, the more likely they are to attack the koi fish. However, if you keep a relatively small turtle with a big, adult koi fish, then the chances are that the turtles will not try to attack them as they will lose the battle – nice and simple!
You will also need to ensure that both the koi fish and the turtles have plenty of food. Generally speaking, the two have very similar diets and therefore should be able to eat perfectly well together.
While the koi fish will not attack the turtles, if the turtle does not have enough food, they will naturally look somewhere else, including the others living in their pond! Therefore, it is wise to ensure that you provide enough food for all of them, and could even be a wise idea to feed them separately.
Feed them at the same time, so that they do not attack each other, but try to feed them in separate areas of the pond, if you can.
Can I Put My Turtle Tank By The Window?
As beneficial as it may seem to have a turtle tank near natural sunlight, by a window, this could actually be harmful for turtles – it can lead to issues with temperature within the tank environment and algae growth.
By being next to a window, your tank will not likely benefit from the sun rays, as the glass from the windows and the tank will block most of them. Moreover, the tank will likely grow algae far quicker by being next to a window, which means you have to clean it more regularly and be a more dangerous environment for your turtles.
Finally, by being near a window, especially in the colder months, it could become more difficult to regulate the tank’s temperature, which will need to be perfectly balanced to ensure that it is perfect for your turtles.
Therefore, it is best to always keep your turtle tanks away from windows, whenever possible. Instead, try to keep them next to a wall, or even behind a curtain if necessary, in order for your turtles to thrive.
Turtles can be quite sensitive creatures – and while they may live in sunny climates, that doesn’t mean they’re always going to do well in the full glare during the day.
