Name this fish

ScumLord · 19-04-2009 6:16pm #1

I bought these fish on a whim because they where cheap and threw them into my turtle tank in the hopes the turtles would eat them, but the turtles have no interest it seems.

So now I need to feed them, what type of fish are they and what do they eat?

I've seen them go for bits of turtle (complete) food but I don't know if their eating any.

Hagar · 19-04-2009 6:20pm

They look like neons. I used have lots of them. They look lovely swimming in little shoals around the tank.
They will eat ordinary aquarium fish food, not goldfish food.

ScumLord · 19-04-2009 6:25pm

They do look pretty cool, the blue stripe kind of glows in the dark.

So they won't eat up spare bits of turtle food?

Hagar · 19-04-2009 6:28pm

They might, I never had turtles so I can't really say. I can't remember the name of the stuff I had for them but it was pretty standard, not expensive or anything. For some reason you are supposed to keep them in odd numbers 5,7,9 etc. I had 17. They were real easy to keep and never gave trouble except maybe with angel fish.

Here's a link with general info.

ScumLord · 19-04-2009 6:50pm

I'm not sure that's the same fish, unless I've got babies or something. These are tiny, maybe 10-15mm, according to your link neons are 1.5", the fish in the link also has kind of rounded fins while mine have pointy fins, I'd almost describe them as shark shaped from the head back. Their almost transparent too.

Having said all that the name Tetra sounds very familiar, they probably are either young tetras or a very similar breed.

I think I'll just get some aquarium food just to be on the safe side. Cheers.

Hagar · 19-04-2009 6:54pm

1.5 inches would be the max size. Mine were all about 1 inch.

Sofiztikated · 19-04-2009 7:04pm

Yup, they're Neon Tetra's alright.

I know nowt about keeping turtles, but Neons should be kept in warm water, about 23-25 degrees. Feed tropical fish food.

They look a little young, and don't be too concerned about how they "should" look, a lot of interbreeding has them out of whack.

Busta Hyman · 19-04-2009 11:26pm

100% neon tetras tropical fish and they need heat

the coleration could be of a neon or a cardinal tetra but the cardinal tetras red stripe goes to the nose where the neon goes only halfway and the blue is less striking than the cardinal....... sorry for my anorak statement lol

Fishyfreak · 20-04-2009 2:14pm

They're neons alright.

You bought them as feeder fish?? Are you off your head or what. Bring them back to the shop.

molly(",) · 20-04-2009 2:24pm

i have turtles and a tropical fish tank and its not a good idea to have the neons in there the water conditions are totally different they will probably end up with fungus or some disease and die...

dohc · 20-04-2009 2:29pm

Depend on the turtles you have...If they are just yellowbellys they wont really be bothered as they dont really bother with fish.Now if you had a snapping turtle it would kill them straight away are they more into meat eating.
And yeah they look like Neon Tetra to be honest.They are very quick little fish so they might have aproblem in catching them>

ScumLord · 20-04-2009 3:02pm

Fishyfreak wrote: »

They're neons alright.

You bought them as feeder fish?? Are you off your head or what. Bring them back to the shop.

Of course I'm off my head but what's that got to do with anything? There's no chance of going back to the shop, it's on the other side of the country.

The turtles do have yellow belly's alright. I was surprised by them their constantly begging for food and have eaten everything else that's gone into the tank. Maybe their just preoccupied with their new big tank and haven't gotten around to trying yet.

dohc · 20-04-2009 3:07pm

ScumLord wrote: »

Of course I'm off my head but what's that got to do with anything? There's no chance of going back to the shop, it's on the other side of the country.

The turtles do have yellow belly's alright. I was surprised by them their constantly begging for food and have eaten everything else that's gone into the tank. Maybe their just preoccupied with their new big tank and haven't gotten around to trying yet.

has them myself till i got a snapping turtle i feed mine mice,goldfish,lambs heart prawns chicken fillet it will eat anything like it seems to me turtle just keep eating even if they full ya know

Fishyfreak · 20-04-2009 3:15pm

ScumLord wrote: »

Of course I'm off my head but what's that got to do with anything? There's no chance of going back to the shop, it's on the other side of the country.

The turtles do have yellow belly's alright. I was surprised by them their constantly begging for food and have eaten everything else that's gone into the tank. Maybe their just preoccupied with their new big tank and haven't gotten around to trying yet.

Or maybe they just don't fancy chasing around fast fish when you are gonna drop pellets into the tank anyway.

You should have got Pirahna's, that would have been deeeaaadly.......

dohc · 20-04-2009 3:41pm

Fishyfreak wrote: »

Or maybe they just don't fancy chasing around fast fish when you are gonna drop pellets into the tank anyway.

You should have got Pirahna's, that would have been deeeaaadly.......

Had Piranha had a shoal of 12 not all they craic up too be

ScumLord · 20-04-2009 3:52pm

When I was looking around the internet to see if the tetras could eat turtle food one guy was asking about mixing fish and turtles. In particular Piranhas. He reckoned his 8" turtle was enough of a match for the piranhas so they wouldn't kill each other. I wonder did curiosity get the better of him?

Fishyfreak · 20-04-2009 4:25pm

I was only joking about the pirahnas. They are very boring fish despite popular belief.

In all seriousness, you shouldn't mix any fish with your turtle. They are not compatible at all as they require very different conditions.

ScumLord · 20-04-2009 4:38pm

According to the link posted earlier they comfortable up to 26c and I've been told turtles are comfortable anywhere between 25 and 29c. So temp wise I can work out a compromise.

Fishyfreak · 20-04-2009 5:38pm

Right so. You sound like you know what you're doing.

I reckon it's safe for a mod to close the thread now.

ScumLord · 21-04-2009 12:02am

So after going all the way to the next town to buy fish food I come back to find most the fishies have disappeared. There's two left but their being stalked by the turtles. The worst thing is I missed all the action.

The turtles may be smarter than I gave them credit for, lulling them into a false sense of security.

sickofcats · 21-04-2009 12:16am

There are 2 types of those available in the country

As someone has already pointed out Neon Tetra's, and I think the other type are Cardinal tetras ( could be wrong with the name there) ... Both the exact same colouring and size BUT !! the " Cardinal's " colour is alot more vivid..

When you mention Cheap I think you got the Neon's.. The other variety can cost upwards of E4 each

Excellent "Shoaling fish" to have in a communal aquarium

Fishyfreak · 21-04-2009 11:15am

Scumlord, many aquarium fish carry parasites that the turtles will not be able to cope with. If you continue to feed live aquarium fish you will jeopardise their health. Ask the many who have continually fed Goldfish to Piranha only to find that they look at the tank one day to find an entire wipeout of them, it eventually happens.

Neons and many other aquarium fish are commercially mass bred and pumped full of anti-biotics. They are not any good for your turtles, and lets be honest, only serve as sick entertainment.

Also, its simply cruel to do so. In the wild (the Amazon for neons) the fish have vast areas to retreat to when being predated upon. In the tank as you have seen (or not seen in this case) they are just counting the days.

I hope you take my advice on board.

Regards.

Name this fish

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