The Realities of Turtle Keeping.

I thought I'd take some time to run over a few things. I'm not the first, nor will I be the last person to have the inclination to keep aquatic turtles and freshwater aquarium fish together in the same tank.

I consider myself to be fairly successful at this, but it can provide some challenges. Here are some things that will eventually come up that you should be aware of before you begin.

Turtles Won't Hesitate to Eat Your Fish!

It's true. They won't always want to eat that feeder fish you threw in the tank for them. Sometimes they'll chow down on a $10, $20 or $30 dollar fish that you thought would make a beautiful addition to the tank. If you are not prepared to lose a fish in this way, then you may want to reconsider.
I personally have lost only one fish unintended for consumption for certain, a Ctenolucius Hujeta fell prey to a turtle snap and was partially consumed. I was disappointed for sure! A betta also mysteriously disappeared one night. I have no solid evidence, but I do have a couple of shelled suspects.
Turtles will eat fish that are larger than their heads, so having larger fish in the tank is not always a guarantee of their safety either. Generally, swift agile fish that are comparable in size to the turtle are a solid bet.

Turtles Aren't Guppies!

Your turtle(s) will get into everything in your tank. They'll uproot plants, move rocks, dig holes, toss your driftwood around, try to pull your heater off the glass and just generally get into all the trouble they can manage. When you set up and maintain a freshwater aquarium including a turtle, you'll need to be aware of this! Check out AquaticAdventurA's Youtube Channel for videos of my 75 gallon tank containing 2 juvenile map turtles. As of today, it includes 100% natural ingredients (rocks, sand, woods, live plants). All plants were chosen for their ability to survive uprooted or floating through the tank. If you keep turtles in your freshwater aquarium be sure to turtle-proof it!

Water Level.

Many turtles require the opportunity to bask. This is done by climbing out of the water and sitting under a heat source, normally the sun in the wild to absorb heat and nutrients from its rays. Because of this, they require special lighting to achieve this. I'll cover this in more detail in another post, however should you choose to keep turtles in your freshwater aquarium with fish, you'll need to leave space between the top of the aquarium and the water's surface for them to get out and bask. You'll also need to provide that area to climb out. I have used multiple products in the past for this. As of writing this, I am using a piece of cork tree bark as my turtle's basking dock.