General Care Discussion :: Risks of keeping two turtles together?

[eventHorizon]

I found a 75 gallon tank on Craigslist that I've been thinking about buying. The owner has been using it for a 6in Pleco and a 4in RES, and has said that I can have them both it I wanted them (but I don't have to take them). They are sending me pictures of the turtle so I can try to see if it's male or female, which may influence my decision. I have a young RES and I'm pretty sure it's female. My question is what are the big issues with keeping two turtles together? Obviously there is fighting and potential breeding, but are there any others that I'm missing?

Both turtles are roughly the same size (mine is just under 4in), but I'm also worried about the amount of space they will have when they get older. Someday we are planning on putting a pond in, so they wouldn't be in the tank forever, but I'm not sure when the pond will be put in.

Thanks guys!

[steve]

Females usually get a long but it is no guarantee. Just with males, aggression can happen any time and you will need to separate ASAP. If it's a male, I would turn him down. How big will the pond be?

[eventHorizon]

I was planning on turning the turtle down if it were a male simply because I don't want any tiny turtles showing up! I'm not sure how big the pond will be, but it probably won't be smaller than 400 gallons. We won't have it up for a while, but probably within the next two years.

Edit: Sorry that was supposed to be 400 gallons, not 300.

[steve]

Sounds like a plan. A 400 would be nice for a large female.