Feeding and Nutrition :: When do RES stop hunting for prey?

[amwassil]

Update

Turtles and fish are getting along OK. Antonia has shown no further inclination to go after a fish. So I suspect she went after one of the new and smaller corys simply because he/she was small and a newcomer to the tank. None of the turtles has shown any inclination to go after any of the fish since the single incident with Antonia. In fact, the corys seem to go about their activity with little concern about the turtles. The turtles for their part seem not to care much about the fish. Frequently the corys swim right in front of the turtles and the turtles ignore them. Even the goldens no longer swim for cover as soon as a turtle hits the water, but continue browsing unless a turtle swims near them. It appears that everyone is getting used to everyone else being around and predominantly non-threatening.

I'll keep updating from time to time because I think many members are interested in keeping fish with their RES. One thing I'm pretty sure about is that the fish require a secure area of the tank and lots of hiding places so that they have the chance to escape when/if a turtle decides the fish looks like a meal. I think not only does this provide security for the fish, but also I think that after going after a fish and discovering that it will *always* escape, the turtles figure out it's a waste of time and effort to try.

[amwassil]

Another update. All is well with both turtles and fish. Antonia has not chased any fish since her first attempt. The corys are VERY active most of the time and show little fear of the turtles. They actually seem to have developed a game to see who will swim closest to a turtle; one after another a group will swim right up to one of the turtles and then quickly dart away. The turtles don't seem to care about the fish swimming around them all the time; no one seems to want to chase any of them. The goldens are still very cautious about the turtles, but even they don't dash to a hiding spot unless a turtle happens to swim close by. Both the pepper and green cory have grown noticeably, the green much more so.

When Augustina is in the water, Alexander constantly follows her around and flutters his beautiful long fore claws in her face. She ignores this as well as she can and just swims away or over him. Sometimes she inadvertently gives him the "brush off" when her attempt to swim away results in a foot ending up in his face. Once in awhile Alexander focuses his amorous attention on little Antonia. Unlike Augustina who is bigger than Alexander and can push him around, Antonia just goes into a coma or sinks to the bottom. Antonia still likes to follow Alexander and touch his carapace with her foot whenever she gets the chance. Every morning, Antonia spends the first half hour or hour in the day tank searching for tidbits of fish food.

All the turtles spend a lot of time basking. Of the three, Antonia seems to spend the most time in the water and Augustina the most time basking. Alexander has stopped growing, at least for now. He still eats well but not quite as much as before. Antonia is eating more and about a week ago started scratching her carapace on one of the rock corals in the tank. So I think maybe she's about to start shedding some scutes and getting a little bigger. Augustina continues to eat like a garburator and grow. I wish she would reach a plateau for a while before she outgrows the new tank.

[steve]

Sounds good, thanks for the update! You will always need to keep an eye on Alexander, he will likely become more aggressive in his pursuit.