Musk turtle queries

[pugwash]

I've stumbled across these endearing little musk turtles in Enfield on the weekend, whilst with my lad who loves turtles. Not one to rush into things, I've said I'll look into these, and have spent the last couple of days spare hours looking into them.

Have so far found that they grow to around 5", with males having a longer tail. Live 30-50 years. Keep the water low when juvenile, and can increase up to 2 foot when adult, and to provide a basking area which may/may not be used. Feed varied diet.

Have a 4 foot tank (240l), but what substrates and plants/playgrounds do people use?
And how many - do they form pairs/harems (only want 1 male in the tank) and was thinking 2 females....

[diamondwolf130]

Originally Posted by pugwash

I've stumbled across these endearing little musk turtles in Enfield on the weekend, whilst with my lad who loves turtles. Not one to rush into things, I've said I'll look into these, and have spent the last couple of days spare hours looking into them.

Have so far found that they grow to around 5", with males having a longer tail. Live 30-50 years. Keep the water low when juvenile, and can increase up to 2 foot when adult, and to provide a basking area which may/may not be used. Feed varied diet.

Have a 4 foot tank (240l), but what substrates and plants/playgrounds do people use?
And how many - do they form pairs/harems (only want 1 male in the tank) and was thinking 2 females....

You've got most of your vital information, you will learn alot more in the first few weeks of having them trust me! =]

A four foot tank may be a bit big for juveniles. May be a bit daunting for them. If you provide lots of hiding places then it may be suitable.

Substrate, you can use anything.

Sand:
Course and rounded grains. (Can be kicked up by your filter so keep your filter well away from the sand. I have sectioned my aquarium with a high level of sand one side and a deep section the other side with a few river rocks for the fish.) Brilliant for landscaping.

River Rocks: Musks are quite comfortable with river rocks. When I used them I tended to find Coco pretending to be a pebble asleep at the bottom of my tank .
(PAIN IN THE TO CLEAN, discarded food and feaces will fall inbetween the rocks and they are such a pain to clean!)

Gravel: Must be larger or the same size as musks heads. You don't want them eating gravel!
(Easier to clean than river rocks I find and much easier to landscape.)

Barebottom: Easiest to manage obviously but really not much interest for the tank.
There are alot of barebottomers out there though. :P


I would advise you add a reptile cave to the tank as they will love to hide in it. Also a hiding area just below the surface of the water is important as they can reach for air easily and will most probably sleep there

Anything else you need to know just post here.
(I'm not an expert on Musks.)

XD

[1985kaz]

yep, all sounds pretty much right. Most turtle keepers would also use a UVB light (although it's not always thought important with musks). I think the decor and substrate is very much a personal thing. I like to have a bare bottom tank (i find it easier for cleaning). A cork bark dock and lots of plants (both real and fake). My old musk tank had river pebbles (handy for wedging plants down), terracotta pots and a cave (musks do like somewhere to hide), an exo terra root effect tank backing (made it easier for the turtles to climb to the surface) and loads of plants.

......oh and of course a decent filter will be required!!

Good luck

[diamondwolf130]

Originally Posted by pugwash

And how many - do they form pairs/harems (only want 1 male in the tank) and was thinking 2 females....

In answer to this, 1 male and 2 females would probably be fine. 2 males and 1 female is where you get problems, as the males compete and can seriously injure, if not kill eachother.

It will be impossible to tell their sex however, until they are about 2-4 years old I believe?
So you may be safer with two for now.

[1985kaz]

very true!!!! If you're looking at getting hatchlings there'll be no way of telling the sex for some time!!!

[AnythingWithAShell]

To be totally safe, you should get just one. Unless you're going to be prepared to keep them separate if needs be, meaning having two of everything

[Dean Cheetham]

I would advise against course sand and stick with playpit sand if you was to use sand, as said dont use small gravel you would be better off with beach pebbles or river pebbles. they need lots of climbing objects to the surface of the water and lots of plants. if you have a heavily planted tank they will be happy hiding in the plants. and yes you must have a very powerful filter and of course your uvb i think is essential becuase my 3 musks are always basking, but some dont.

[diamondwolf130]

Originally Posted by Dean Cheetham

I would advise against course sand and stick with playpit sand if you was to use sand, as said dont use small gravel you would be better off with beach pebbles or river pebbles. they need lots of climbing objects to the surface of the water and lots of plants. if you have a heavily planted tank they will be happy hiding in the plants. and yes you must have a very powerful filter and of course your uvb i think is essential becuase my 3 musks are always basking, but some dont.

The problem with playsand is that it's very fine and can easily get kicked up by the filter and reside in the water. Course sand settles easier.

I use course playsand. It's cheaper than aquarium sand .

[Graham]

Musks can generally be sexed much younger than some other species, but still not as hatchlings.

[pugwash]

Wow...wasn't expecting so many replies.

I guess they'll be hatchlings as they were approx 1-1.5 inches shell diameter. I have river sand from a previous CA setup, and river rocks from my current mbuna setup - I like the idea of sand and a scattering of river rocks, but how so is the cleaning a pain, using a gravel vac?

I do have a spare 10 gal tub (has toys in atm), but has quickly been turned into a hospital tank before, so 2 or possibly 3 musks wouldn't be out of the question?

I have 3 2foot branches that'll I envisage being slanted upwards towards a cork bark platform. Plastic submerged plants, and live floating ones, and yet to be decided caves/hollow logs...

Is currently filtered by an eheim 2028, and some large internal box - max throughput is something like 2000l/hr, but will probably be toned down a bit.


Also, various websites/forums have suggested fish can co-exist, like white cloud minnows, neons, swordtails, danio's, and suprisingly pleco's and cichlids. Does this work, or is it luck of the draw?

Cheers in advance