Sunfish with Slider Turtles

Lepomis, either L. punctatus or L. marginatus, I think, in my 120-gallon home aquarium. October 17, 2015.

Over the years I've tried to find fish compatible with Trachemys scripta (sliders). Early attempts included Ancistrus dolichopterus (bushy-nose pleco) and Chromobotia macracanthus (clown loach). Unfortunately, the loach was harassed relentlessly by the turtles and under a lot of stress. I was afraid it might be devoured and decided to pull both fish from the tank, although the pleco was never bothered. The loach probably appeared to similar to the goldfish which I regularly fed to my turtles. Had it been larger and more mature, things may have been different.
Interestingly, two of my feeder goldfish did survive the first couple days with the turtles and went on to live happily in the tank for several months. Eventually, they grew large and got messy so I put them in a backward pond where they were promptly devoured by the local racoons.
I also tried Tanichthys albonubes (white cloud mountain minnows). These worked very well. I had a pile of rocks in the tank were the fish could retreat to and breed. The old and sick were picked off by the turtles (usually my Graptemys pseudogeographica) but the fish bred quite often, replenishing the population. I only rarely had to buy new fish. They were pretty little fish with white and red spots and stripes. However, I eventually stopped buying new fish and hand fed the last survivors to the turtles.

Trachemys scripta elegans, in my 120-gallon home aquarium. October 17, 2015.

I've always had an obsession for things that were "natural." It always secretly bothered me that the minnows were not native to the same rivers as the turtles. The fish were from China, the turtles from the United States. Once I moved to Florida, I decided to try some native fish with the turtles. I introduced two, then one more, Lepomis (sunfish) to the tank. They were all between 2-4cm in length. The turtles were outside enjoying the sunshine when I introduced the fish, so they could become comfortable before I returned the turtles. Hopefully, the turtles wouldn't see the new addition to the tank as food if it was already there when they arrived.
It worked like a charm. The turtles were a little curious at first and took a couple nips at the fish, but the fish were too fast and the turtles lost interest. They lived with the turtles for several weeks and I fed them bloodworms once a day, with the turtles regular feeding of krill.
Unfortunately, I had vacation plans in Canada over Christmas break and I left my little indoor community with a sitter. I also added a school of Gambusia holbrooki (mosquitofish) and another sunfish about a week before I left, but they seemed to settle in tolerably, with the exception of the disappearance of one of the mosquitofish. When I returned, all but one of the sunfish had disappeared. Just a couple days later, it too was gone.
I'm not sure exactly what went wrong. It might have been the hanging planter I installed as an egg-laying box for my female slider. Or it might have been an increase in bacteria or ammonia and nitrates. I wasn't here, so I don't know how the fish died. I'm thinking I'll try the whole thing again at some point, but maybe I'll just wait until the summer, when I'll, presumably, be at home more often.

First Pictures with my Nikon

Once upon a time there were five aquariums in the house ranging from 15 to 200 gallons, fresh to salt water. The first aquarium I ever set up for tropical fish included this female pearl gourami. She lived a long time, too. I sold her with the tank before leaving for college to an elderly gentleman. I should swing by his place to see how things have progressed. Pearl gouramis use their elongated, whisker-like pelvic fins to feel their environment. They also have a labyrinth organ used for breathing air. That way, if the water becomes stagnant, the gourami can go on living by gulping air from the surface. Trichogaster leeri. Captive from my private aquarium. September 23, 2009. Nikon D3000. ISO 1600, 200mm, 0 EV, f/5.6, 1/160.

One of my beloved turtles, Basil. His name means "kingly," but that he is not. He's kind of a brawler, the only one of my turtles who likes to bite. And, apparently, he is confident enough in his self-defence abilities to allow me to approach while he basks. I don't know why he doesn't like me. When he was very young, before I purchased any other turtles, he used to berry himself under the boulders in his tank. It caused the front of his carapace to appear rather bumpy, at least compared to my younger red-eared slider Andrea. As the first turtle I ever purchased (excluding my very first which died shortly after purchase), Basil has special place in my heart. Trachemys scripta elegans. Captive from my private terrarium. September 23, 2009. Nikon D3000. ISO 400, 112mm, 0 EV, f/5.3, 1/125.

I kept a couple dwarf underwater frogs in one of my aquariums for some time. They are very personable little amphibians and easy to care for. This series of aquarium photos is the first that I ever took with my new Nikon camera. Hymenochirus curtipes. Captive from my private aquarium. September 23, 2009. Nikon D3000. ISO 1600, 200mm, 0 EV, f/5.6, 1/20.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Royal Gramma

Gramma loreto is a stunning saltwater fish native to Caribbean reefs. This one belonged to my brother, and then to me after he left for college. I took this picture on the 26th of September, 2009 when the aquarium was still in my brother's room. Royal grammas are relatively easy to care for and have a fairly spunky attitude. This was one of my first photographs of the fish through the glass of the aquarium. Aquarium photography isn't as easy as it sounds because, in most cases, a flash cannot be used. It creates a nasty white spot in the picture from reflecting on the glass.
Aquariums are very healthy things to have in the home. They are a great place to just go and think for a while and the darting little living jewels seem to have a therapeutic affect on the mind. After I graduate, I hope to get another fish tank. We had five of them in the house at one point, but college has changed that.