Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm new into the turtle keeping hobby, but I've had an African Sideneck since a little before christmas. I've had it in a 10 gallon tank since I bought it but the 10 gal is a bit too small for Franklin to turn freely in. (He's about 4-5" long). I recently aquired a 29 gal setup and as of now I'm waiting to cycle the water, since I want to keep an oscar with it.

My question is will the oscar be a suitable tank mate for the Sideneck turtle? The oscar is about the same size as the turtle. I'd like to maybe even add a placostomus to the tank as well(about a 6". I have a Penguin 170 BioWheel filter and a tank heater right now.

Any tips are appreciated!

thanks,
Cale

this is going to be a maintenence problem.oscars are messy feeders.they get alot bigger too.honestly,to keep these two together,i would look into a 75 or 90 gallon tank.that way both animals will have their own"space".if u add the plec try and get one thats about as long as the turt.
you are going to want to get a filter thats at least twice what you would expect for a tank that size.ex.on a 29 gal tank i would use no less than a filter that flows 170-200 gal/hr.for a 70-90 gal i used 330gal/hr as a minimum.as it is i would be cleaning the filter pads every week with just a pair of turts.
good luck though.they are neet looking little turts w/a great smile!

LEEWAY CORUCIA RESEARCH CENTER (LCRC)

Hello,

This species is a voracious fish eater! It is best kept alone except with whatever fish you wish to sacrifice as dinner. Even if your oscar is the same size as your side-neck, your pleurodire will attack the oscar taking chunks out of the fish or at the very least, the fins. Even if she/he didn't do much damage, The stress on the oscar is unacceptable. Please don't do it.

Sincerely,
Brian
LCRC