When I have the space and time I hope to get a Mata Mata turtle
Will need a 55 gallon tank tho so going to be a bit,plus make sure I build up good bacteria cultures first to because they are very sensitive compared to other aquatic animals

This is another thing that tunred me off from it before.
Water treatment and ph balances

It can be a bit confusing to adjust at first, but you should be able to find a parameter list for the fish you want. Some fish aren’t too difficult and will adapt easily to a broad range of pH, GH and KH. Guppies, neon Tetras, Mollies, Plecos or Bettas can survive some mistakes.

I just don't want to give anything a terrible life and stress it the fuck out then die.
I'd honestly feel pretty bad. I'll definitely have to do my research

Best to start off with something easy first and also larger tank is easier then smaller tank!
Alot of people think just because the smaller one is less work it's easier but it's actually harder to maintain parameters im a small environment
Really just making sure you have the right ph balance before you add water to a tank once you have it established and also not adding to many fish at once
There is alot to it but educating yourself is key
I use to take care of the entire pet section of a pet store few years back,including a 1000 gallon tank system,just pm me if your unsure what something means or need recommendations

There’s a product called StressGuard, it’s somewhat expensive but the fish seem to go through the water changes more easily. But yeah, always good to do some reasearch first

Your fish should never be stressed from a water change,should be the opposite
If your fish are stressed from a water change you changed to much/often or didn't have the pH right

If you really need to change alot often then more then likely you have to many fish in a tank not big enough for them

25% water change every 2 weeks is ideal
Can also do smaller changes more often but in smaller tanks this can kill your good bacteria

This post was edited by NerdLord on Oct 25 2022 02:04pm

https://gharpedia.com/blog/wall-aquarium-information/

Nugget will need a 120 eventually. Red Earred sliders get pretty large compared to a lot of turtles.

Matas end up about same size but are fully aquatic so don't need as much

But bigger never hurts just makes maintenance easier!