The best diet for a red ear is one that duplicates its natural food as closely as possible. Live foods are particularly enjoyed and beneficial. The key to success is to feed a wide variety of foods. They enjoy earthworms, snails, meal worms, crickets, grasshoppers, trout chow, catfish chow, chicken, fish, feeder (live) fish, ReptoMin, etc. Plants taken include most plants found in tropical fish tanks, duckweed, water hyacinth, arrowhead, anacharis, cabomba, hornwort, ludwigia, etc. Try freshly sprouted seeds such as alfalfa, mung beans, etc. Hornwort can be easily grown in a spare aquarium along with water snails (red ramshorn, for example) and some feeder fish. Mosquito fish (Gambusia) or guppies will readily spawn in a tank with a thick growth of hornwort. This setup can provide a fair amount of the turtle's foods. To avoid problems, feed a wide variety. Fatty foods and all red meats should be avoided. Red eared turtles, in common with most aquatic species, must be in the water in order to swallow. If properly maintained, red eared turtles are hardy and long lived. A female was still alive in June, 1992 after more than 37 and a half years in captivity! Turtles as pets are long term commitments.