Effect of turtles on the fish population in a pond?

[hog_down]

Wouldn’t happen to have the build specs on something like this would you?

x 2, does anyone have specs that they would like to share?

[TXHUNT3R]

I'm a student at TAMU-C and we've been taught that turtles are like invasive species. With a pond like yours and no depredation ( like 22's) these turtles will keep increasing and most aquatic turtles eat fish. I've personally seen a red ear slider in a tank with minnows and eat them. So small fingerlings of bass, catfish, bass are on the menu to being eaten also. Any small animals they may eat like bugs, dead fish, dead animals, lizards and some plants that's food taken away from your fish. Whether its for food or cover your fish are missing out. Please don't trap and relocate, all your doing is spreading your problem to others. Contact TPWD or if you trap them afterwards just put them into a cardboard box and spray an ether

Ether used to be used worldwide as an anesthetic, and you can buy a can of either at your local auto parts store. Make sure you get starting fluid, and not anything else like lighter fluid.

Take an air tight container and put the turtle in it, take a smaller container and put a wash rag or paper towels in it. Spray the ether into the wash rag to saturate it, you don't want the turtle to come in contact with the liquid, you want it to breathe the vapors and fall asleep.

Put the container with the either in the larger container and close the lid.
OR

For folks who own pet snakes, the easiest way they do it is to put them in a sealed container with a block of dry ice. The Carbon Dioxide created by the ice will put the snake into a deep sleep and eventually kill it.

Interesting.

[HeyMikey]

I shoot most every turtle and snake that I see in my pond, as soon as I get the chance to do so.

[mudkat]

Y'all settle an argument between me and my pop, we have a very large soft shell turtle in the pond and he doesn't want to get rid of it says they don't eat fish and I say they eat the heck out of the fish who's right ?

[BitBackShot]

Y'all settle an argument between me and my pop, we have a very large soft shell turtle in the pond and he doesn't want to get rid of it says they don't eat fish and I say they eat the heck out of the fish who's right ?

You. And big softshells can actually eat pretty big fish. Extremely powerful bite, and they're very adept predators.

I know because I have a pet one and he's not even very big and he'll wipe out a dozen large crawfish and another dozen goldfish in a week.

[Outbreaker]

Y'all settle an argument between me and my pop, we have a very large soft shell turtle in the pond and he doesn't want to get rid of it says they don't eat fish and I say they eat the heck out of the fish who's right ?

If they do not eat live fish why do I catch them on a trotline baited with perch?