I’ve got a small pond (a little less than 1/2 an acre), and for the last couple of years I’ve always had a couple of turtles in it. I haven’t messed with them because I figure a couple of turtles would be good for eating fish that die, and also the occasional snake that I shoot. The other day if was nice and sunny and there were 7 or 8 decent sized turtles basking on the bank, way more than have been in there in the past. My question is this: how much of an effect will they have on the fish population in my pond? Are they quick/big enough to catch the catfish I stocked in October, which are now about 8-9 inches long? Should I remove them, or just leave them alone?
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Effect of turtles on the fish population in a pond?
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Red ear sliders wont bother your catfish. The eat bugs, dead fish, dead animals and some plants. If they are Snapping turtles they will prey on small fish they catch. I always let a few turtles live in my tanks. They are nomadic and sometime I have a few and sometimes I have a dozen or so. When they get bad the nephew controls the population. I have 2 resident turtles in 1 tank that eat food from the fish feeder. They know what time its goes off and start heading towards the feeder right before it goes off.
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Originally posted by gonehuntin View PostRed ear sliders wont bother your catfish. The eat bugs, dead fish, dead animals and some plants. If they are Snapping turtles they will prey on small fish they catch. I always let a few turtles live in my tanks. They are nomadic and sometime I have a few and sometimes I have a dozen or so. When they get bad the nephew controls the population. I have 2 resident turtles in 1 tank that eat food from the fish feeder. They know what time its goes off and start heading towards the feeder right before it goes off.
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Originally posted by gonehuntin View PostRed ear sliders wont bother your catfish. The eat bugs, dead fish, dead animals and some plants. If they are Snapping turtles they will prey on small fish they catch. I always let a few turtles live in my tanks. They are nomadic and sometime I have a few and sometimes I have a dozen or so. When they get bad the nephew controls the population. I have 2 resident turtles in 1 tank that eat food from the fish feeder. They know what time its goes off and start heading towards the feeder right before it goes off.
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I have a 3/4-1 acre pond behind my house. It has been stocked for 10+ years with black bass, hybrid bluegill, and fathead minnows. I have never caught a bass over 3 lbs and most were around 12-16” long. I noticed a few turtles over the years and thought I would build a trap to catch a few. I caught over 150 turtles in a year! The fish are consistently bigger and I seem to be catching more. There are likely more turtles in your pond than you think there are.
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Originally posted by stroker_ace View PostI have a 3/4-1 acre pond behind my house. It has been stocked for 10+ years with black bass, hybrid bluegill, and fathead minnows. I have never caught a bass over 3 lbs and most were around 12-16” long. I noticed a few turtles over the years and thought I would build a trap to catch a few. I caught over 150 turtles in a year! The fish are consistently bigger and I seem to be catching more. There are likely more turtles in your pond than you think there are.
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Originally posted by White Falcon View Post
Wouldn’t happen to have the build specs on something like this would you?
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