In two of my ponds, I have lots of turtles. The third pond doesn't have turtles yet because it is too new, but I am sure the turtles will show up there, given enough time. What should I do with the turtles? Do they effect the fish habitat at all? Do the turtles carry any parasites or diseases? Are the turtles any type of menace? Does anybody have a good turtle soup recipe? Thanks for your continuing help.

I manage some tanks and am curious about this same topic. We built a turtle trap at my sheet metal shop and have been taking them out daily at one of our tanks, but still have not heard a definitive answer from anyone about the damage they might cause. I know for a fact that a turtle in a small pool cleared out some fairly good sized perch in a week, and they sure wreak havoc on live bait under a cork. The perch that turtle got were the size of a man's hand. I will wait to see what others say.

Bob Lusk (one of the big cheeses (and I mean really cheesy) at Ponb Boss) says that turtles are more of a nuisance than anything. He says that if they eat a fish, the fish deserved it. Snapping turtles eat fish but are solitary and one can't eat too many. He says that they come and go with the food supply.
I don't know about them carrying diseases but I would think that a few would actually be good since they eat dead fish and uneaten fish food like what washes up on the bank.
Oh, they also can destroy spawning beds. Bob still says that they don't have a significant effect on a fishery.
Hope this helps.

Thx Brian H. We caught 20 about plate sized in a short period of time in about an acre sized tank. If kept under control they may be ok, but I think that many big ones can do some damage. Take a few large ones when the chance comes around.