Aeration will not cause plants to grow better. It can take 1-2 years or moer for a rebuilt pond with well compacted clay for plants to recolonize a hard bottom pond. Algae especially phytoplankton and then filamentous algae(FA) are always the first to colonize a new pond. IMO the crayfish and slider turtles are consuming the plants that are trying to get growing. After you add predators (LMB-CC) and they grow the crayfish numbers will diminish and then plants will develop more visible growth. High density of slider turtles could also reduce plant numbers. Google food habits of red slider turtles to get an idea of their food habits.
This is what I found about natural foods for sliders: "Red-eared Sliders feed mainly on plants and small animals, such as crickets, fish, crayfish, snails, tadpoles, worms, aquatic insects and aquatic plants." Turtles don't have teeth, but instead have horny ridges that are serrated and sharp on their upper and lower jaws.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 10/13/17 09:49 AM.
