Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain New pond and turtles??

Just stocked the new pond, wife would love to see some painted or red ear sliders in the pond, thought i would ask the opinions here on such. I know in time, the snappers will show up, neighbor has a swampy 75 year old pond loaded with em so its just a matter of time before they smell my pond and decide to go for a stroll.

Was thinking of anchoring a floating log for them to sun on, close to the deck.

If I introduce either species, what are the problems with each as far as reproducing, stunting, etc?

Thanks in advance.

Salmonid

Hey Mark B. I would also like some turtles for my new pond. I'll bet there are several pondmeisters who would gladly let us take theirs.

My guess is that 3-4 turtles per acre are probably just as beneficial as they are harmful. Problem is, (here in the South for sure!)they don't stop coming.

I have dozens, and although I absolutely hate to do it, I have been shooting a few. I tried chumming them with fish pellets, to see if I could get them within netting range. Well, I netted 4 one day, and drove them to a small bayou. The next day, the other turtles wouldn't come within 100 feet of us! I guess word travels fast in a small pond.

I have a couple of turtles that call my pond home. I really like them. Mine are generic North American Pond turtles as far as I can tell. Mine are fairly skittish - if you get closer that about 5 feet they will dissapear into the water.

They do need a place to sun so if you don't have a place then anchoring a log is a good idea. Mine use a bush that overhangs the pond.

Bobad, have you ever tried a turtle trap? They sell them at Memphis Net. Here's the link

Memphis Net

Search on turtle traps.

Here's one of my turtles....

Beautiful little turtle Jeff. I really do like turtles (and all critters). Here in crawfish and rice country, they are so numerous they're considered major pests. It's not unusual to see around 25 freshly killed turtles on the road where they brave traffic traveling from 1 rice field to another.

Thanks for the link. I've been meaning to build a tip trap. I've been told they work just great for live catch and release.

I certainly understand your situation Bobad and realize that in other areas of the country they can be a major pest. Basically ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Just don't tell my wife, she might get all medieval on ya.

If you build it they will come.

My son's second grade class came out to our pond this last spring for their "Outdoor Day". My wife arranged for a local DNR officer to set up turtle traps and take the kids out to look at what was caught.

This is my youngest with a future soup ingredient.


The business end!

Great photo.

The only problem i have is that some of my fish look to have bite marks on them. I have even watched them attack a couple of fish in the grass where they were hideing. So every once in a while i go turtle fishing with bread and a bobber. Works great and it dont hurt them . I dont mind the turtles but they multiply very fast.

I want a balanced, natural pond that is a habitat for a wide variety of fish and wildlife. Part of that goal is to have turtles, snakes, birds, etc. I don't want an overabundance of turtles any more than I want overpopulated fish. If I'm very lucky the critters will balance themselves out, most likely I'll have to actively thin some critters myself.

Wild predators will eat some of my fish, and in theory these will be the inferior specimens and not the largest or strongest. For what it's worth, a snake that has to unhinge it's jaw to eat a fish will probably not eat again for weeks and maybe months. They don't burn many calories just laying there all day...

Let's see now, that's $.02 X 1000, I think that's twenty bucks worth of my opinion I've donated so far.

Ok, back to the oiginal question, Red Ears or Painted? and are there any reasons why one over the other??
Thanks folks
Salmonid

I know that I've got a bunch of paints but I don't think that I have seen a red ear. Will they over winter as far north as Dayton? I'd go with some red ears if you want to stock and they will over winter based on the fact that you know you will have paints whether you stock them or not.

Red Ears are more aggressive and larger in general. I think you should go with Painteds. They aren't nearly as common and they look better. At least in my opinion they look better. I'm sure many would disagree.

I've never had much of a choice about what kind of turtles I wind up with.

Other than the dead variety?

GW, you're right that snakes are very efficient, but turtles can eat quite a bit. 2 or 3 of each per acre shouldn't make much impact. Be careful what you wish for, because Turtles and snakes are sneaky.

I can walk around my pond and see maybe 1 snake and 8-10 turtles. Then I can drive around the pond mowing on my tractor, and see maybe 6 snakes and 25 turtles. Last time I mowed, I saw 3 huge diamondback watersnakes take off from the bank. I never knew they were there. While they're interesting and harmless, snakes that big can really eat a lot of medium size BG.

I have to figure out a strategy to thin them both out. I can chum the turtles and net 3 or 4 per week (I release them a mile away in a bayou), but that doesn't make much of a dent. I'm seriously wishing I had an alligator, which would keep them thinned and not eat many fish.

That's reasonable bobad, but once again it all depends on a person's goals, right?

My goals are different than the average bear. I'm lazy and I don't want the work that goes with maintaining a high density of fish. (I'm looking at you Bruce and Cecil ) Also my pond isn't about LMB, it's about the brim. In the absence of a larger fish to thin them out I'll be struggling to catch and trap enough of them. By next year I will probably remove every medium sized fish I catch, maybe the larger ones too.

I may end up thinning out the turtles also, but I'll always welcome a certain number of them to play the role that stunted LMB play in a trophy brim pond.

You all know that I'm only guessing about the future because I'm new to pond management. I can always change my mind and I often do.

I have actually had a snapper bite a hole through my metal mesh fish basket and get a hunk of one of my two lb. channels before I could get him off the basket. =/

I thin mine a couple times a season. My wife loves'em, so I don't mind a few. when I look out and see a dozen or so on the bank... time to thin. I use a homemade trap, basically a rectangle of PVC with a made-up basket of wire mesh underneath. Ramps on each side and a small floating plank in the center to put a can of sardines on. (I'll try to remember to snap a pic) It's really crude but does the job and was cheap.
So anybody that wants some sliders, come and get'em! I usually take them to work and toss them in the big drainage canal beside the station house, or give them to co-workers with kids if they want'em.

Jeff-