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  • Results 1 to 11 of 11

    Thread: Should he stay or go?

    1. #1
      DangerDave is offline Senior Member
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      Should he stay or go?

      Hi everyone,

      Last year my girl and inherited a +2000g concrete pond full of 10" of much. After much labor and cleaning we then refilled and popped in some koi. We then went thru the green water experience (yay UV!) and building of a S/G filter to boot. Pretty stable now with a weekly blowing of the S/G. There is much still to do though such as a Zakki sieve and improved pump with some TPRs.

      Anyway, a 8" red ear slider found our little pond and moved in. He is very skittish, as we approach or move, he drops and covers. He also doesn't seem to eat the floating koi food but has been more active at feeding time. He *did* consume our baby lily pads though.

      So the question is should we move this guy out or let him stay? Obviously turtles poop a bit more than other creatures so I'm concerned with increasing the bio load on my current infrastructure. I'm also bothered by the plant eating - kind of want lily pads on *my* pond. But he is kind of cute and easy to see enjoying himself (and isn't that why we do ponds? To watch critters enjoy themselves?)

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    2. #2
      DangerDave is offline Senior Member
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      here's the new resident.Name:  20150530_160732.jpg
Views: 327
Size:  101.2 KB

    3. #3
      jimfish98's Avatar
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      I would remove him. He will add to the waste and may nip at your other fish.



      Diamond Lifetime Member #95!
      Just because its not a Great Koi doesn't mean its not a Great Koi...Me circa 2013

    4. #4
      cindy's Avatar
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      Build him his own area

    5. #5
      DangerDave is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by cindy View Post
      Build him his own area
      Well considering he managed to get into a fenced yard, it would be tough to "cage" him such as to protect the koi pond. But I do like him...

    6. #6
      DangerDave is offline Senior Member
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      Just reporting back that we took the turtle back to his likely origin, the nearby Hillsborough river. I'm sure he will migrate again in my direction but hopefully he misses my yard and he keeps on trucking...

      Over the years, at different properties, I've had numerous slider turtles, a few snapping turtles, and 2 alligators. The last one would be pretty devastating to a koi pond I imagine.

    7. #7
      BWG is offline Senior Member
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    8. #8
      Ajfranco is offline Senior Member
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      Her - it's a female and if your koi are small enough she will pick weak ones off. Glad you found her a home !

    9. #9
      DangerDave is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by Ajfranco View Post
      Her - it's a female and if your koi are small enough she will pick weak ones off. Glad you found her a home !
      How can you tell the gender of the turtle? Are females more likely to migrate around?

      BWG - LOL

    10. #10
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      Quote Originally Posted by DangerDave View Post
      How can you tell the gender of the turtle? Are females more likely to migrate around?

      BWG - LOL
      Easiest way is to look at the front claws. Once you've seen a male, the difference is very obvious. Males have very long claws, females short. That's all you can really see from the picture, except that the plastron (bottom shell) in the picture is also slightly convex, another female characteristic. Males are flat or slightly concave. If you could see the tail and look at the cloaca (urogenital opening), you'd see that it is located within the shell margin. The tail, itself, is smaller and thinner that the male's. Male tails are stout and the cloaca is located outside the margin of the shell.

      Of course, another way to tell the difference is that females wear pink sneakers and males wear blue.

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    11. #11
      adsway is offline Junior Member
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      I have about 6 or 7 red ears in my pond, and they are fine with the koi. everybody is quite happy, and the turtles are a trip to watch swim in the clear pond.

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