Turtles with Koi???

[Karen]

I guess I should've mentioned...the pond is at 2000 gals. and the turtles are about the size of a half dollar, just a little bigger than a quarter. They are very small, but have 4 of them that the kids "rescued" and want to add to the pond....haven't bought any fish yet, going this weekend. I have a good filtration system, at least it should be.

 

[j.w]

Oh man if they are that little then no problemo. It will be a long time before they can catch a fish or even get one in their little mouths. Maybe by then they will have become accustomed to them and will be friends...........who knows :lol:
They are tiny but still can escape. They need a floating platform to climb on to get out of the water cuz I think they can drown if they don't have one and they love to sun themselves too
Mine loved to eat raw hamburger and tadpoles (made the mistake of putting some in the little pool I made when I was a kid)
They were tiny little turtles I bought at the pet store but they could move pretty fast in the water

 

[j.w]

Oh and remember to have the kids and anyone else wash their hands if they handle the babies as they can carry Salmonella

 

[fishin4cars]

They need a floating platform to climb on to get out of the water cuz I think they can drown if they don't have one and they love to sun themselves too

Actually they need the place to get out and sun so the the shell can harden and they can process calcium. If they can't sun bath the shell softens and it can cause parasites, diseases, and shut down internal body functions.

Oh and remember to have the kids and anyone else wash their hands if they handle the babies as they can carry Salmonella

This is true, baby turtles are carriers, best prevenative is washing you hands with hot water and antibacterial soap, You can also use bleach but bleach isn't really good for your skin and is pretty strong, you can dilute it but that makes the bleach less effective.
Salmonella is the reason they quit selling them in pet store for a long time, Now to get one from a pet store they either have to be hatchling raised and bred or be 4" across.(1 year old)

 

[Karen]

I let the kids go ahead and put the turtles in. We added a piece of drift wood. Not a good photo but here is one of the lil' guys taking a break....found out they are called "painted turtles". Still haven't added fish yet....

 

[Karen]

Oh....and thank you all for the advice. I appreciate it!

 

[fishin4cars]

Karen, It might now be a bad idea to let the turtles cycle your pond for you. Their waste will cycle a pond just like fish will, Plus they are 10 times hardier as far as water quality goes. I doubt you will lose a turtle due to the ammonia spike where as with fish it can happen more easily.

Also can you get a pic of your turtles that is closer? They could be but don't really look like baby painted turtles. From that pic it looks like a baby Maps turtle. Little rarer than a painted. Won't make that much difference, same care, same food, and they get about the same size. red ear sliders are about the same too except they are green and have spots on their bellies with bright orange or red right behind the eyes, Sliders however get about twice the size as a painted or maps turtle gets.

 

[Karen]

Hi....Fishin4cars! What is "cyle your pond"? Remember...I'm very new at this. I know the turtles are not red ear sliders....no red. But they look like the red ear sliders, but their bellies are orange. One of them has a red/orange shell. I'll try to get a better pic....they scatter when they see me comin'. I can peep around the pond and they all are sunning themselves, but soon as I get closer...plop, they're under water.

 

[vertigo72]

to explain what cycling a pond is, you need to understand the basics; very simply put, fish produce ammonia, which is toxic to them. Bacteria in your filter break down ammonia in to nitrites (also toxic to fish) and nitrites in to nitrates (which is fine, aka plant fertilizer). Now to get a reasonable amount of those bacteria in your filter, you need to feed them... ammonia. It takes a while before those bacteria colonize your filter and start breaking them down in to nitrites, and then the same for the bacteria that break down nitrites. Thats called a cycle.

You can do that with a few goldfish that you are not attached to, as they might die before your filter completes its cycle. Some add (tiny amounts!) of pure ammonia, but then be very sure to wait until it has "cycled" before adding any fish. you can also accelerate the process by buying filter bacteria in a bottle. Or.. you could use your turtle, which is unlikely to be harmed by ammonia or nitrites in anything but ridiculous quantities. Its actually a great idea.

 

[fishin4cars]

to explain what cycling a pond is, you need to understand the basics; very simply put, fish produce ammonia, which is toxic to them. Bacteria in your filter break down ammonia in to nitrites (also toxic to fish) and nitrites in to nitrates (which is fine, aka plant fertilizer). Now to get a reasonable amount of those bacteria in your filter, you need to feed them... ammonia. It takes a while before those bacteria colonize your filter and start breaking them down in to nitrites, and then the same for the bacteria that break down nitrites. Thats called a cycle.

You can do that with a few goldfish that you are not attached to, as they might die before your filter completes its cycle. Some add (tiny amounts!) of pure ammonia, but then be very sure to wait until it has "cycled" before adding any fish. you can also accelerate the process by buying filter bacteria in a bottle. Or.. you could use your turtle, which is unlikely to be harmed by ammonia or nitrites in anything but ridiculous quantities. Its actually a great idea.

I couldn't have said it better myself except one part, don't use the straight ammonia, to risky for a newbie, they have products now that can start this without the use of adding ammonia, (the Filter bacteria in a bottle that vertigo mentioned, available at most all petstores and pond suppliers.) works great and doesn't cost that much.

 

[talal101]

Good plan and good luck

 

[Marshall]

Just started/built our pond. Haven't added any fish to it yet...letting it run and filter right now. My kids want to add those small turltes "painted or slider turtles". Can you have Koi and small Turtles in a pond???

I have three sliders and 5 koi in the same pond and they get along just fine. The only thing you might have trouble with is if you put goldfish in with turtles cause my turtles will eat a goldfish but there not that interested in koi. There is no guarantee they won't try to get them if they are starving but the turtles would have to be very hungry to chase down a koi so just make sure the turtles are fed regularly and you should be okay.