Anyone Out There Have a Pond with Turtles and Koi?

We used to have two small box turtles in our pond. We brought them in for two consecutive winters. They finally got too big, so we contacted The Pond Store, who referred us to someone that would take them and give them a forever home.

Our koi have wintered well in about 2 feet of water. We haven't lost one in five years. In extreme cold, we do cover the pond with plywood.

This site has TONS of info on ponds: http://www.fishpondinfo.com/pond.htm

Good luck!

I think the Koi will do well in the wild. We have a Koi pond (1.5 years and running)...We were told only to cut back on the feeding during the colder months - so far, they are still alive.
I'm not sure about the turtle...

Turtles dig down into the mud and hibernate so it should be okay. The Koi should do okay as long as the water is deep enough not to freeze solid.

Hi E.,
Well I understand your concern. I just gave my box turtle to a wonderful guy named Robert in Mesquite that has his backyard set up for a bunch of turtles. My husband found her several months back in the road on the way to work. I struggled with putting her back since the area she was close to was very heavy with traffic and that she seemed very tame and ate dogfood better than the natural stuff. Well anyway you should never put a "pet" turtle back in the wild as I found out asking many turtle people. They don't survive well as one might think that they would. So with that said, you should find someone that wants a turtle, if you are interested I can give you Robert's email. If you would like to keep it you can do some research on the web. I found some turtle forums and asked questions on there. It helped me alot.As for your fish, I have a neighbor across the street and has a Koi's in a pond. I could ask her if she would be interested if you like.
C.

I asked one of my friends and this is what she said. She used to have tons of turtles and animals. Hope this helps...

The turtles will hibernate in the winter, but as they grow larger, I would NOT leave them with the koi. They will eventually rip out the stomachs of the koi (eating them) and it will be a heart-breaking experience for them (the koi AND the owners of the koi).

Now, whether or not she keeps the turtles is a personal choice, but I would NOT let them stay with the fish at any time, unless they intend to let the turtles eat the fish - because THEY WILL!

It is hard to breed turtles in captivity, but it can happen. Usually, they will eat the eggs - but let just one little egg go unnoticed, and you will get a baby turtle if it incubates. The turtles could also eat the baby turtle (again with the trauma thingie), but nature tends to take its course anyway. It either makes it or it doesn't. Sounds cold-blooded, but so is nature - and so are turtles.

Christie, I wouldn't take on any more than you already have, or you will be inundated like we were. They are cute, they are fun, but get too many and they get territorial and they STINK to high heaven, not to mention eating a LOT. Learn to politely say "no" to offers of someone else's unwanted pet. You'll end up like me (not that Michael would let you!).

As far as the males mating, well, boys will be boys dontcha know? Accidents happen.

In my humble opinion, turtles are best left in the wild, where they can do what turtles do when turtles want to do it. They are neat for a while to watch, but are they really happy having you ogle them all the time? I think they would rather bask on a rock in the middle of a lake where there is no human intervention and catch fish (and, yes, baby duck feet) any time they want and not upset their owners!

ALSO ...

In order for her to safely hibernate the koi in wintertime, she needs to either:

Put heaters in the pool to keep the water above 40 degrees Fahrenheit OR

Make sure the pool it at LEAST 3-1/2 feet deep so the koi can get to the bottom and stay warmer. Ice should never be able to form around them, fencing them in!!

A 29-gallon tank is certainly not large enough to house koi. Our 125-gallon wasn't even large enough.

sorry- i just deleted my response was the same as Candon's! My MIL emailed us both... hope that is helpful for you!! Good luck

Hi E.,

We do not have a turtle, but we have Koi's in common, we just brought everyone in yesterday, we have a large indoor tank set up and that's where they will stay until next year, this is the 2nd year we've done this and it went well last year, keeping them indoors until the cold season is over. :)

The koi will love the cooler weather so will survive in the colder water. If the water freezes, be sure to keep an air space for them...ie break the ice for oxygen to get into the water. I had a small and shallow koi pond in Indiana where I had to break ice and the koi were quite happy. In Texas, the severe heat of summer is more stressful so we dug a deeper pond. Don't feed the koi as much food in the winter. I don't know how the slider will do in colder water. A reliable pet shop might know.

E.:

Koi are cold water fish, so they should be fine in our mild winters. You can check with http://www.koiusa.com, on how to keep them healthy & happy in the winter, but outdoors is where they are happiest. As for the turtle, my turtles always found somewhere in the yard to hibernate during the winter. I never saw them again until the first bursts of spring. I had them for years until relocating them when I moved. I would definitely check with the experts on both species. Have you ever visited Nelson's Water Garden in Katy? It's pretty cool. Their website is http://www.nelsonwatergardens.com/. I'm sure they could give you loads of good advice on your critters. Good luck!

E.,

When I lived up North the folks that had KOI ponds threw a basketball in the pond. The wind and the movement from the KOI swimming moved the ball and that kept the pond from ice forming on top of the pond as it circulated the water. If you don't have a basketball any floating object will do that is equal in size.

I hope this helps,
Dene' H.

Hi
I have noticed your post from October about your turtle and koi situation.
Did you figured out what to do with them?
I would say that the water heater for your pool is the best choice. There is many factors about keeping turtles so it's not so simple to give you the perfect answer. :-) The water debt might be OK for Koi, but not for proper turtle hibernation. If the freeze come or bellow 40F bring her in for a few days to be on just a safe side. She will be fine in your 29 gal tank for that short period of time.
If you would like more info feel free to email me at ____@____.com and you can also join our Dallas turtle & tortoise club on line forum where we have many experienced members who can assist you.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/DFWTurtleandTortoiseClub/

Good luck with your pond, turtle and koi. The are fun
B. D.

DFW Turtle & Tortoise Club
www.dfwttc.org
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/DFWTurtleandTortoiseClub/
- - -
www.veggiechild.com & www.petisnotarock.com
Great Gift Ideas & Get Your Turtle Club T-shirts

You may want to call the Houston Zoo and see if they will take them. Just a suggestion.

E.-

At my previous house, we had a small pond with goldfish. (Yes, goldfish). The way we kept it from freezing and kept the fish alive was by putting a floating stock tank heater in it. The heater floats around the surface of the pond and keeps the water just above the freezing temperature and my fish did fine. When we had snow, the snow would pile up around the pnd and the pond would have steam coming off of it! The water never did get hot. You can find heaters like that at Gebo's or Tractor Supply. If you go this route, make sure you get a floating one. Also, it needs to be plugged in as well. Hope this helpful!!

We had a pond for many years and Koi do just fine even if the water freezes over. You just need to keep a section open as a breathing hole. Turtles seem to like to bury themselves in the botton if you have a dirt bottom. If you have a RUBBER/PLASTIC liner I would take turtle out and give it a place in the yard to spend the winter. We had a turtle that lived in our back yard for 5 years before we gave it to the elementary school for their science room.

E.,
We have a pond in our yard with several Koi. This is all new to us - however, our landlord has kept koi for several years at this property and at his new home down the road.
If you decided to look for a new home for them - I can contact him. I know he custom built both the pond here and a larger one at his new home. He has mentioned having several large / older fish. We have pretty young ones here - although they seem to be growing.
All the best.
~C.