Imagine you are in your backyard and listening to your favorite music as the cascades of the waterfall are creating a beautiful ambient around the pond. You also see your favorite turtle swimming around the pond, and you suddenly decide to introduce the turtle pond with koi fish. (Or imagine vice versa. You have a Koi pond and want to introduce turtles in it!)
Well, if you are indeed keen to introduce koi fish with the turtles in the same pond, you will have to be aware of a few things. First, you will have to get the answers of two questions.
Firstly, “Do turtles eat koi fish?”
Secondly, “Can you keep turtle in koi pond?”
Well, although turtles aren’t known for fishing or hunting big species, they can certainly try their luck on the baby koi fish. That’s why if you indeed want to keep turtles and koi fish in the same pond you will have to pertain some special techniques.
We will discuss the possibility of turtles eating and injuring koi fish as well as techniques to keep them happy in the same pond.
Do Turtles Eat Koi Fish?
When you wish to keep turtles and koi fish in the same pond, you need to fix the puzzle of an age-old question. It is about turtles eating the koi fish. Yes, keeping the two species always possess the risk of losing your favorite and precious koi.
However, it is not proved that turtles will definitely eat koi fish. In reality, it depends on various conditions. It happens because of both turtles and koi fish is known for an omnivorous diet. So, their food requirements overlap severely.
And if you have a large and starved turtle in your pond, the chances are high that it will live on anything it gets in the pond, including the koi. Also, some turtles are avid hunters, and these aren’t afraid of attacking the larger fish species even. For example, baby snapping turtles are infamous for its notorious hunting attitude.
So, when you keep such avid hunter turtle with the koi, it may well injure the fish. So, here’s the summary-
- Some hunter turtles such as baby snapping turtle if unfed may try to try their luck on the koi fish
- If the pond has baby koi fishes or fries, the turtle may injure them
- If turtles are not appropriately fed, they might want to snatch food from the koi fish and injure it
But it is not all bad news. Experts have commented that if you supply proper food to the turtle and koi, they will live happily in the same pond. But you will have to consider a few things for it and prepare the pond especially.
Things to Consider When Keeping Turtles and Koi Fish in the Same Pond
If you don’t like risking the life of koi fish by a turtle, you must abide by a few considerations to keep them both in the same pond. These crucial considerations are-
- You must remember that the turtles are mostly omnivorous. While some prefer living on meats, some turtles love eating vegetables. When you keep the turtles with the koi, try to get those species that love eating vegetables and small insects only. It won’t threaten the koi fish any more.
- Also, if you want to get a native turtle species, check the local rules. Some states don’t permit you to keep the native turtles in captivity without any proper documents and legislation.
- When you introduce turtles in the koi pond, you have to main the water quality strictly. Turtles are incredibly messy animals. Turtles leave bones, and tails in the pond water and defecate severely too. It will soon make the pond water polluted, which affects koi health. So, be prepare to regulate the water properly if you indeed want to introduce the turtles in the koi pond.
Best Turtle Recommendations for Koi Pond
Although the best way to find a suitable and healthy turtle for your koi pond is to get a native turtle, it might not work always. Hence, we have talked with the turtle and koi owners both and picked three turtles that are suitable to live happily with the koi fish as well.
Spotted turtles:
Spotted turtles are sized smaller. You will find them growing from 3.5 inches to 4.5 inches at best. Their smaller size is a clear indication that they can’t eat koi fish. You can identify the spotted turtles with their classic yellow spots on the black physique. They live mostly on crickets and worms. The turtles are known for their mildness and won’t fancy their chances against koi fish.
Eastern box turtles:
The eastern box turtles have a size range from 4 inches to 6.5 inches. Hence, we refer them to as the medium-sized turtles and make a good company for koi fish. Their shell has a high round shape that looks like a dome. Also, the shell has yellow to orange spots that make them easily recognizable. The best part about the eastern box turtles is their diet is mainly vegetarian.
The turtles will live happily on mushrooms, fruits, green leaves, bugs and worms. Also, they love wetlands. So, you will find them hovering around the edge of the pond corner.
Painted turtles:
Painted turtles can even live in a more relaxed environment. Also, they make an attractive addition to your pond. The turtle has a docile nature and won’t attack the koi in the pond. So, they are perfect for being your turtle owning career.
The painted turtles are sized 8 inches to 12 inches. So, they are quite large species of turtles, and that can be an issue when keeping them with the koi. However, they will reside happily with the koi since they don’t like dominating the territory.
Preparing Tips For the Ponds For Koi And Turtles
When you want to keep koi and turtles at the same time in a pond, you need to opt for some special cares to prepare their residence. You will have to make sure that the pond has a sufficient surface area with ample space for better oxygen level.
- Basking area: You must keep a brick, log, plunk or an elevated material around the pond so that the turtle can bask on it under the sun. If you can manage to submerge the basking spot slightly, it will be a great help for the turtle. It will be then able to reach the basking spot easily.
- Keep an open land: Although your koi won’t come out of the water, the turtle will definitely do. So, keep some available land around the pond. It will allow the turtle to stroll around the land surface and also, it reduces the chance of the turtle getting into a confrontation with the koi.
- Quality filtration: While turtles are messier than most species, koi fish loves living in a neat and clean environment. So, you will have to ensure installing the high-quality and best filtration system in the pond. Make sure that the filtration is ideal for the pond size. Always choose from the premium filter manufacturers to ensure quality and service.
- Don’t overpopulate the pond: Koi fish is large sized. So, they need adequate space in the pond to roam around freely. When you introduce koi fish with the turtles, the pond space becomes crowded. So, keep the number of koi fishes and turtles balanced. You must assure that both species got enough space in the pond. It will reduce the confrontation chances of these species inside the pond.
- Serve a varied diet: Both koi and turtles have an overlapping diet. Koi lives on anything from small worms to insects and bugs. Similarly, turtles eat both vegetables and meats. So, all you have to do is to serve the species with the proper diet. Also, you can seek for some commercial koi food pellets and turtle food pellets to feed them. Also, feeding the koi once in a day is sufficient. And if possible, arrange a plastic container to feed the turtle outside the pond. It will quickly associate the box with eating. Also, it will help you keep the pond cleaner for an extended period.
Final Words
From our above discussion, it is clear that you can keep turtles in the koi pond. However, you will have to remain on the top of your pond maintenance. It is essential since turtles defection in the pond will quickly pollute the water.
It can cause the koi fish ammonia burns and other diseases. So, install proper water filtration and air pumps to keep the water clean. Also, turtles sharp claws will often damage the pond’s edges. So, you will have to repair them regularly.
Thus, when you are sure that you can maintain the koi pond from the adverse effects of turtle’s messiness, bring them in the pond only then, unless not.
