Red Eared Slider's

[landon_garcia]

I have a 600 gallon pond in my backyard and was wondering if I could get a red eared slider or two in it. I have 12 goldfish in it that have been living their for 9 years. I live in Pennsylvania do summers are hot and winters are freezing. Is that ok for red eared sliders?

What do I feed them?

Is 600 gallons big enough?

Is temperature a problem?

I also have the floating rocks for them to bask in the sun.

Thanks!

 

[bubba rust]

Most definitely! Red eared sliders are super hardy! And you have plenty of room for a few and to answer all your questions
1) you can feed them turtle pellets that you can get from most pet stores as well as some feeder fish every now and then.
2) yes 600 gallons is big enough.
3) no temperature is not a problem for adults but could have negative effects on small turtles. And just be aware that you will see very little of them during winter.

And is your pond surrounded by a fence of some kind? You wouldn't want them to get out

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[woody390]

So they would even be ok if it froze over? Are many species like that?

 

[bubba rust]

They should be. I have seen turtles under frozen ponds. But I would break the ice as soon as possible and maybe invest in a heater. How thick is the ice when it freezes?

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[elephantnose]

The turtles will most likely hibernate when it gets cold.

 

[Pleco1415]

I would be worried about the goldfish unless they are really big. Red eared sliders eat almost anything they can fit in there mouth. My red eared slider ate an albino clawed frog and it was pretty big.

 

[mattcham]

The turtles will kill your fish. In the winter and at night, when your fish are hibernating or sleeping, the turtles will kill them. Turtles are voracious predators like crocodiles. They are unable to chase down prey but they are opportunists that lunge and kill prey that are even larger than themselves. I used to have a fish farm with adult sliders (14"+) in a turtle-only pond and they would kill huge 8"+ rats that accidentally fall into their water-filled cement ponds. They are like piranha but much less shy. We made the mistake of mixing expensive matamata turtles with these sliders and the matamata's were all killed overnight. We learned our lesson the hard way, don't make the same mistake as us!

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[preyas1207]

The turtles will kill your fish. In the winter and at night, when your fish are hibernating or sleeping, the turtles will kill them. Turtles are voracious predators like crocodiles. They are unable to chase down prey but they are opportunists that lunge and kill prey that are even larger than themselves. I used to have a fish farm with adult sliders (14"+) in a turtle-only pond and they would kill huge 8"+ rats that accidentally fall into their water-filled cement ponds. They are like piranha but much less shy. We made the mistake of mixing expensive matamata turtles with these sliders and the matamata's were all killed overnight. We learned our lesson the hard way, don't make the same mistake as us!

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Well Matt fish don't sleep they don't have eyelids but they do go into a resting state and I don't think the fish hibernate as goldfish can still breath as cold water exerts more oxygen and they tend to continuously scavenge for food as for the turtles, they will already be sleeping as they are the ones who hibernate during cold weather usually under frozen ponds since the can breath through their butts underwater the entire winter but it's hard so the remain dormant during this process so the fish are fine


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[Nortzy21]

Yes your 600 gallon pond is certainly enough room for the red eared sliders. Also, the sliders will hibernate in the winter so the frigid temps shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure they have something to bask on where they can get their whole body out of the water in the summer. Post some pics if you end up getting them!


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