Fencing in a turtle

[Darkness9876]

Thanks, for the info.

I was planning on something like a creeping sedum although thats out the window as it would just rot. I really like water iris's and things like that as well as elephant ear plants and bamboo.

I really dislike the flat drop off. Maybe I could use larger river rock around the edge below and above water that way it won't be such a crisp edge.

I was planning on a liner under the bog I just forgot to mention that.

As for the little poolon the waterfall. This would have lots of water running through it. Wouldn't that then help heat the pond but also keep the water running through it cooler as its always changing with water from the pond itself? Another Idea would be to make the pool out of one of those preformed ponds you buy at wallmart. Then just cover the edges with the slate and incorporate it into the waterfall. That would be deeper yet and probably eaiser to clean.

My next question is about trees. I love Weeping Willows. I was wondering if I could plant a weeping willow near my pond. I know that they have roots that can run 100+ feet and can wreak havok but I was wondering if there was anyway it was possible?

We have tons of channel cat around here in kansas in fact we have an 15acre pond completley full, a 8acre pond full . We also used to have a 5acre pond that was nothing but bullheads but our neighboors stocked their pond with Largemouth bass and crappie, then it rained really hard and now we have all their fish. But won't channel cats and bullheads eat all of my plants. None of those ponds ever have any vegetation.

What about bluegill? And guppies? I have heard that guppies breed faster than turtles can take care of. And in texas they would only take 18 days to develop.

Botanica, our local botanical garden has the coolest kind of lillys in their koi pond that is well over 10acres. They also have several hundred koi including my favorite a 4+ft specimen that is solid black, come to think of it hes probably just a carp but hes still amazing. Anyway they have a kind of lilly that has pads big enought that you can put a cinder block on them and they won't sink, they also have little spines all over the bottom and sides and don't have the typical split. The pads themselves range from 6" to over 2'. Any ideas what those are and if they are feasable? And water Iris's are these just common iris's that are used to water or is it a different kind? Any info and links on these would be appreciated.

Thanks Notophthalmus

 

[Notophthalmus]

Those big lilies are a South American species called Victoria lilies. I don't know if they are hardy in S. Texas, but I suspect not. There are a handful of iris species that do well in bog environments, but they are not the same as common garden iris. Louisiana iris, swamp iris, and yellow flags are all wetland iris species.

Cats can uproot plants, but they generally don't harm potted plants. They don't eat vegetation, they just like to root around looking for prey.

Bluegill would do just fine in your pond, as would other slackwater sunfish such as green sunfish, warmouth, dollars, stumpknockers, etc. They aren't very flashy when viewed from the top, though. If your guppies can outreproduce your turtles' appetites, then they should do well in the main pond. But don't combine them with bluegill or catfish- those are much more effective predators than turtles are.

If you want trees, willow or otherwise, near your pond, just use some kind of barrier to prevent the roots from reaching your liner. A buried fence of aluminum flashing should do the trick, I think. Be sure to keep in mind that weeping willows grow quite large. There are other willows, such as curly willow, that stay smaller, as well as other 'weeping' trees.

As far as the little pool goes, I think your preformed pond idea is best, especially if you use a large overlap with the edging stones to help keep it shaded. The water flowing through will help, but enough flow to prevent the pool from heating at all would be enough to wash the guppies out.

I mistakenly used 'Nummularia' above when I meant Lysimachia nummularia, AKA creeping jenny. It is somewhat similar in appearance to sedums and has pretty yellow blooms. Elephant ears love bogs, as do caladiums, cannas, and other broad-leaved 'tropical' looking species. Be careful with bamboo, as it can become a pest if not contained; flashing comes in handy again here, this time to totally encircle the bamboo clump. Alternatively you could use rough horsetail (Equisetum hyemale), which is somewhat similar in appearance but easier to control.

 

[Darkness9876]

Thanks again for the info. I know that the lilys they have at botanica grow year in an unheated pond. However I suspect that where they grow it is up to 8 ft deep. I will have to see if I can get an ID from them.

I love caladiums, and creeping ground covers. I think big river rock boulders would look great sticking out of that mix. I figured that would be the case with the bamboo. I think I could scavange a galvanized stock tank to bury and then control it though.

As for the weeping willow that was what I suspected. Maybe a japanese maple then. Or a weeping cherry.

Can danios and guppies live in the same pond?

What other kinds of small fish are pretty from the top? I love big fish when they're small but I dislike them when they get large, I find them dispropotianal and ugly. Koi and goldfish are ok, but not my favorite. So I think I would like to stay with smaller vibrant fish. Probably at the biggest 8". Unless I could get my hands on a carp. I like carp for some reason. I will have to think about the catfish.

Are crawdads ok as well?