City Pond

[chilligirl]

Our city has a couple of ponds - this is the smaller one, by the library. Was built the year I was born (almost 30 years ago!). It's stocked with koi, although you don't see them often - they tend to stick to the middle. No idea how many gallons it is.

 

[chilligirl]

waterfall to the bio/plant filter pit

filter plants

another waterfall to a big holding pond, and the holding pond (nothing planted in this one)

 

[chilligirl]

water return

one of the last lilies of the season

the resident RES (all dumped by irresponsible pet owners, and now they breed)

 

[stroppy]

lovely pond ...i bet the koi are all over by that fountain ! ..we too have terapins in our local pond ...dumped there a few years ago and now happily breeding

 

[Philanthropist]

That's one wicked pond! Just curious can you fish in there LOL?

 

[eurodoctor]

Sorry to but in on your thread Chilligirl. but I have an open question on the Terrapins. Do any of you know the breed of Terrapin in these pics, it looks the same as ours that we have in a large aquarium in the house. I have never been able to find a picture with a name and also what the correct water temperature plus diat should be, saying that we have had him 3 years and he seems happy enough. We let him have a run around the garden on warm summer days but are scared to let him into the pond in case its too cold for him/her. Look forward to some info. Here is a pic of ours coming out of the water to to go under the sun light.

 

[chilligirl]

nope, no fishing allowed

The turtle you posted eurodoc appears to be a Cooter. It's not a red belly, but the pic isn't clear enough for me to tell which variety it is.

Here's a great taxonomy chart to figure out which type of Cooter it is:

http://www.geocities.com/turtlestevesplace/turtle/guide/13.html

It's also possible that you have a Red-Eared-Slider or a Yellow-Bellied-Slider - people sometimes mistake them for Cooters. A Red-Eared Slider has a distinctive red stripe over it's ear (the turtles in the pic I posted are RES). A Yellow Bellied Slider has a yellow "S" marking on the side of it's head, and a yellow "arrow" marking on it's forehead that comes down and "points" to its nose, like my little YBS, Cash:

Here's a link to a caresheet for Cooters (for the red-belly, but care is the same for all the varieties)
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-flredbelly.htm

And a link to a caresheet for RES
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm

Finally, a link for YBS caresheet
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-yellowbelly.htm

Turtles actually need a lot of special care and can hide illness for a LONG time. Please make sure to read up and give your turtle what he needs. The right diet, the right size habitat, the right temperatures, the right lighting, a basking spot, etc.

www.turtleforum.com is a GREAT place for info and advice.

 

[Jennywren]

Really nice ponds, they look like they are well maintained as well.