I swear I saw a freshwater stingray in my stock tank

Jeff in TX · August 2020

This morning I was driving around my stock tank and I swear I saw an 8" stingray glide off the pond weeds by the bank into the depths of the pond. It wasn't a bass or catfish. As I said it was 8" wide and looked like the ones I see diving only much smaller. I'm going back down this evening again to walk around and see what I see. I do have fresh water clams in the stock tank. My local game biologist was blown away when he saw them. He said they must have come in on one of the cranes that frequent the stock tank in the fall.

Any thoughts? I have no idea what to think. My stock tank has zero access to any water ways, it's fed by a 1/2 mile long fill line that gets water runoff from the bar ditch during heavy rains.

I'm going back down this evening and walk around and see if I can find it again and get a picture.

tennmike · August 2020

People keep the freshwater stingrays in aquariums as they are generally small at about a foot across. Several types in the Amazon river. They are born live, so that kind of rules out being carried in by a bird. Some clown probably turned it loose and it found its way to your stock tank during a heavy rain. Like Murphy said, "What can happen will eventually happen."

CHIRO1989 · August 2020

Seine net will tell the tale.

Zee · August 2020

Turtle

Jayhawker · August 2020

Leatherback turtle...

Zee · August 2020

Texas Spiney Softshell Turtle.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_spiny_softshell_turtle

Jayhawker · August 2020

I concur...we have a similar critter up here called a Leatherback...same pointy nose...

Jeff in TX · August 2020

I'm thinking you folks are right. I never did see the head, just saw it move through the submerged weeds and disappear. However, it did look just like a stingray to me for those few fleeting seconds!

Thanks

bullsi1911 · August 2020

CHIRO1989 said:

Dynamite will tell the tale.

Zee · August 2020

bullsi1911 said:

CHIRO1989 said:

Dynamite will tell the tale.

Jeff in TX · August 2020

I snuck down to the pond before dark and ease over the bank. Sure enough it was a pointy nosed turtle with a roundish flat shell. We it saw me, it eased down through the pond weeds out of sight. Had I not seen his head like I did this evening, I still might think it was a ray with the size and the way it moved off.

I can tell my wife I'm sane now, though she won't believe me!

tennmike · August 2020

Jeff in TX, those particular softshell 'leatherback' turtles are good eating. Pain to dress out, but good eating. Ate my share of them growing up. Snapping turtles were straight out NO! unless you were starving. They do keep down the small fish population in a pond, though. Keeps the small ones from taking over.

Jeff in TX · August 2020

tennmike said:

Jeff in TX, those particular softshell 'leatherback' turtles are good eating. Pain to dress out, but good eating. Ate my share of them growing up. Snapping turtles were straight out NO! unless you were starving. They do keep down the small fish population in a pond, though. Keeps the small ones from taking over.

Currently, I was way to many turtles in the pond. I'm gonna take out five or six this weekend. I've counted 10 so far at one time. I'm sure there's more but that's too many for a one acre stock tank.

Gene L · August 2020

Use to eat mud turtles, whatever you call them. They're good. Don't have soft shell turtles around here. Question: Tex, why are there too many turtles in your pond? I mean, why limit them? Do they do harm? On the rivers around here, I've seen probably 100 turtles sunning on rocks in the Spring.

Jeff in TX · August 2020

When Pond King came out in July to shoot the gypsum into the pond, the noticed all of the turtles. They said I should take five or six of them out. In a short time frame they said I could really have way too many.

CHIRO1989 · August 2020

tennmike said:

Jeff in TX, those particular softshell 'leatherback' turtles are good eating. Pain to dress out, but good eating. Ate my share of them growing up. Snapping turtles were straight out NO! unless you were starving. They do keep down the small fish population in a pond, though. Keeps the small ones from taking over.

That's interesting you feel that way , I have never had any MN snapping turtle I did not like, what don't you like? What is better about the leatherback turtles?

Gene L · August 2020

Jeff in TX said:

When Pond King came out in July to shoot the gypsum into the pond, the noticed all of the turtles. They said I should take five or six of them out. In a short time frame they said I could really have way too many.

Therein lies my question...what happens when you have way too many? Do they pollute the pond?

jbp-ohio · August 2020

Gene L said:

Jeff in TX said:

When Pond King came out in July to shoot the gypsum into the pond, the noticed all of the turtles. They said I should take five or six of them out. In a short time frame they said I could really have way too many.

Therein lies my question...what happens when you have way too many? Do they pollute the pond?

Same as anything being to populated.

Eat too much. Then your bass and bluegill don't grow big due to lack of food.

A pond is just a big aquarium.

Jeff in TX · August 2020

jbp-ohio said:

Gene L said:

Jeff in TX said:

When Pond King came out in July to shoot the gypsum into the pond, the noticed all of the turtles. They said I should take five or six of them out. In a short time frame they said I could really have way too many.

Therein lies my question...what happens when you have way too many? Do they pollute the pond?

Same as anything being to populated.

Eat too much. Then your bass and bluegill don't grow big due to lack of food.

A pond is just a big aquarium.

Really close to what Pond King said, it's a balancing act trying to keep the tank in harmony.

tennmike · August 2020

CHIRO1989 said:

tennmike said:

Jeff in TX, those particular softshell 'leatherback' turtles are good eating. Pain to dress out, but good eating. Ate my share of them growing up. Snapping turtles were straight out NO! unless you were starving. They do keep down the small fish population in a pond, though. Keeps the small ones from taking over.

That's interesting you feel that way , I have never had any MN snapping turtle I did not like, what don't you like? What is better about the leatherback turtles?

Their eating habits up there may be different from down here. Over the years I've seen snapping turtles eat dead cows and horses drowned in the river. Snapping turtles tend to be the vultures of the turtle family.

Jayhawker · August 2020

Most folks who eat snapping turtles, keep them in a clean water tank for a spell before eating them

Gene L · August 2020

I've eaten them right out of a pond. No dead cows or horses around the pond. I have no idea what they eat, but I'd be surprised if they exist totally on fish. I see so many on warm days on rocks and logs in the river they'd quickly depopulate a river.

Jayhawker · August 2020

Snappers will eat anything that gets in range...primarily fish but including ducklings, goslings and young muskrat...

NN · August 2020

Jayhawker said:

Most folks who eat snapping turtles, keep them in a clean water tank for a spell before eating them

I used to keep them in a barrel changing the water every day until I had clean water for a couple of days.

CHIRO1989 · August 2020

tennmike said:

CHIRO1989 said:

tennmike said:

Jeff in TX, those particular softshell 'leatherback' turtles are good eating. Pain to dress out, but good eating. Ate my share of them growing up. Snapping turtles were straight out NO! unless you were starving. They do keep down the small fish population in a pond, though. Keeps the small ones from taking over.

That's interesting you feel that way , I have never had any MN snapping turtle I did not like, what don't you like? What is better about the leatherback turtles?

Their eating habits up there may be different from down here. Over the years I've seen snapping turtles eat dead cows and horses drowned in the river. Snapping turtles tend to be the vultures of the turtle family.

Yeah, they will clean off a stringer of fish overnight. Not too many cows or horses lakeside in MN, the season for them runs in he springtime in MN IIRC

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