Turtles & Koi Do they mix?

Question
I have an older (and shallower) pond with 18 Koi.  We added some turtles (red sliders) last fall.  Now it seems that we have more injuries to our fish.  Maybe they are getting bitten?

Do Koi and Turtles mix well?

Also, it seems that the turtles eat the plant including lilly pads?

Thank you.

Answer
Red-eared sliders will eat small fish and nip fins off of larger fish.  If the pond is large enough, and the koi are large, normally a few turtles can exist with some koi.  How big is your pond?  You say it's shallow so it may not be large enough for the koi.  Red-eared sliders eat plants and animals.  Water lily leaves are a favorite food.  You may want to build and fence in a separate pond for the turtles.  You can feed them all sorts of things.  My page on turtle ponds is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtles/turpond.htm and my page on feeding turtles is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtles/turfeed.htm

Good luck!
Robyn