Question
turt..fish
Thank you in advance for your time. I wasn't really sure about who to direct this question to; I hope you can help. I have a water turtle that I believe is a western pond turtle. I live in Fresno, CA and my daughter found it as a hatchling near a little pond off the Kings River. It was the size of a quarter; now it's about 3.5". I have been feeding him these little minnows that came from the pond. I don't know anything about these little fish or what kind they even are. I only know that there are 2 different kinds. A few of them look pregnant, I guess. They are very swollen in the middle. One of them has something coming out of it, and I'm worried about parasites; not only for the sake of Sheldon; my turtle; but also me and my kids. I have enclosed some pics of both Sheldon and this fishy. I hope they are good enough for you to be able to tell me what's going on. Again, thanks for your time and attention.
AnswerThat is generally what fish eggs look like, a long strand of several eggs. They also do resemble parasites, but a fish that small wouldn't be hosting a parasite that large. I can't tell from the pictures, but are those things solid or do they contain a hundred or so round things?
