Penny - Yes, if the pond has plenty of aquatic plants then the turtles keep the plants trimmed. When the turtles get the upper hand or the pond has no plants then the fry have no safe haven. This pond has no plants and I am trying to introduce some coontail to protect the fry but the turtles wiped out what we stocked. So I am trapping turtles and after a couple of weeks of nothing in the trap I will re introduce the coontail and monitor for turtles.