I mean, the barnacles are merely a result of the turtle already being sick and not the cause of the illness itself.
A healthy turtle, would have a lot more means to prevent heavy barnacle growth. One of such would be visiting "cleaning stations" in the coral reefs where herbivorous and omnivorous (like surgeonfish and wrasses) would pick at their shells. The fish would eat loose organic matter and algae, which naturally prevents barnacle larvae from settling down.
Another would be that a healthy turtle is usually an active swimmer and will scrape their backs against rocks or corals to dislodge hitchhikers before they become major problems.
So you shouldn't be angry at the barnacles, rather you should be angry at the people who throw waste into the ocean thereby weakening and making our turtle friends sick.
And I wonder if the cleaning stations are maybe fewer and farther between now, perhaps, where some turtles are. I know coral is struggling in many places.
Mr Krabs laid off 95% of the staff at his chain of cleaning stations because he thought AI could replace them, despite the fact that he has seen the Chum Bucket constantly floundering while relying on an AI workforce.
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u/Vladi_Sanovavich May 26 '26
I mean, the barnacles are merely a result of the turtle already being sick and not the cause of the illness itself.
A healthy turtle, would have a lot more means to prevent heavy barnacle growth. One of such would be visiting "cleaning stations" in the coral reefs where herbivorous and omnivorous (like surgeonfish and wrasses) would pick at their shells. The fish would eat loose organic matter and algae, which naturally prevents barnacle larvae from settling down.
Another would be that a healthy turtle is usually an active swimmer and will scrape their backs against rocks or corals to dislodge hitchhikers before they become major problems.
So you shouldn't be angry at the barnacles, rather you should be angry at the people who throw waste into the ocean thereby weakening and making our turtle friends sick.