My opinions were based on a static pond system. Standing stock, carrying capacity and or fish biomass can be increased as suggested by using flow through and or biofiltration. Various biofilters have various remediation efficiencies so the ability of your filter design should be taken into account with estimating its ability to remove nitrogenous wastes. As I understand the main function of most biofilters, they are designed to remove primarily nitrogenous wastes. Other metabolic waste products will continue to acccumulate in the presence of a biofilter. Crowded fish are not stressed by just ammonia, which is why the flow-thru system in small ponds works so well for Bruce Condello, Cecil Baird, and others.
I do not have a lot of experience with fish tranquilizers such as tricaine-S. I think fish sedatives are more for active manipulation or handling of fish than just normal holding and transport. Whenever I now move fish, I just use my biological-chemical background education, some past experience of killing fish, ssome good common sense, and experience watching other successful transporters as a basis for transporting. The cooler the ambient air & water temperatures the better, the more water per fish the better, and the less time confined in containers and transport the better. Consant aeration or air diffusion is a necessity. Infusing pure oxygen by diffused air pressure during transport is very beneficial, but not necessary. It depends on amount of crowding, ammonia build up, length of travel, temperatures, etc, etc. If you can maintain fish with constant flow through conditions or in uncrowded conditions until transport the less stress that occurs. Salt additives such as Shure Haul or just uniodized salt dissolved in hauling water can help maintain slime layer during fish crowded conditions.
Addition of antiparasite tabs or similar medications may or may not help based on the required chemical-to-fish exposure time and the development stage of each respective parasite or pathogen. Some parasites are only vulnerable to chemical baths or treatments at certain life or developmental stages. During other times treatments are useless. Some treatments are not allowed if fish are to be eaten at any future time. Lots of variables come into play when trying to treat fish for parasites or pathogens.
My experience with training wild fish to eat food is that the younger or smaller the fish is, the more readily it will accept artificial food. Fish species also affects how well it will accept artificial food. I think you will have a pretty hard time getting SMB larger than 11"-12" to eat fish food. You will have much better luck having SMB consistantly eat pellets and stay on pellets if you start with pellet trained SMB. You mentioned that your YP suppler had artesian wells - was it Laggis Fish Farm, Gobbles MI? He often sells YP & SMB pellet trained.
" What would be a good ratio to stock? " Ratio of what? Wild to fingerling SMB? SMB to YP? Forage fish to SMB-YP? Lots of ratios to consider. Count on SMB eating a YP that is 45-50% of the SMB length. So in the example of Sunil's above that 5" YP can actually be eaten by a 11"-12" SMB. This may not always or may not regularly occur and it depends a lot on the density, availability and types of other forage items.
As I said earlier, you have a small, readily drainable pond that is condusive to starting over. The populations in a small pond will fluxuate, sometimes dramatically, despite your efforts. Since fish communities are quite dynamic and constantly changing, you can "easily" or fairly quickly make complete adjustments whenever necessary.
If it were my pond, I would stock feed trained YP feed them and watch them grow all summer. YP 4"-6" in spring that are consistantly fed high protein pellets can be 7"-11" by fall. When YP are stocked, also stock 10-20 feed trained fingerling SMB into a cage about the size of a 55 gallon barrel. Raise them all summer in the cage. Watch the 2007 upcoming issues of Pond Boss Mag about raising fish in cages. Release the SMB into the pond in fall with the YP. Manage this little pond as pellet trained sport fish. Enjoy the experience.
