We are coming back full circle to what I mentioned in my post on the first page.
“I think I am the one mainly responsible for the posts of "that RES eat primarily snails and that lack of enough or proper forage will limit the number of RES a pond can support." As snrub continues he says "adults will feed on a variety of food organisms, depending on what is abundant and what is vulnerable. Common food items are midge larvae, snails, mayfly larvae and dragonfly/damselfly larvae."”
When competition from other RES is high and/or from other fish for alternative foods, then RES are likely to suffer high mortalities in winter due to lack of fat reserves and cold temperature conditions. IMO lower RES numbers allow remaining individuals to graze the natural snail production of that water body. Getting RES to eat pellets may help lower their mortality rates.
