Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Low water clarity effect on spawning ability

What is the effect that low water clarity has on the spawning fish (BG,RES,LMB,BC,CC)? When I say low I mean 6". Thanks for the help.

In a way, it depends on the cause of the lack of that clarity.

If it is suspended solids, sunlight penetration to the eggs is reduced and planktonic development will be nil. Even if the eggs are laid and hatched, food sources from the botton of the food chain will be unavailable for the fry.

I've been there and done that the last couple of years. We went through an extended drought and then got heavy rains. This washed a lot of junk, mostly sand, into the water on one of my larger ponds. It didn't clear until July and recruitment was pretty poor. This also clobbered planktonic development. When the sand finally settled, in about July, I wound up with 4 to 5 ft visibility which further negatively effected spawning survival. I seined a forage pond and put in a thousand or so BG of all sizes, mostly small or even tiny. Very few survived.

OTOH, if the problem is too much plankton bloom, the hatched babies are swimming in the equivalent of a sewer. Some of them will survive but only in very shallow water. More than likely, the parents will die off due to lack of oxygen. That makes a good case for aeration.

Keep in mind we are talking relative #s here. All the fish species you listed are survivors for a reason. Each has the ability to reproduce even in muddy water. The #s may well be very low but some will make it absent some big event like a freeze or flood during the spawn. If it is a temporary condition they may wait to spawn. The LMB , BG, and RES all have the ability to have multiple spawns in a year/summer. Not sure about CC and BC. The fish will try to fill the void/space in the pond as that is a species survival method. If one spawn does not work and they have the reserves/condition they will try again. If this is a prolonged all the time condition you could have little recruitment.

Well I made a Secchi disk and to my surprise the reading was 13-14". The water is brown with a tint of green and I put some in a jar to let it sit. I also checked the acidity and total alkalinity with my swimming pool kit and got a ph of 8.4 and alkalinity of 190. The pond is filled by a well but the water must first travel through a pecan row about 1/4 mile long.

With those being the facts I would not worry about low reproduction as a result of turbidity.

Dang, alkilinity of 190. MT, check the ph several times per day. It can change.

Agree with Ewest about relativity and no problems with the 13-14" visibility.