Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Bass parking?

I went to my pond early this morning and saw a 2lb LMB in 6 inches of water facing the bank not 2 inches away. It looked like he was parking in the front row about to walk on land. I walked to about 3 feet from him until he finally jolted to deeper water. Does this mean that he is searching for oxygen. I fear that I may have had a pretty significant fish kill because there are not many signs of fish other than a few large ones and many babies. I have not seen 1 fish dead yet and I was wondering do dead fish always float or do they sometimes sink to the bottom pretty fast. I am getting up at daybreak to see if there are any fish gasping for air right at daylight since that is the time oxygen is at its lowest. I have a lady coming from the Tx Cooperative Extension to check my oxygen levels tomorrow. If my O2 levels are low, will a 5 hp Hydromatic sump pump pushing 60 GPM put at about 3 ft of water shooting water horizontally across th top of the water put enough O2 in the water to make a difference. The only problem is it pull 14 amps so I wouldn't want to run it continuously due to cost. I'm thinking at night for sure and maybe during the day intermittent to cut down on the ongoing algae bloom in the middle of the day. Suggestions?

dbw, are you aerating otherwise (i.e. w/ bottom diffusers)? pumping air is alot cheaper than pumping water, at least it is in CA.

if the bass was not gulping or looking otherwise stressed, he's probably o.k. and was just hanging in the shallows in the early a.m. i see this routinely in a local pond and nearby reservoirs that have no oxygen problems.

as far as yer other questions, wait for the circulation masters chime in.

I see the same Bass Parking happening in my pond with my SMB. There are two things that they seem to be doing when "Parking" One is that they are catching the morning rays and warming up after a cool night. In my pond they seem to go deeper again as the day wears on and things get warmer all over. LMB may hang on the sides longer.

The other thing I have seem happen is that they look like they are "Parked" ( more than one fish at a time ) but they are watching a school of minnows and waiting to make a snack of them when the coditions are right. I have seen them feed in packs like this ofen as well. You usually see this behaviour in the younger fish. Once they get bigger there is less of a pack mentality but it does still happen.

I hope this helps explain a bit seeing the bass parked along the side. With mine they always seem to park facing along the North edge of the pond near the woods. Still trying to figure out the significance of that, unless there just seems to be more food on that bank.

I went out to my pond at daylight and didn't see any fish gasping for air so I guess that is a good sign. I have been using a sweetwater linear piston aerator with 1 round 9 in diffuser at 10 ft. I have been told that this was probably not big enough for my .3 acre pond, but I got one from a friend for free, so I figured it was better than nothing. It seems to be pushing a lot of bubbles in the middle and it is pushing 5 psi on the gauge. I am thinking of doing the horizontal aeration as well if my O2 levels are low. I will find out today what my O2 readings are. Maybe then I can find out if I lost a lot of fish.

dbw.....you will know if you have a fish kill. Most will float after a day or two. The fish will be at the surface sucking for air if there is a DO crash. I see LMB in the shallow all the time hunting food or spawning. What is the depth and visibility in your pond?

BarO... My pond has a good drop to 12 ft and my visibility fluctuates from 18 to 25 inches.

Well the results of my O2 are in. At 5:00 P.M. My DO levels were 8ppm at the surface and 6ppm at 5 ft. I don't know about 12 ft. Since this was in the evening I can assume that the DO levels were at a high point of the day. Is this enough DO or can it go down to critical levels at night. I put my sump pump going and I rigged a PVC fountain in the middle that is shooting water about 10 feet in the air and about 10 feet in all directions. Should I continue to aerate from the bottom diffuser or just go with the fountain for a while? It is creating a nice ripple on just about the whole pond except for 1 corner, so I think this is going to help with O2 and my algae problem. I had this fountain going for about 2 hours before my DO was read. How fast does DO levels go up? I should have had the DO read before I turned the fountain on. I bet the DO levels were somewhat lower before the fountain was turned on.