I'm looking at having a pond built for the purpose of aesthetics and light fishing/food supply. How small of a pond is feasible for maintaining catfish? 30 ft-60ft? Much more than this?
Hey mrr0809,
IMO Yes, you can raise catfish in a pond that size. How many depends on several factors such as are you going to feed them, harvest them, aerate, etc.?
Bill D.
Thank you for the reply! I'm planning on feeding them daily during the summer as I think their diet would suffer without it. As far as harvesting is concerned, I would guess that I would remove enough to feed a family of four every week or two. I think aerating would be wise. Is it possible to allow the pond to freeze over for the winter to accommodate ice skating and such while still allowing the catfish to survive? Would a hole or two drilled into the ice provide the oxygen exchange necessary for survival and feeding? How many full size fish could this pond support?
Here is a link to a recent thread on the subject.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=392878Hopefully, one of the pros will weigh in with further advice.
Very interesting. Thanks for the link!
I found this video Bob Lusk did on the subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tf00dt5oGQI am not a pro. FWIW IMO I would make the pond a little bigger if you can. A 30 x 60 is less than 1/20 of an acre. If you could double that I think it would be easier to acheive the harvest numbers you are looking to get. I wouldn't stock any other fish with the CC other than some FHM. We harvest ours at around 18 to 20 inches as we think the smaller ones taste better.
Good Luck!
Bill D.
That video was very encouraging to know that my idea is feasible. I will have to measure again to see what the largest size is that I can put. A circular pond with a 60 ft. diameter may be something I can do. I would really like to find out if they would survive over winter if I allowed the pond to freeze over.
Food for thought...a 60ft x 60ft square pond is about 25% more square feet than a 60 ft diameter one....
FWIW There are several members that let there ponds freeze over in the winter for skating. IIRC they put effort into snow removal from the ice to let light into the pond and I suspect you want the pond to have a good bit of the area 10 or 12 feet deep. I am definitely not a pro so hopefully, one will provide input.
That's interesting Bill. I've never heard that about snow removal on top of frozen water before. I'll have to take notice of the ponds around me in the winter. I've read some sites saying that auger holes are needed to allow for oxygen exchange and feeding the fish (ie once every 3 days) but would like more information on doing so and its necessity. Thank you once again for the information.
FWIW IMO I think auger holes will not provide enough light or surface area to be significant. You need to get light to the oxygen producing life in the pond. The reason I suggested you stock FHM as well as the CC is they would be the forage for any CC you decide to carry over the winter. During the summer, your CC will hit pellets which will relieve the pressure on the FHM. During the winter, although the CC will eat alot less often, they still need some food. The FHM will be there as winter forage under the ice.
I wouldn't worry about feeding CC pellets over the winter. Most likely, the CC will not reproduce in your pond, which is probably a good thing in my opinion. You will need to restock as necessary to maintain their numbers. Be very aware of possible water quality issues due to crowded fish and supplemental feeding, and depending upon the number of fish present, you may need to aerate during the winter also to keep some of the pond open, or remove a portion of the snow cover to allow light penetration.
Ahhh! Now you have a pro weighing in. I will leave you in good hands Mrr!
Best of luck and please keep us posted on your progress!
Bill D.
My PERSONAL belief is, to feed a family of 4 every couple of weeks, you need a minimum of 1/4 acre with aeration and feeding. I try to not give advice on depths in cold country since that's above my pay grade. I also know nothing about ice thick enough to skate on.
Cats get kinda narrow minded about biting once they get used to the idea that there are strings attached to the free meals. So, I would be prepared to seine it and restock every Spring.
That's interesting Bill. I've never heard that about snow removal on top of frozen water before. I'll have to take notice of the ponds around me in the winter. I've read some sites saying that auger holes are needed to allow for oxygen exchange and feeding the fish (ie once every 3 days) but would like more information on doing so and its necessity. Thank you once again for the information.
Auger holes won't do poop for aerating a pond, unless you can auger enough holes to equal at least 10% of the pond surface area. And keep them open 24/7.
Get the magazine, there is a winter aeration article in the Jan/Feb back issue, and another one will be done this Fall.
Don't forget that CC are a warm water more southern species and raising them in the north is like growing cotton or tobacco in the north. It can be done but not as well as those in warmer regions with longer growing seasons. Do your homework before proceeding and expecting to feed a family of four every week or two with fish in 0.1ac (60'x60'). It will take special aquaculture methods to maintain water quality and healthy fish. I recommend a heavy fish harvest each fall to reduce fish biomass and reduce chance of fish stresses and loss during winter.
Study this:
http://www2.ca.uky.edu/wkrec/smallscalehomeuse.htm
Yah, bill cody beat me to it.
Aquaculture doesnt have to be large round tanks. Koi ponds are usually aesthetically pleasing but they still utilize aquaculture filtration practices. This sounds like a more appropriate solution for what you are trying to do
brian
The more fish biomass that are in a pond the more water quality becomes an issue. In high densities of growing fish that daily increasing the biomass water quality should be regularly monitored to prevent diseased fish and fish kills. Dissolved oxygen and ammonia are two of the main concerns. I suggest you start with lower biomass and gradually increase it as you become more experienced.
Thank you all for the feedback. My thoughts on aeration in the winter was drilling the auger holes solely to allow an aerator to operate as I don't know the efficacy of using one with a fully iced over pond surface. I believe you're right. I'll have to start slow and slowly progress in raising the fish population before I actually start extracting fish for family dinners.
I think it is beneficial if one drills or makes a hole in the ice over the diffuser before starting winter aeration. This reduces excess air under the ice that will occur until the moving water erodes a hole in the overlying thick 4"-10" ice sheet. Once open water above the diffuser is crated then it only takes minutes to daily remelt the ice above the diffuser.
Strong or constant winter aeration in heavy ice cover small pond may overly stress a pond full of or overloaded with warm water adapted CC.
FWIW- For winter aeration, I make the exact location of our diffusers above the water line. We drive two posts into the pond bottom about 6' from the diffuser with the diffuser in middle of the two posts. The posts are markers and stand about 4' above the water line. If the need to reopen by auger or heavy snow happens, you will always know exactly where the "danger zone" lies.