Pond Boss
My CC are a year old and growing well.
My BG are out of control. The LMB can't keep up.
Will supplemental feeding of the CC reduce their predation of the BG?
They are only 14" or so now.

The other thought is feeding will increase growth, which will allow them to eat BG
sooner.

Everything I read regarding CC states that their mouth size is the limiting factor.

No flathead or hybrid striped bass are available in this area. Bucket stocking larger bass or cats is an option, but i would rather play the cards I have.

Pond is .70 acre, clay and turbid.
Aeration is in use.

Chicken or egg situation?
Feeding will make them grow faster, but make them less wild and less predatory.

CC prefer an easy meal of floating pellets rather than chasing BG.

The CC at any rate will not become very predatory on BG until they reach 1bout 17 inches and two pounds or so.

You could feed to satiation until they get to 18-20 inches, then gradually cut back the feed so you are only supplementing, and they will become predatory.

With a good feeding program, your CC should reach that size by late this summer.
Posted By: NEDOC Re: Will feeding CC make them less predatory? - 05/14/18 02:22 PM
I'd feed them as much as you feel comfortable and just let them get big. When they get 5 lbs or so they'll eat plenty of bluegill. And you'll have the added bonus of huge catfish. I believe short term feeding them will slow their predation on bg. But long term I think it'll help.
Posted By: BrianL Re: Will feeding CC make them less predatory? - 05/14/18 02:42 PM
I think your balancing problem is between the BG and LMB. HOw many LMB have you stocked?
Originally Posted By: BrianL
I think your balancing problem is between the BG and LMB. HOw many LMB have you stocked?


I added 25 3" LMB spring 2017 and 25 more this spring. I currently have several 1.5 lb and a 4lb from bucket stocking.
To my novice self, it looks like they need help getting the hundreds of little BG under control.
The larger BG are going to be the apex predator.
LMB are sight feeders. If you have turbid water, the LMB will do poorly, stunting from being unable to see their food/prey. Can you clear the clay turbidity?
Originally Posted By: Rainman
LMB are sight feeders. If you have turbid water, the LMB will do poorly, stunting from being unable to see their food/prey. Can you clear the clay turbidity?


It clears up some mid/late spring after i add gypsum slurry

Last summer clarity:
https://youtu.be/GUgchV5mk0w

This summer clarity:
https://youtu.be/gTIjsEJr57Q


Big difference!
I'm hoping to see results like last year!
How many CC do you have stocked? Have you ever done a "jar test" to see if the water clears on it's own when undisturbed? Could be the CC stirring everything up...
Originally Posted By: Rainman
How many CC do you have stocked? Have you ever done a "jar test" to see if the water clears on it's own when undisturbed? Could be the CC stirring everything up...


Yes, I did a jar test. It did not settle out. Typical NC piedmont area clay pond.
It was turbid prior to stocking.

I think the ag lime helped some.
PH was 5.7 before 1500lbs of ag lime.
It's closer to 7 now.

Pond is .70 acre, 8ft deep with aeration.
It has 75 6" CC, plus last year's 25 CC which are around 12"-14" now.
It also has, what I would consider, a lot of crayfish. No positive ID on the specific type, but I don't think they are the burrowing type.
My 2 cents on crawfish...My pond, before renovation, had silted in to only two feet deep. There were no fish in it whatsoever, but you could catch a days worth of bait crawdads in a couple of hours with a trap baited with dogfood...lots of 1 to 3 inch northern virile crawfish. The pond was always muddy and absolutely no plant life below the waterline. I put some creek fish in it for kicks, they turned out to be GSF. As the crawdad population dwindled from predation, the water clarity improved along with some emergent vegetation growth (and FA).

I believe the hungry GSF hammered the crawdads who were eating the plant life and somehow stirring up the pond. I have since taken over the pond with a new renovation.

The crawdads could be adding to your turbidity.
Green sunfish hammered the crawfish?
I never would have guessed that.
My sunfish are much too small to eat the crayfish. I don't think I've ever seen one (in this area) large enough to do the job.
The majority of the crawdads were on the small side to begin with and once the 20 GSF that I added to the pond spawned and made many, many more GSF, recruitment of the crawdads was greatly diminished. The GSF were introduced and 2 years later the pond was drained and there were hundreds, maybe thousands of GSF from 4 inches long down to YOY. I believe it was the predation of the very young crawdads that led to the significant reduction in population.
Originally Posted By: Quarter Acre
The majority of the crawdads were on the small side to begin with and once the 20 GSF that I added to the pond spawned and made many, many more GSF, recruitment of the crawdads was greatly diminished. The GSF were introduced and 2 years later the pond was drained and there were hundreds, maybe thousands of GSF from 4 inches long down to YOY. I believe it was the predation of the very young crawdads that led to the significant reduction in population.


Ah, that makes much more sense.
Hopefully my BOW runs the same course.
Pond management is a game of Patience!
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