Hey guys,

I trust the forum's collective knowledge more than my own so please tell me what you would do given my situation.

I have a small (2/3 acre) stream fed pond that ranges in depth from 9' down to about 4' with a pretty typical midwest mix of BG, HBG, LMB, RES, YP which were stocked this past spring. I am on the edge of the city limits in a very visible spot that's within a stone throw of a paved road.

I have an aerator running in 4' of water in the area closest to the road. Better than half of my pond is deeper than the difuser. My reason for running aeration goes beyond the typical DO consideration. I like to make it very obvious that there is open water on my pond in case an idiot (or idiots) gives in to the temptation to hop the fence and trespass on my land. I also hope I don't experience what others have while pulling a whitetail or someone's dog out of my pond. I realize this isn't a perfect solution to either.

So, how bad am I hurting my fish if I continue doing this? I know the temps are lower (37ish degrees in the open water) than what they would otherwise be. I've recently read that my RES are likely the most susceptible to water temps dipping down, but that all may be stressed.

Thanks in advance,

Jason

The aeration may not have a big impact on the winter water temperature of your small shallow pond that receives stream water depending on the size and volume of the stream. Streams in harsh winter conditions can have water temperatures near 32F. Stream inhabitants have to tolerate this to survive winter. If the stream flow into the pond is significant where the pond water retention time is relatively short (several days), then this inflowing water colder than 39F will significantly cool the pond. Monitoring the winter water temps of both the stream and pond would be about the only way to accurately evaluate the pond water temps during winter.

Thanks Bill.

So it sounds like I'm not really making things worse. I have inherent conditions that likely have a negative impact on winter water temps. I'll do my best to monitor and record how things go this winter (first with fish).

Hope I still have more than the native creek chubs next spring