Hey there guys,

So after taking the plunge and stocking 50 brown trout into our pond on Saturday we found our first dead fish. The trout we stocked were all around 10-11 inches and the pond is about 50ft wide x 100ft long x 10ft deep. We're aerating using a "tornado" style fountain aerator. The pond temperature is currently 70 a few feet down and 71 at the surface. It's 54 out tonight here and your breath is easily visible.

Is this a normal thing to lose a few fish due to "stock shock"? I was a little bummed, but I am more worried that something is systemically wrong with the pond and we are going to lose all of them.

The other thing was the fish was lying on the bottom, I thought dead fish float, is it the decomposition process that make them float and is it likely we have more dead fish at the bottom of our pond we cant see?

Thanks,
Pat

I just lost a nearly 4 lb. brook trout the other day in my pond, that doesn't get above 62 F. a few inches down during the hottest part of the summer. I'm not concerned about it as it does happen. And there are about 119 more in the 1/10th acre pond. I did overfeed the night before which was probably the problem. The fish was still alive but barely. Was able to salvage it.

70 is a little warm even for brown trout from my experience, but it's doable if it doesn't get much higher and there is enough D.O. If temps go up another 5 degrees I'd be concerned. There a lot of hype about brown trout being able to handle warm water just fine, but they are just a little more tolerant than brook and rainbows.

Alright thanks CB,

Is it typical to lose 1 or 2 fish after stocking due to shock?

In Ontario too whitewatersalvo....just between Fergus and Arthur! Anyway, back in 2011 I lost almost 15 browns out of the blue and still have no idea what ever caused it. It was in early summer and it was still cool enough for my brookies. For a day or two prior I would see them cruising the shoreline just like my brookies have in the past before they start dying. Just curious where you got them browns from? the only explination anyone ever gave me had to do with the supplier where I got them from the previous fall. I now have very few browns in my pond and focus on the brookies as we enjoy them so much more in the pond, in my summer tank setup and in the frying pan!!!

Ryan

Yes if the fish are stressed enough and salt was not used in the hauling water. I haul my own fish and religiously use salt and rarely loose any.

I agree with Cecil I learned a while back on a a 3 hour drive with walleye.

Alright thanks everyone, They seem to have been healthy ever since, so I am prepared to chalk it up to transport shock. Pond seems to be staying around the 70 range, and drops down to ~65 when we pump cool well water in. Only problem is we can't do it every day or the pond will flood.

Nice to see some more Ontarians on here RyanB, I got them from Silver creek aquaculture in Erin, ON from a guy named Lou. (Loo?). I'd love to get some brookies in there but as its my first time and I seem to have a hard time keeping the water cool I thought I would start with browns.

Good info all around,

Thanks again.