esshup Thanks, I was thinking there would be no reproduction in this sediment pond when I mentioned this. And there are a few lizard tail plants and a very small patch of American pond weed veggies to speak of in the larger pond, but really, very few plants for natural reproduction so I was thinking what if? So some questions?
O.K., but I've got some questions for you then. How many 2" sized would one add to this 20 yd by 20 yd by 15' pond? 1# or 4#'s or etc? and the pond could be 15 yds by 15 yds, I have not measured it recently.
How many pounds are you looking to transfer to your main pond per year? Are you planning on adding any spawning cover or just planning on growing them larger, then transferring them to the main pond? Are you sure of the pond depth? A 45' x 45' pond is almost half the size of a 60' x 60' pond. Go measure it.Any chance of passing along any disease from diseased fish to the main pond, since the rain water passes through this sediment pond and someday the GSH will be added to the big pond?
Do you trust your fish supplier? What are the chances of getting diseased fish from your fish supplier?Would it be necessary to reduce a 1/8" sized pellet or will they feed off the pellet as it becomes wetter and softer? Much like a fhm will do?
They will push a pellet around and peck at it until they eat it. Anything smaller and it will sink unless you go with Optimal Jr.How fast does a gsh grow when hand feed most every day? Will this 2" grow to 6" or larger in a small pond like this and in what time frame?
That is a loaded question because you didn't define "most every day" and what food you are feeding. Is "most every day" the same as every other day or is it 4,5,6 days a week? How much are you feeding "most every day" and what is the quality of the food? What does the phytoplankton bloom look like in the pond? What is the pond clarity?I did some reading and it sounds simple to raise some with little cost for the fish but in a sediment pond I was not sure I could grow out some to a nice size for feeding some hsb and lmb.
It is possible, but the amount that is grown all depends on a LOT of variables, and it could vary from year to year too. Water temp, amount of food available, stress on the fish (will you have a heron or two visiting the pond every day?), etc.And it's no big deal if they don't reproduce if I can raise some good numbers to a good size.
Pond will have no aeration but I do have a water well to keep it full.
If you add well water, you have to add it to the pond in such a way that you add O2 to the water at the same time. How much water can you add per day (gallons)? IF your pond is 60feet x 60feet x 15 feet deep, you have roughly 2:1 slopes and almost 400,000 gallons of water in it. Without aeration, the fish will only be able to use the top 10' or so of water during the summer. Thought or suggestions or recommendation not to do it?
Thanks again