So I'm going to be buying some HSB for my 1/4 pond. I haven't confirmed yet, but I'm 95%+ sure that they're pellet trained fish.

That's fine because come spring I'll be turning the feeders back on. My question is, should I stock them now?

My pond is just about to be fully iced over and I wouldn't normally hesitate to stock a bass/bg at this point in time, but I'm not sure about the HSB.

I'm assuming they'll go into hibernation mode as well, but I really don't know and I'm just guessing. What are the chances they'd over winter well?

HSB are almost always pellet trained. I've never heard of any HSB producer that did not use pellets to get HSB to fingerling stage. I've had some problems getting good survival of HSB stocked into cages at cooler temps of 50F-65F. If you get them at water temps less than 65F make sure you know the warranty of fish survival from the fish farm. Provide pellets as soon as the HSB are stocked to make sure they have access to food. I prefer to stock the larger sizes of 6"-8"+ that seem to be a little more hardy than 3"-5". If the stockers are being held in salt added water (common) then be sure to carefully temper the fish with pond water before dumping them into your pond.

I never thought of the salt water... I'll ask the supplier as that's good information. How hard is that process of acclimating them to fresh water?

I am looking at a minimum size of 6" fish and possibly upwards of 12"

I'd wait and not stock HSB in the middle of the winter..fish are often stressed during stocking, so it's usually better to stock during ideal conditions for better outcomes.

While HSB are much more cold tolerant than many species I would wait until early spring. I am not sure I woud want to stock a pellet eating fish into an iced over pond.

IMHO I would also wait for spring. FWIW I seem to remember reading a thread last year (I think it was a post by Catmando) where he broke the ice on his pond with his FEL so he could stock HSB.

I think at this point I'll be waiting, but my thinking ends up being this.

If they are eventually going to be living in an iced over pond, what does it matter if it's now or next year?

I guess the answer is letting them get acclimated for a full year?

Fish in general IMO seem to do better when they are stocked in the spring or fall when air temps are 60 to 70 out. Fish will be more vibrant and everything in your pond too. I have both feed trained and non feed trained HSB and they don't seem to be real aggressive in the winter at all. I would not want to put a fish in my pond that may not eat for quite a while once you put them in there and then end up dying from the stress. That's just me though. I put mine in my pond in mid March and they have done quite well. I now have some pushing 4 pounds after 3 years.

The added stress of stocking a pellet eating fish (hard to get pellets during an ice covered pond) in cold water with little access to food over winter is a bit more of a risk. They do not need a year of acclimation. But short term habituation for any newly stocked fish is a good idea.

Quarter acre? How many fish are we talking? Point being....if they make it through the winter it would be a win. They will be familiar with their environment, etc, when the thaw happens. If they don't make it, how big of a loss would it be? Would just be starting where you would have if you waited....and be out a few bucks...

Sean

True Bob....that size pond we're not talking much money
and like you say worst case it could end up being
$100 worth of catfish food?

I would say yes you got a point if your only buying 10 or 15 of them your not gonna be out much cash if things go wrong....

I think I spent right around 50 to 55 bucks for 22 fish In the 8 to 10 inch range. So the money is not a real big deal. Over stress of the fish could be a problem if they develop some kind of virus and transfer it to other fish..... due to the stress factor... that would be more my concern then just a few HSB dying.

RC

Never considered that RC51. I wonder if my tilapia get stressed as they die off every year and could spread a virus to other species...or would the cold water mostly discourage that?

From my experience stocking 1000's of HSB all over, and from talking many times with Mike Friese, of Keo fish farm where the HSB we stock are produced, HSB "like" pellets, but LOVE natural forage! HSB have to be graded often to prevent losses to heavy cannibalizing. From all I've seen, like feed trained BG, SMB, or LMB, pellets only adds "extra" and more rapid growth in a "natural" setting where other forage is available. Under ice or not, pellets available or not, if another food is available, the HSB will eat just fine.

Like Bill Cody mentioned, he has had issues with survival in a cage....where "natural" forage is unavailable. The dangers of stocking in cold water are very similar to stocking fish in really hot weather....it's the stress of the stocking that can cause heavy mortality, not a diet change. It would take a few weeks for a 6" fish to die from starvation alone, even in a cage.

Winter and summer stockings require extra care to avoid stress. Sometimes, there is simply no way to avoid things that are stressful....Like a farm trying to seine up Crappie when air temperatures are over 68 degrees. The seining of 1000's of fish in that warmth will stress Crappie so badly, almost 100% mortality will occur. Yet if you can get a few at a time in a dip net, quickly get them into a holding tank, transport in cool water, temper/acclimate slowly, and quickly net them back into the pond, a few at a time, almost zero mortality will be seen in 100+ air temperatures.

Most farms won't stock fish ANY kind of fish in hot or cold weather, Todd Overton said in a thread here, he has no concerns at all doing summer stockings of LMB, I have no fear either, because we know how, and DO take the extra care needed to minimize stress.

Mark, a great many (I'd estimate 15-25%) tilapia will die due to an infection before your water reaches a lethal temperature, if the water temp drops steadily over 2-3 weeks AND if not eaten before death! The immune system of tilapia is very hardy until water temps drop to about 10 degrees above the lethal temperature. For the Texas Mozzies and hybrids, that Lethal temp is 52-55, so at 62-65, the immune system starts becoming compromised. At around 55-58, the immune system is almost completely shut down and even losing a single scale can cause a fungal infection to kill the injured fish. Those bacterial, viral, and fungal dangers are present all the time, and otherwise healthy fish will remain healthy.

interesting Rex thanks

Some fish species tolerate handling in colder water much better than others. One has to "know" their fish's pros and cons. Bluegills tend to not do well with cold water handling but yellow perch survive best with handling in cold water. As I always say: "It all depends."