Hi guys
I make a short premise.
My pond is 1 acre, 7-8 feet average deep.
There are LMB, CGC, GC, crucians, BH, PS, mosquitofish and crawfish.
In August I ve had a bad fish kill due to a sudden drop of DO that killed almost all LMB, half populations of crucians, a 18 lb GC, some BH and a lot of PS.
Since I like to fish the LMB I'd like to stock some more next spring.
The goal of the pond would be having a stable, good, fat and healthy population of LMB to have fun fishing (C'n'R).
The fish available at local hatchery (all about 7 oz/each), are:
LMB
YP
Chubs (Squalius cephalus)
NP

Surely I will take about 14/15 lb of LMB.
As an additional forage fish I was thinking about YP.
I'm slowly trying to eradicate crucians, fishing them out, even though their fingerlings are good prey for LMB. They are too big for LMB (1-2.5 lb), they are overpopulating the pond, they produce a lot of organic waste and eat almost all the pellet food.
So the questions are the following:
- can YP be a valid alternative to the BG (here unfindable) as forage for LMB?
- if yes, how many YP I need to buy to let them establishing in the pond, considering that there are already others forage source for LMB in the pond?
- cuold a pair of NP help me in crucians eradication?
Thank you in advance.
Filippo

I would first throw all money into an appropriate aeration system. Otherwise history will repeat itself and why restock, wait a few years to get everything right again, only to be wiped out.

See this thread on some ideas for the YP with LMB. Pay attention esp to Bill Cody's comments. He is a real expert when it comes to YP:
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=481929#Post481929

Mostly the YP can't keep up with supplying enough forage to the LMB. You will want something that can keep up with the appetite of the LMB. Catch and release is also difficult in a 1 acre pond for LMB. What size LMB would you see as being "fun" to frequently catch. You might consider the strategy of a trophy BG pond that has lots of bass to catch.

As far as YP go, I would not consider them a valid forage alternative to BG. They would help but I think PS would be a better alternative. IMO stock the perch and find out, they should help feed the bass. To get them to establish stock large adults, at least 6 inches long. If they are shorter the bass will just eat them all.

As far as NP, they will eat the carp... and the bass, and every thing else that fits in their mouth. Be careful stocking a pair, you don't want reproduction. They should prefer the carp because they have less spines but NP are voracious.

Also the bass will eat the NP if they are small enough.

Fish n chips I agree with you about aeration. There's not electricity at the pond, so I would need a solar powered system but no one here sells them. I should buy every single part online and put them all together but it's not so simply for me here. Also I m not so good with electrical stuff so I would need a detailed list of what to buy and a scheme of how to assemble all the parts together.
For the moment I'll start this spring to introduce a special combination of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria plus enzymes to digest and low the organic waste. According to the ichtyologist I spoke with it would be a good start to prevent fish kills, waiting for aeration.
I consider fun to fish about 10/15 LMB in the 2-4 lb range per day (40/50 times per year, not every day).
If I could get BG it would be the best choice but no one here breed any kind of sunfish.

TPD I can only find same sized LMB and YP at local hatchery (about 7 oz each). I hope YP would reproduce already the first year whereas LMB will reach reproductive age the next year and that, growing together, the YP stocked at first will not be eaten.
Considering all the other fish and craws already enstablished in the pond and the 15 lbs of LMB I'll stock, how many lbs of YP should I buy indicatively?
PS LMB and YP sold are all pellet fed and will be partially pellet fed also in my pond with an automatic feeder.