Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Gambusia Any Drawbacks?

Thinking of adding another forage fish. Gambusia came to mind. Any drawbacks??

Do they eat sunfish eggs or anything?

Is 100 enough to add to 3/4a pond with hopes they reproduce to good numbers, there is plenty of weed cover on edges for them to hide.

Personally, I would avoid Gambusia. They are considered invasive by both the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers; they will quickly crowd out any other small fish specie already in the pond; and there are reports that they are known to be carriers of several fish diseases. There are better choices available.

I am starting to think dont mess with a good thing. My pond is rocking. maybe i shouldnt mess with adding gambusi

Got a reference for your concerns? When Bob Lusk came out and surveyed our pond, he seemed very happy that we had them.

I need to make a solid decision by thursday. I just dont know if I should or should not.... i want to but something is saying hold off. Another level of forage just sound good to me. The level of ??? on Gabusa worries me. i just dont know yet.. i need more advice to weigh it out.

I have some in my pond that I think came in with minnows. I have enough predator fish in my pond that they can't get out of control. What I'd like to know is why they are so expensive to buy from dealers? Supposedly, they can eat close to their weight in mosquito larve every day... But I've heard the same about FHM. The only difference in behaviour between the two (that I can see) is that the Gambusia are a lot quicker and split up when they are attacked (they don't try to ball up).

Anybody else have any observations???

Joey

Would be easier to make a recommendation if we understood why you need to provide another forage source. What is your forage base comprised of now? Are your predators below optimum weight and you need a bump? Answers to these questions will provide some alternative forage source suggestions for you maybe a different option since the Gams are receiving mixed reviews.

I really dont feel the pond needs any additional forage its teaming with little life, I was thinking of adding another layer of forage to the mix. Didnt feel like making a hideout for fatheads and thought Gams would live well in the grasses, provide forage and also lower the mosquito number but I just about made up my mind to X the idea anyway

Gams seem to hold up against predation better than fatheads. Yes, they are well known for nest robbing. However, so is everything else in there.

I've never stocked them.

They are doing well in a couple of ponds up here, and the RES don't seem to have a problem reproducing. This will be the 3rd or 4th summer for them in the ponds. Haven't seen any diseased fish either.....

Considering their diminutive size and ability to escape predation I'm wondering if Gams are really worth it as a forage option? If a fish strikes 3x and misses before it connects isnt the energy gain more than spent during the hunt? Not sure, I don't know much about Gams but I'd consider a more substantial forage item like a topminnow, bluntnose minnow, banded kilifish or a smaller shiner type like spotfin?

Thanks all, I definatly not putting them in. After feeling you all out and reading up, gonna pass.

I harvested 2 small bass yesterday and there full of small bluegill. The pond is teaming with small 1-2 inchers..

PS on a differnt thred, I wondered about spotted bass in the pond. Dont like um, and hope I didnt wreck the pond by adding them. Been taking any i catch out but they might have spawned.. maybe a baby grown up in the pond will do better but the adults I put def look thin, they bite good but they just lack the plumpness.

There are a lot of things that I would put in a pond before Gams.

Fathead Minnows
Bluntnose Minnows
Lake Chubsuckers
Mississippi Grass Shrimp
Papershell Crayfish
Golden Shiners
Threadfin Shad (depending on what part of NC)

Those are really all great choices and it would be hard to go wrong with any/all of them.

I like the banded killifish over the gambusia. Banded killifish aren't quite as tolerant to predation, but hold up far better than FHM. They like gambusia are top water oriented and tend to feed in the upper water column. They also reach a good forage size, mine average 3"-4" in size with some topping 5". They are fractional spawners, meaning they spread their spawning out over the entire warm months rather than one big bang in the spring. They will leap out of the water, take to extreme shallows and when really cornered, actually dive into muddy or soft sand substrate to escape. If you are in the eastern 2/3's or so of NC where your pond is in an Atlantic drainage, I would recommend them.

My experience with gambusia is they are extremely aggressive. Out competing other small species, but only reach about an 1.5" in size making them less valuable as forage. Although gambusia, both the western and eastern species are native to many areas, they are also not native to many areas. If introduced to the wrong area, they can have devastating affects on native fishes there.

I have clouds of GAMS and really wish i didn't they are real devestating on eggs and fry that are not protected. Egg scatters just get decimated.

I have been wanting them for a few years but when it came down to it.. I really am glad I didnt put them. Someone before wroe about grass shrimp. Those i would love to have but I did try to find some for sale but had no luck. I have crayfish but not a lot. I been culling my pond hard this year. I mean hard and It dont seem like i even put a dent, as a matter of fact everything looks more alive. I am gonna harvest some big bass next.. something ate a 10 inch koi haha I watched that poor koi run do a uturn and then a huge flash.. no more orange koi... well i wanted a bag bass pond now that I got one, I dont. I caught the biggest greenie today, in full bright spring coloring.. bigger then my hand I would say over a pound. I dont mind Greenies but I do take them when I catch them. I dont see any neg having them in there and I know the bass would rather eat them then a bluegill.

Hmm...maybe you could try baiting them in and then blasting them with an electro fisher? LOL. I wouldn't even know how to go about getting them out of the pond.