Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations foreign fish in new pond

Pond Boss: Many thanks for the free sample issue you sent me. I was immediately hooked and am sending my check for a new subscription, along with my first question.

I bought some land with a small (1.5 acre) pond. The pond appears to be around 30+ years old and deeper than most for its size – around 25’, and the depth will fluctuate as much as 4’-6’ between rainy seasons. The pond was obviously neglected and is overrun with green sunfish. A family “expert” told me I could eliminate most of the green sunfish by introducing some large hungry bass, but I figure my best choice would be to Rotenone everything and start from scratch. I am now leaning towards forgetting about the existing pond altogether and focusing my time and money on building a new and larger pond (with professional assistance) approximately 300 yards from the existing one, which I had hoped on doing anyway. My concern is this: Although the new pond will not be downstream from the existing pond, is there any chance that the green sunfish in the existing pond will find their way into the new pond if I don’t kill them off? I’ve heard in the past that foreign fish have amazing ways of winding up in new ponds. Thanks for any suggestions.

Barker54,

Welcome to Pondboss! Couple of questions. The proposed pond, although 300 yards from the existing pond, will it drain into the existing pond?? If so, that might be an avenue for the greenfish to find a new home. Second question, do you have any idea how the greenfish established themselves in the existing pond? There have been some posts here where people, that do not live on their pond property, suspect folks have been putting unwanted fish into the pond while they are not around. When you consult with a pond pro about the new pond, ask for his opinion.

Russ

Sounds very familiar. Last year I drained and applied rotenone to my 1.5 acre pond full of green sunfish. I drained around the beginning of September and applied the rotenone. I then began restocking in November/December. Its been a wonderful learning process for me, and very enjoyable and satisfying.

I would not introduce bass, it would be a waste of money, and I think you'd end up doing the aforementioned procedure anyway. If you are going to rotenone, I'd start setting up a way to drain the pond if no drainpipe is installed. I built a simple 4" Siphon pipe and it took about 4 days to drain it down to a level whereby I was able to use just 1 gallon of the rotenone. You definitely want to drain it if at all possible.

Go for it and Have fun!

Most fish go upstream in heavy rains. However, some of them will definately go over the dam or thru the overflow pipe. My neighbor who has a small pond about 400 ft. downstream from me says I stocked his pond with bluegill and minnows. He actually picked up a dozen or so below my dam. Start over and manage it correctly. However, some foreign fish almost always get in.