Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations This could work or it may be a good inside joke

As some of you already know I drained down my bluegill production pond and moved the broodfish out due to a proliferation of small pondweed and some Chara but as it turns out mostly small pondweed as I treated the pond earlier with Cutrine plus. The Small Pondweed was taking in all the nutrients I was adding to create an algae bloom. Hence the water stayed crystal clear. Sure I would have had some survivor bluegills, but growth may not have been as good as possible and I wouldn't have had the numbers with the crystal clear water the macrophytes were causing. I will refill soon after the pond dries out for a few days and restock with broodfish.

Anyway as I was pumping water the last of the water out I noticed hundreds of fry congregating near the sump pump in the five gallon bucket. Since I have a couple of circular tanks, I had bartered for taxidermy work, I decided to see how many fry I could salvage and throw them into the tank. I think there are at least 500 fry in the tank probably closer to a thousand.

Although I did drain as much as possible and limed last fall when I drained, I did have at least one monster male fathead survive. How any fish could survive that is beyond me.

So here's the kicker: Since the fry are too small to identify yet (although they appear a little tubby) I could be going to all this trouble to get fathead minnows on feed. I will feel pretty silly if they turn out to be fatheads.

Here are some pics:

The tank. The black sump pump tubing is connected to a sump pond in the above holding pond that has been disconnected from power. However due to the drop in elevation there is still sufficient gravity flow to keep new water coming in (probably along with some zooplankton) and it keeps the water spinning slowly in the tank. Water goes out a center pipe and drops into a ditch I usedto by pass my trout pond water from my biggest pond. The white hose you see is connected to very small pump that I used originally to recirculate water and aerate, but it's not really necessary and at this point I am not using power and would rather not.

Note the clock feeder I set up. I have put in ground up krill and special powdered diet Bill Cody gave to me last year from Mark Griffin of Purina.



A view from the other side. Note my new dog on the back deck that is always watching me.



Here's a close up where you can see some of the fry. Most of them spook away when you get close enough to take picture.

Cecil,

If you have a magnifying glass look at one of the fry and see where the anus is. A minnow will have a preanal length that is longer than the postanal length.

No magnifying glass but I will get one.

Thanks for the tip Chris!

If the fry are longer than a half inch you should be able to tell the difference by just looking at them. Lepomis get there normal shape by the time there are that size.

Very true but they are smaller than that. Probably 1/4 inch.

I'll measure one and take pic with the magnifying glass and post it if anyone is interested.

Cecil, I know you've done very well over the years raising trout, bass, etc. But this could be your chance to break into the lucrative taxidermy market for trophy FHM!

Ha Ha I've already got plenty of them in the holding pond. Some of the males are 5 inches long.

Trouble is I don't have a freeze dryer.

A pic of small FH in a clear observation jar would be helpful for many here. One under a mag glass would be good also.

Dang, a 5" FHM... I'd proudly mount him on my wall. That is one giant FHM!

I didn't measure them actually but they may be closer to 4 inches considering I'm a angler at heart. All I know is I've never bought anything this big at the baitstore.

My son has a wopper of a FHM in a fish tank. Maybe he should contact Cabalas and see if they want it to show off in their stores?

How big is it?

But the better question is no matter how big it is, how long will it last in the same tank as the predator fish?

OK.

I captured one for a photo. I apologize about the sawdust on the measuring board. I know it looks terrible. One of the drawbacks of keeping aquaculture stuff in the taxidermy shop, and of course that I am a slob.

Looks like a bluegill to me. Is it just me but am I seeing some bluegill pigmentation on the gill cover? And tail is not as forked as a fathead minnow? I'm wondering if they would have been more stout at this stage of their development if I had a better zooplankton population? What does everyone else think? BG or FHM?

And according to Chris Steelman's following statement it's not in the minnow family.

Little Lepomid.

BG

Good Deal!

Now if I can keep them alive until I refill and fertilize the pond. Could start refilling in a day or two.

I suppose I will have two different sizes of bluegills if I get a second hatch.

Are you relieved Cecil? All that work, and it's actually for BG not FHM!

Yeah! Now if I could just get another dry day or two I can start filling and soon plant the pond with these fry along with some new broodfish.

How many BG are you shooting for as a final production number for the year? Are you going to pellet feed them and high grade them like Bruce as been doing?

I'm not sure about numbers possible in a 1/10th acre pond. I would be happy with as few as several hundred as long as they are fast growing and round like they were last year I did this. I do think if all is right several thousand would be possible in this pond. Yes I have selected the fastest growers fron last year,which are in a cage right now. However this year I may keep more just to have more on hand.

Feed training in the pond is no problem with these bluegills. When they start running in schools along the shoreline they almost instantly gravitate toward the feed if it's the appropriate size.

Bluegills are supposed to be easy to feed train but I'm sure Bruce's selective breeding has a lot to do with it.

Here is a larval cyprinid. You can see that the preanal length(10.5 mm) is barely longer than the postanal length(9.5 mm).

What species is that Chris? Doesn't look like an FHM or GSH... Emerald shiner?

Not sure. Maybe a redfin shiner.

At that size, your guess is as good as mine when it comes to shiners! You need a microscope and the patience to count ray numbers.

Thanks for the picture Chris. Nice tip too.