Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help HSB stocking deaths??

Yesterday I stocked 35 HSB 4-6"'s.I also stocked 25 4-6" HBG.Today when I checked the pond,I found 5 dead HSB.There were 2 injured fish when I stocked that I expected to die.Is this normal to lose a few HBS when stocking?My biggest scare is that there may be alot more that didn't live,that I didn't see...The HBG are all alive and even eating some feed today in the cold water conditions.The HSB were expensive and a 3 hour drive away,so I hope there are some survivors.I am hoping as it warms up around here that I might see them again....Joe

How did you transport the fish?

Was there much of a temperature difference between the water they were transported in and the pond water?

Sorry to hear about the losses. There are folks here with a lot of fish transport experience hopefully one of those folks will chime in.

They were in Oxygenated bags.They also put some blue anti-bacterial stuff in the water to help with nipping wounds.I laid the bags in the shallow water of my pond for 15 minutes before release.If there was a temp difference it would be a little cooler in my pond.Two of the fish had bad scarring on them....Joe

What happened when you opened the bags and released the fish? Some morts are expected when stocking.

The HSB swam away to deeper water pretty quickly.The HBG just laid in the shallow water and swam away later.I saw two or three of the HSB swimming around the pond near the surface that I suspected would die.Of the 5 dead fish I found ,only one was floating.The rest were were dead on bottom.That is what has me wondering about survivors without being able to get an accurate estimate.Do you think they will show up for feed when the water warms?....Joe

My guess is most are ok if they swam off quickly. They will show up for feeding assuming they were on pellets before.

I have read that HSB are very picky when transporting and catching in hot weather. Not sure if that's true but I have read it. I have read that in water that get over 80F. in the summer if you catch a HSB you better be careful as it would seem the bigger ones can die pretty easy. By bigger I read around 3 pounds. I guess they can't take the heat very well and get real tired after fighting so hard when caught. I don't know for sure. Just letting you know what I read.

Ya , in the summer they wil die. Just keep it and eat it. Unless you have a tank with tons of oxygen to help them.

There is lots of info here on HSB and their traits including summer handling.

They are very bad about nipping each other in the bags.I don't know how they ever survive overnight delivery.I would have paid extra to seperate them a little more if I had been aware of this.I only had 35 split into two bags and they were rough on each other.....Joe

South east ohio. You should of just had Jones drop them off.

I just walked around the pond today.I didn't find any dead fish.I also saw 2 HSB in about 2 1/2' of water.The HBG are basking in the sun.The HBG are feeding just a little bit.The FHM are feeding like crazy,making laps around the pond.It is supposed to get to 80 degrees for about three days.Maybe the feeding will pick up some.As the water clears up some and I can see deeper,I hope to see more of the HSB....I didn't have Jones deliver my fish because I wanted to stock the RES and the FHM earlier than the other fish.It was worth the trip to see a large Hatchery and look around.Thanks to everyone for listening to me worry,I hope it all works out......Joe

they didnt tell you to acclimate the fish to the new water by adding a little bit of pond water at a time due to likely diff. in ph, and temp? that is a much better way of getting the water to the correct temp. and also for the fish to slowly adjust to the new water chemistry. If bags are left in the sun in shallow water for too long, the water can actually become quite hot, even if it's cool outside.

When using O2 filled bags it is imperative to get the fish in the pond free of the bag quickly once the bag is open. There is not enough O2 in the water in the bag for long once it is opened.

Eric, are you saying that once the bag is opened, it is more important to get the fish in the water quickly rather than temper the water in the bag with pond water? I feel that a few minutes of adding a quart of water a minute from the pond, which should have sufficient O2, is more important than dumping the fish quickly in the pond which may have a vastly different chemistry and temerature. Or, are you suggesting that laying the bags in the water for what I have seen suggested as much as 20 to 30 minutes to equalize the temp. is the way to go?

There are a couple ways to temper O2 bagged fish. One way is to place the bag unopened in the water if there are temp differences of more than a few degrees as you said. Do not just dump them in if there is a signifiguent difference - could be a fatal mistake. It starts with knowing the temps. A good method is to know the pond temp ahead of time and bring the bag temp to match while you are on the trip. I use an ice chest/tub with frozen water bottles or an aquarium heater. You can also use an onsite tub with aeration to temper them. One thing to never do is open the bag and hold them in that bag for more than a couple mins.

On the chemical temper I rarely see much difference if the hatchery is local and has the same type of land/dirt. That of course is dependent on your pond being a suitable environ for that type of fish. If in doubt ask the hatchery by describing your pond traits to them and ask if there's is similar. I have not encountered any chemical differences that required mixing the water first.However it is possible especially if the fish are not local. Know the fish also as most that I deal with are hardy/tolerant. The exception is TShad which don't come bagged. They should be chemically tempered using pond water.

I have now seen 6 HSB swimming around the pond,so there are some survivors.I didn't really think my release was what killed the Fish.I thought it was from them chewing each other up in the bags....Will and can the fish harm themselves by instantly leaving the warmer shallow water on release and going to the deep base of the pond?I noticed the bluegill adjusted themselves slowly.The HSB instantly took off for deep water.....Joe

So far I have found 10 dead HSB.I saw another one swimming around this morning that won't make it.There is a sore spot on it's side that is white and festered and causing the fish problems....What do I need to do to prevent this from happening?I don't even know how many survived.I don't want to make the same expensive mistakes again.What do you guys think is wrong with these fish?.....Joe

Contact the hatchery and let them know. Sounds like stress induced problems. 1/3 morts is higher than normal.

Thanks,I will call them tomorrow.What is the large white growth appearing on some fish?Is it bacterial infection on wounds?....Joe

Called the Hatchery today.They told me to keep an eye on the pond and make sure no other fish die.They said call them back in two weeks for an update.They also said if I get more,they would seperate them better next time....Joe

Do you think that half are still alive ?

What is your take on the hatchery's reply ?

I love hybrid striped bass but I hate hauling them unless the weather is very cold. They can turn belly up on you in a blink of an eye. The main thing that we have found out with hauling hybrids is that you have to temper them very slowly. We get them out of Arkansas where the alkalinity is through the roof where as the alkalinity here in Georgia is typically less than 20 ppm. So we spend twice as much time tempering the hybrids than we do with other species. Also, when we haul them we load the tanks with a lot of salt, and I mean a lot. We just lost a few hundred hybrids a few weeks ago. When the fish got to the first stop in Georgia, all of the fish on the truck were tempered. However, no salt was added to the fish that stayed on the truck. A few hours later the hybrids were stocked in one of our holding ponds and most of them started dying the next few days, even though the fish were lively when they were stocked. The hatchery said what killed them was the fact that we did not add more salt to them when we tempered them at the first stop and then they were hauled for another few hours on poor/un-salted water. Even thought the fish looked great, the process had already started and they were just dead fish swimming. Not sure what your water quality is and what the water quality was in the bag, etc. but I would say that what likely killed them was the tempering process. Also I have never transported hybrids in a bag. Not sure how many fish you had in the bag or how big the bag was but that could have been too much stress on them also. Either way, I would keep an eye on the survivors over the next week or so; because the mortality will be delayed even for fish that get shocked from too much of a temperature change. Also, most of the ones that we lost never floated, they just sank to the bottom of the pond.

I really don't think 1/2 are still alive.I think it was luck that I actualy found the 10 dead fish,because they were on bottom just barely in my sight.I think there could be 6 to 10?They said they would try to make it right,so I guess I am on hold now.We will see how it goes.The biggest problem is the time,gas,and distance of the hatchery.I am dissapointed that I didn't recieve more insttruction and that they didn't seperate better for a 3 hour drive they were aware of.I am dissapointed in myself for letting them talk me into 5-7" fish instead of the smaller size I had planned on getting.Maybe I am wrong ,but I thought the 3-4" fish may have did better.I could have got some extras at $1.45 versus $3.25 per fish.What do you guys think so far?I have a closer hatchery with HSB,but he doesn't mess with small orders..........Joe

I think smaller fish would handle better, but I honestly don't know for sure... Maybe someone with more experience with HSB can chime in.