Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding feeding fish

I heard that feeding fish is just for entertainment & they already have all of the food they need in the pond.Is this statement true?

I would say that the first part of this statement is false and the second part is true, but misleading. It is true because the fish do have the food they need in the pond and will find a natural balance, the problem is, you will have a much smaller carrying capacity for the pond and the fish will not be as large. When we "manage" our ponds, we are usually trying to outdo nature, hence the reason we feed and aerate.

how are the SMB/YP doing?
what diff. things do you do to manage your pond?

Hey BBJR - do give us an update on whats going on in your pond. You definitely have one of the most multispecies[ish] pond on the forum. Tell us about stocking dates, sizes, your feeding, fish growth, and how the fishing is coming? I've been considering another predator to two to help keep my BG and GSH numbers in check and Saugeye or Walleye were at the top of my list. I haven't read much at all on WE success in ponds, but I think we could all use the info.

TJ, you mean you've ruled out Esox and FHC?

bbjr: How many Blue Tilapia are you stocking per acre, and at what size? Are they working to your satisfaction, and are you stocking them for plant control, forage fish or both?

I second what bbjr said about feeding.

The smallies and perch have been in the pond for three years this fall. I had seen a lot of growth on the smallies the first year they were in there, however, that has tapered off since my GSF population has gotten under control. The perch I caught this spring looked skinnier than I would have hoped, so I need to do something to change that. Also, in the three years that the perch have been in there, I have not noticed any spawning activity, or yoy, until I caught a 3.5" perch last night. So I have hope that things will turn in their favor.



I mainly just do a lot of observing to gauge my pond's balance. If I see that something is looking out of balance, I try to change it. This may include, structure for the fish, vegetation, and the populations of the fish themselves. Personally, I do not aerate, yet. Although, I would like to in the future, but I do feed.

Hey, TJ. I will try to find a thread I started that has all my stocking info on it, but I can give you the updates that I haven't posted, yet.



It has gotten even more diverse, since the last time I updated my sig. My pond now includes a rock bass, 10 PS, crayfish, a 10lb flathead, and 7-8 LMB (unfortunately, the LMB can be accredited to my good hearted and less educated (in regards to pond management), best friend).



Right now I am feeding the fish game fish chow, three times a day, and am probably going through a bag every 6 weeks, or so. I only see the GSF and the GSH actually eating the food. I have been building my house and have not had as much time to fish as I would like, but I still try to get out there when I can. Here are some updates on the different species:
GSF-looking much healthier, now; averaging 6-7 inches in length
YP-underweight, and smaller in population than the GSF; average length caught is 8-10 inches
FHM-haven't seen any in since the first summer they were in there, three years ago
GSH-definately have a breeding population; I see several different schools
SMB-low recruitment, although I still see smaller schools of 6-8 inch fish; first year stockers are around 14-16 inches
RES-I have only caught one and it was last fall, but it was very fat and around 8"; I do not see them, either
HSB-I have not seen or caught a single one (I stocked 25, I think, 1.5 years ago)
WE-only stocked 5 to see how they would do, but I have not caught any, yet
CC-haven't seen them this year, but they have been growing very quickly
Blue Tilapia-no budget for them this year
Grass Shrimp-I haven't done any sampling specifically for them, but I haven't seen any this year; Can you tell me what you do when you sample for them? Can they be seen in the water?
Rock Bass-caught him twice in a row last fall (It felt like finding a needle in a haystack)
crayfish-haven't seen them, I imagine the SMB had a good dinner the night we put them in
Flathead Catfish-I let my BIL throw him in there last fall (probably a big mistake, but I like the thought of possibly catching him); I imagine he is doing great and probably has a belly full of HSB
PS-I caught one 3 weeks ago, and he put on about 2 inches from last summer; 8-10 inches on average
LMB-I hate the fact that these are in there, but I got to deal with it now; I seen two seperate schools of fry this spring; I am going to try to remove every one of them and had one for dinner tonight; she was very healthy (although I did not get a weight), but I was surprised to see she still had her eggs; this gives me some hope that the schools of fry I seen may be half SMB/ half LMB



I wish I could give you a little insight on this one. When I get some time this fall, I am going to spend some serious time fishing specifically for them to see how they are doing. I will let you know if they put on any growth. Part of me thinks they were already dinner for the flathead, though.

I happened to clean a NP this spring in Minnesota that had a 9" BG in it's stomach and a 7" YP



You know, I can't remember what Rex brought me last spring. If I had to take a guess, I would say they were 4-6" on average and I think I stcked 20-25lbs/acre. Last year, I was mainly stocking for algae control, although, the forage was a bonus. If I had the money to stock them this year, it would mainly be for forage.

I didn't stock them this year, due to budget constraints, but I am not sure they did that well in my pond, anyways. I get a lot of FA in the early spring, but by the time my water is warm enough for the tilapia, the FA is already gone. I am theorizing that this lack of food is causing spawning difficulty with the tilapia, b/c I did not see many beds last summer.

Hey, Grant, I feel a little awkward posting all of this in your thread, so I can move it somewhere else if you would like, but I felt it went along with your question about what I am doing in regards to managing my pond, so I decided to post it here.

And growth is usually more rapid with feed trained pellet fed fish than their counterparts that are subsisting on natural feed although there are exceptions.

My feed trained pellet fed fish tend to have not only higher relative weights but they are 2 to 4 years ahead in growth than their natural feed counterparts.

Very often in ponds a main reason for low fish growth is lack/shortage of food. This contributes to unbalanced fish populations and less than optimum fish condition. Supplemental feeding helps as it efficiently adds energy/growth without much effort (energy spent). Proper harvest is also critical factor.

What kind of fish can I stock in my 3/4 acre pond to feed the SMB?

RES, GSH (golden shiners), and FHM (fathead minnows) are generally considered good ideas to stock for forage for your SMB. There are a couple guys who have experienced very good success with GSH actually sustaining a population in a SMB pond. The FHM will have to constantly be stocked as they are eliminated quickly, the RES don't reproduce probably enough to feed your SMB alone, but the GSH might be the answer.

grant, call the PB office if you don't subscribe to the magazine. There were a couple of good articles in some of the recent past months issues. I don't remember which months they were, but they were good reference articles that would apply to the pond that you're planning.

I am feeding also, all I see is mainly Bluegill. I stocked bluegill, redears and golden shinners but dont seem to see the golden shinners anymore, I think the Bass ate them all. What time of day is the best time to feed and how much per acre.

Welcome Newfishguy! The best time of day to feed isn't that critical, as long as it's the same time every day until the fish get used to feeding on pellets. Once that happens, you can vary the feeding time a bit, but it's better to be consistent. I feed 2x day, 1 hr after sunrise and 1 hr before sunset, but others here feed at different times of the day.

As for how much to feed, that all depends on the fish in the pond. Rough rule of thumb - Feed as much as they will totally consume in 15 minutes.

Thanks esshup. I have been feeding 2 times a day currently. 9 in the morning and 6:30 in the evening. I just wanted to make sure I was doing the best I could. I will see how much they eat in 15 minutes and adjust my feed time accordingly.

Good luck and thanks for the info.

You're welcome. If feeding too much, it's a waste of feed and you are increasing the nutrient load in the pond.