Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Any experience with feed trained black crappie?

Anyone that is a supplier, manager, or recreational pond owner have any experience with feed trained crappie?

I presently raise feed trained fish (largemouth, smallmouth, bluegill, yellow perch, and three species of trout. See:

http://www.ligtel.com/~jjbaird/bairdfish2.htm

I have the opportunity to purhase small feed trained crappie, and attempt to grow them out in a very small aerated lined pond (30 by 25 by 7 feet deep) with no natural feed or other fish species. If the fish adapt and stay on the feed they would they would eventually be relocated into a larger pond.

Remember this is not for recreational use with natural feed, but for growing out fish that are fed pellets.

I have heard that crappies are stress prone from hauling and can be fickle when relocated. Any feedback?

Good afternoon, Cecil.

I don't think that a lot of people have worked on black crappie culture. However, one of my buddies in graduate school worked on pond culture of black crappies. He and my old advisor published a paper in North American Journal of Fisheries Management a while back. If you get me a mailing address, I could drop you a copy of the paper. It's only 7 pages long.

They did get the black crappies to go onto feed pretty well. They used a prepared diet, but a moist one.

They did indeed have the standard problems with handling and holding the crappies. Actually, they had by far the best luck by draining the ponds and moving the fish at night!! Interesting, I always thought.

Maybe you'll get more feedback from other pondmeisters. However, I suspect you would find the paper to be interesting.

Dave Willis

Dave,

I would most certainly be interested in a copy of the paper. I'd be glad to reinburse you for your trouble and postage.

My snail mail address is:

Cecil Baird
4700 N HWY 33
Ligonier, IN 46767

Thanks a bunch! If you are ever looking for any other publications or research I may have it. I have years worth of Aquaculture Magazine issues and I have publications on various subjects.

It's in the mail.

BIll Duggan, are going to tell them about Ken's hybrid crappie? Ken has a hybird crappie he sells. WHo knows you may get some info. from Ken about 'em.

Thanks Greg, using Ken's hybrid crappies you can grow a 8 pound crappie in your bathtub in 6 months. Stocking rate(normal sized bathtub) 500, or 800 with whirpool.

Checked on Ken's crappies and asked him some pointed questions via Email. As usual he would not respond. I was told by another biologist that it was mostly hype, as in his other fish. The biologist indicated they would not be sterile, or have a particular sex bias as in hybrid bluegills.

My customers do not want hybrids of any kind anyway.

Checked on Ken's crappies and asked him some pointed questions via Email. As usual he would not respond. I was told by another biologist that it was mostly hype, as in his other fish. The biologist indicated they would not be sterile, or have a particular sex bias as in hybrid bluegills.

My customers do not want hybrids of any kind anyway.

Nice to see Bill's got a good sense of humor about Ken's fish. Cecil have got to be kidding Ken did not give you a straight answer???? Could you imagine Ken contributing to this site?

Duggan, you are the man!

All right you got me started on Ken again. No where in his catalog or web site does it claim the the hybrid crappies are sterile. Cecil in an earlier post I suggested the best way to get a hold of Ken is to call him.

Cecil, got Ken's new catalog in the mail Saturday. States the Hybrid Crappies do reproduce. Will fax you a copy of the crappie info if you want it.
If a crappie was produced which was sterile would that then make them suitable for smaller ponds?