Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Golden Shiners & Fat Head Minnows

Spring will soon be here but it seems it already is on some days in this crazy weather we are having. I walked the pond shore yesterday and found a dead 6 inch GSH that was 2 inches when they were stocked last spring. The FHM that were also stocked last spring are about 2 inches long now. So it seems you get a lot more protein in a year from a GSH then a FHM. So does FHM have any advantage over GSH except maybe cost?

The minnows were not fed but my natural pond does have lots of food in it.

That's an interesting question John, although FHM will spawn greater numbers I wonder if stocking say 10 pounds of FHM would produce more protein in a year than 10 pounds of GSH.
In a pond with no predators which species produces more protein in a year, anyone have any data on that?

In my pond the FHM disappeared after one year but the shiners survived and population increased alot so that the trout don't even eat much of the trout pellets.

I don't think it's a pure question of what produces more protein, but rather what produces more usable protein for the size of predators that are in your pond? FHM are a good starter source of protein for the smaller sized fish, but the GSH will be there longer, and will feed larger sized fish.

I agree, but from a production standpoint has anyone done studies on which species would produce more useable protein in a year starting with the same amount of pounds stocked.
In most cases the offspring of the GSH wouldn't be too big for most predators stocked the second year.

My guess is in a pond without predators, more pounds of FHM will be produced than GSH. FHM are further down on the food chain than GSH are.

The FHM was a little bigger then I guessed and the GSH were a little smaller but the growth of the GSH is impressive. I've seen a few bass minnows left over from the winter kill a year ago so this year should be great for a minnow explosion without preditation.

ONE YEAR GROWTH


These little hopper bugs were all over the spatterdock and in the water last year and I observed the minnows eating them while I was in the water working on my wood duck house. So the bugs along with the bumper crop of tadpoles I had no doubt helped the GSH growth.

If the fish with the 3" measurement written over it is the one you think is a FHM, it is not. It appears to be a GSH or another species of shiner, but most likely a GSH, definitely not a FHM.

Thanks for that I.D. CJB. That would mean that my GSH that were stocked in April were reproducing early enough for 3 inch offspring’s. I got my pictures out and the forked tail definitely makes the small minnow a GSH. That makes me happy. I was going to stock more GSH but maybe that's a waste of money.
Thanks

Yes, it appears your GSH are well established.