Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Smallmouth bass in pond?

I have a 40' by 20' pond which is around 7 feet deep. I'm located in the Catskills ny. Do you tink I could successfully breed SMB in it and will they live. The pond bottom is made up of clay but I will put pea gravel on the edges so the bass can breed.

Thanks

check this out for starters. From the archives.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92626#Post92626

Ok will they survive in a ny pond though and breed? Also what would be a good food chain if the main predator is a smb

Bill Cody has excellent advice for SMB. If he sees this, there is a chance he'll give you all the right answers. Till then here is another link to read up on.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=103428#Post103428

My guess would be that they can/will spawn, but survive is another story. A pond 7' deep in NY may not be enough, but we'll see what others say. There may be ways to work around it.

There is another thread that I liked about forage for SMB. I will try to locate it.

Here's the link I was thinking about. Its a good read. However it's in VA, so some of the stuff may not apply to you, but still worth reading for sake of forage, etc.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.ph...true#Post281821

ok, thanks, i dont think they will survive then. His is 18 feet. Do you think i can put chain pickerel in?

I hatched and produced several hundred smallmouth fingerlings up to 7 inches in length in a 1/10th acre pond about 8 feet deep on one end. Even feed trained with lights. Piece of cake. Only problem was when I moved them to tanks I had cannibalism due to insufficient grading.

Maximum depth means nothing.

Also, if the pond was only 20x40, how many pairs would spawn because of being territorial. I seem to remember something like keeping the spawn beds 20' apart? However, I would also think that you wouldn't want that much reproduction going on, or at all.

Separation of smallmouth bass nests range most commonly from 12ft to 30ft apart. It is considered by fish farms with dependable fingerling smallie production that the adults should have good nutrition prespawn. Some think crayfish are an important food item for the best egg production.

Chain pickerel(CP) do well in ponds when not in competition with bass, especially LMB. Sourcing them is the biggest issue. Most find them to be undesirable because they can compete with bass for space and resources and are not the best eating fish. However, depending on one's goals, they can be good for certain purposes in some ponds.

I've decided to get CP. What is a good food chain? Do you think they will survive and breed in the pond?

West Virginias will breed like rats in a much smaller space so CP should do fine. Whether or not you can source Esox is the question.

I know a place where to get them. Either I'll buy or catch them. What is a good food chain though and how many species of each fish?

They love BG and YP. I have seen them eat big snakes and fairly good sized ducks. I used to catch them fairly often in my back pond but they have just about disappeared in the last few years. LMB seen to wipe them out if there is no cover. Where to buy them? I may try to catch some out of a oxbow pond later this year.

If you have a commercial source for CP, please share as there are some on here that would be very interested in them.

Ken has it right, CP without cover are nothing more than tasty cigar shaped snacked to LMB.

Please list like 40 Cp, 10 Yp or something like that for food chain. Remember the pond is 20x40x7. The store doesn't deliver and I'm in ny.

What other species besides CP would you absolutely want in the pond? Or are CP the major focus?

Cp only predator

I'd stock BKF, FHM and GSH and around 10 CP.

How many bkf, fhm and gsh. Also what are bks and fhm

I found out killifish and Fatheads. Where can you buy them?

What will the killifish, Fatheads and shunted eat? Should there be dalphina or crayfish?

Shiners not shunters

Daphnia are zooplankton which exists naturally in all waters although large sized Daphnia may not survive well with lots of Daphnia eating fish present. Forage fish in general survive on the small invertebrates in the pond/lake which is why proper or good habitat is so important for growing fish and all wildlife. Without lots of natural forage fish then one has to resort to providing food for the fish to eat as suppliment to the natural forage foods. You will have to do a web search for local fish farm providers for the forage fishes and foods.

When raising fish one has to always be aware of not getting too many fish in the "pond" to overeat the foods present. This is a VERY common problem of almost all pond owners because it is hard to determine how many fish are actually present. People tend to think that they can always add or have more fish in the pond than it can naturally spport with a good balance. The big trick to pond fish management to maintain a good balance of fishes that are present and not have too many so all are growing and thriving well.

Mr. Cody, do you have any idea of how many pounds of fish that should be taken out of a large pond each year. I know WR has a lot to do with it but it seems like you could have to many big fish also.