Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Bull minnows yes or no?

Bull minnows are native to all the creeks here. I can trap them for free. I have a 4 acre LMB,BG pond.

Have you looked up information on them?

I am very unfamiliar with that species.

Travis says Bull Minnows are a common name for Banded Killifish, a forage option he likes in some situations.

Banded Killifish

Yes, thanks Omaha that is exactly them. They are sold live in bait stores all around here. I can catch them in roadside tidal ditches very easily.

If interested in this species here is more reading material:
http://www.arkive.org/banded-killifish/fundulus-diaphanus/

http://hatch.cehd.umn.edu/research/fish/fishes/banded_killifish.html

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/delriver/artdel_sp_banded_killifish.pdf

http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=FI0421

MSC, are you sure they are banded killifish and not the closely related mummichog which tends to frequent a bit saltier habitat. Mummichog can survive in freshwater and can even spawn in it. Mummichog and banded killifish are so closely related they can hybridize and actually their hybrids form an all female population in the north end of their native ranges. Anyways, I have no experience with mummichogs in ponds other than watching them in aquariums and a few I kept in an outdoor goldfish style pond. They are likely similar to banded killifish in most aspects.

If there are already LMB in your pond, it will be a real challenge getting banded killifish established. If you have ample shallow areas and quite a bit of vegetation and your bass population isn't out of control it is possible. However, from your previous posts, it sounds like your pond is bass heavy. So, you most likely will have a challenge getting them to take hold. Stock them in mid to late spring when they begin spawning to up the odds of them establishing themselves.

Thanks for the info Bill and CJ. Shucks now I'm not sure what they are, they look so similar, and I don't have one to look at now.

But CJ, I am close to you and I catch these in all the creeks around the Patuxent River. They have that brilliant orange yellow color in the summer when they spawn. And these things are carnivores, they attack dead crabs and chicken necks when you are crabbing. And they travel in packs. They are very fast and dive for cover when anything approaches them. When held in bait tanks I have seen a 3" try to swallow a 1.5". And they can do it.

I hope this helps what they are. Maybe I can trap some and take pics but I haven't tried that in Oct before.

Sounds like mummichog to me... Take a photo of one and post it for confirmed ID.

I need help. I don't know how to post a topic. Can somebody walk me through it?

Click on the specific sub forum link that best fits the topic you would like to cover. For example, if you had a question about how many LMB to stock per acre in an IL pond, you would select the Types of Fish to Choose sub forum under the Stocking a New Pond forum. Then, when that screen comes up, click on the New Topic link near the upper left. A screen will come up with an area to write a heading and then an area for the body of your post. When you are done, click the Submit button...

To me they look like a pretty benevolent forage fish with a similar place in the pond to fatheads. Doesnt seem like they could survive with a large population of predator fish, I bet they'd be good supplemental feed if you have consistent access to them. Not to mention theyre free!

I found this link that CJ posted somewhere on here http://web1.cnre.vt.edu/efish/families/fundulidae.html

And what I have is definitely mummichogs and not banded killifish. Everyone around here always called them bull minnows.

Then I was reading about mummichogs and found this.

Mummichogs are hosts to a parasitic fluke, Homalometron pallidum...

What? Maybe I don't want to put a couple thousand of these in my pond.

Many if not all fish carry parasitic flukes and such. It is just part of nature. Sourcing fish from a wild source can lead to parasites being introduced to your pond though.

Thanks for that CJ, I feel better now. I was hoping you would chime in again on this. You seem to be the minnow guy. I like these mummichogs because I can get them very close to home, and they make excellent live bait. They are very hardy. They can live for weeks in a bait bucket and they are much more hardy than say Golden Shiners after you hook them.

Dang, I was wrong again. I found these pics on my camera of the minnows I catch.



These are small ones only about 1.5" long. Can someone help ID these? Now I think they are definitely banded killifish.

The one on top looks a lot like one of the species of stickleback, maybe 3 spine?. Bottom fish could be a killifish. CJBS will have a good 2nd opinion.

Thanks Bill. I noticed looking at the pics they do kinda look like 2 different types of fish. I caught them in the same trap last Oct. It only had about a dozen in it, all small ones.

I should have put them in a glass jar of water so you could see the fins better. CJBS does seem to be a minnow expert.

Top one is a stickleback, which can't be determined for sure with that picture. Second fish is definitely a banded killifish.

Thanks so much. I have never even heard of a stickleback.

But looking at the VA aquarium page, I honestly think I am also getting mummichogs in the same spot.

It is an oxbow type lake off the main Patuxent River that is definitely tidal and floods thru culverts into road side ditches at high tide. Schools of minnows follow the tides into and out of the shallow water.

Very possible, both banded killifish and mummichogs are often found together in moderately brackish water.

Travis and Bill must have taught me well, as those would have been my guesses. I'm impressed with myself.

TJ - The brackishites genus, right?

Precisely

I think CJ told me a while back that Zetts in WV is a good source for true banded killifish. I believe they sell them as bull minnows.

These guys are great at identifying minnows. Around here most people call both mummichogs and banded killifish, bull minnows. They are both very hardy and make great live bait. I think they are both known for mosquito control in ponds.

I have seen thousands of banded killifish (I think that's what they are) 'shoaling' which is like rolling all over each other in a big school. I see this in May or June. I will be keeping my cast net in the truck.

I agree that the one above is stickleback. I'd avoid these fish in the pond. Predators eat them but there are better forage fish. That's only my opinion.

Does anyone, including Travis, know if the bull minnow sold by Zetts WVA are banded killifish or gulf killifish?
https://srac.tamu.edu/index.cfm/getFactSheet/whichfactsheet/149/

I have never personally bought any from them, so I cannot say for sure. However, based on the artwork they use in their catalog, the fish appears to be a banded killifish as does the description they give. Also, if they were going to raise a different species, it would likely not be the gulf killifish, but rather the mummichog,Fundulus heteroclitus.

I would like to add this about the banded killifish and mummichogs. I have been fishing with these for years. I like the 3" size ones.

They can live all day on a hook. They can live forever in a 5 gal bucket if you feed them and change the water. They are well known around here as being the best bait for flounder.

I have personally fished these for catfish side by side against Danny Kings punch bait (which was the best) and the minnows won.

Besides catfish, they are excellent bait for LMB, Rockfish (striped bass), and chain pickerel. Smaller ones are great for crappies. They are also great bait for both yellow and white perch.

I believe the way both of these minnows act makes them much more survivable in a pond than say golden shiners and certainly fatheads. They are very fast and stay close to cover and dive into cover and hide when anything comes close. They can hide in just the leaves and detritus of the bottom. In a pond I'm sure they could survive the bass, if you stocked enough.