Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Lake Chubsuckers Available

What is normal clarity??????? For most members here on the forum who are have fertile ponds either from fertilizer or natural soil fertility average clarity for best growing fish with plankton the ""normal"" water clarity is 2 ft +/- 8".

Many less fertile ponds have water clarity of 2.5 to 3.5ft. IMO the preferred clear water designation for LCS is more intended for lower suspended silt concentrations rather than reduced clarity due to plankton blooms. Perpetually silty pond conditions due to suspended silt and clay probably have a negative influence on some life stage of the LCS. IMO many ponds that have reduced clarity the reduced clarity is more due to suspended detritus, silt and clay (brown-tan-gray water color) rather than plankton density (green hues).

Thank you. I do not have suspended particle problems except after heavy rain events. My clarity varies, but probably averages over 2 feet in terms of seeing fish.

My lake chubsuckers came in today in great shape and are in the tank.

Mine came in a couple of weeks ago, also in great shape, a few extra too. Great packing.

What is the secret of keeping fish alive in a bag for 3 days?

Cool temperatures, pure oxygen in the above air space, smaller fish, and very few fish per gallon. Fish 3 days in a bag is very risky business and a good way to have dead fish.

Apparently his kill rate is about 5%. That is why I asked.

RAH, can you tell me how many grams/ounces of fish per gallon of water and O2 were in the bag? Or where did you get 'em from and I can call them.

I got them from Brian Zimmerman and there was little water compared to the "air space". In thinking about this, it makes good sense. What you need is high oxygen in the water, not lots of water. I do not have the quantitative numbers, but the results sure surprised me. He knows what he is doing! If you are ever west of Indy, I hope that you might stop by our place.

Thanks, I'll give him a call. I might need to ship fish a ways away....

How far are you away from Freedom, Indiana?

I am between Indianapolis and Crawfordsville, just south of I74. A bit north of Freedom.

Just an update. All 12 lake chubsuckers from Zimmerman's are growing well in the fish tank on shrimp and algae pellets. Thank you for the tip on the fish and the info on feeding them. Merry Christmas!

Good deal!

RAH - Any pictures of your lake chubsuckers in the aquarium? Drop some food near the front glass for a good pic.

Not the best pics, but you can see them sorta...

Pictures are okay to get a current general size of them. They look healthy. How big do you plant to grow them before stocking into you pond or forage pond?

Thanks for sharing the study you listed earlier Bill Cody. I see where it stated LCS normally spawn at the same time as LMB, so I`m assuming only 1 spawn per year from the LCS?

Yes, only one spawn per year. Spawning seems to last about 1-2 weeks sometime in April here in Virginia.

I have 25 adult YP and RES in the pond, so I am guessing they should be 4" to be safe?

Yes with YP as the main predator in the pond 3"-4" LCS will be very safe especially if there are FHM in the pond. FHM is an easier to catch prey fish for the YP than LCS. LCS are quite a bit better at avoiding predators than FHM.

What is the reason for adding these to your pond RAH? I thought they do not reproduce in ponds. Just a novelty and fun?

There are lots of FHM in the pond. I will likely need the LCS to get off a good spawn (along with the YP) before adding SMB. (LCS will reproduce while CCS will not, as far as I have read).

My LCS reproduce in the 0.34 acre mud bottomed pond they are in with no issues.

I guess I was getting them confused with the other kind, the ones in creeks. Thanks for denoting the difference between the two.

Do male and female chubsuckers grow at different rates? We seem to have two size classes among the the ones in the aquarium.