Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Suggestions in my area for renovation

I live in East Texas just outside of Carthage. Anyone have a recommendation on someone to perform the rotenone treatment for my 1/2 acre pond? Ideal time of year to do this?

Timing for ideal rotenone treatment is suggested to do it when water is between 60F and 70F which provides a good longer kill time compared to when water is above 70F. Treatments can be done in water 50-60F but the chemical lasts longer and fish take a little longer to die.
This means for TX to do it spring or fall. It also will depend on when you want to restock fish, yet this spring or late fall or next spring. The warmer the water the quicker the rotenone detoxifies. I would not use rotenone in water above 80F. For an east TX treatment I would start with Lusk. Contact:Bob Lusk Outdoors
Address:PO Box 483, Whitesboro, TX 76273
Phone:(903) 564-5372. Email:info@bobluskoutdoors.com
Website:bobluskoutdoors.com

Then for 2nd opinions check with any fish farm and they should be able to do it or refer you to someone else.
1.To get estimates you will need the pond size and an address so they can look up your pond on Google earth to verify actual measurements. 2.Next they will need a current measurement, not a guess, of the maximum depth of the pond. 3. I would ask for a current secchi disk or equivalent reading to determine the water clarity; turbid water requires more chemical. 4. they will need to know all species of fish present; some species require more chemical. 5. I would ask if there is current inflow & outflow. From all that they should be able to provide a good cost estimate.

Decide if you or the applicator will remove the dead fish. You removing dead fish is cheaper. In my experience about 60%-70% of the fish will float within 3-5 hrs. Generally the smaller fish die first. All should be dead in 8-12 hrs. Most all fish will have floated within 3-4 days. A few dead fish may never float and just decompose on the bottom - it depends.

There are formulae to calculate how long the toxicity will last. Sunlight and increased temperature shorten the toxicity time.