Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Effects of this heat. Is this normal?

I have a 1 acre newly dug pond that I stocked in mid March with 3-4" CNBG. I caught one in a cast net today that is already 7", so very happy about that! I have been feeding Am 400/500 twice daily. Until today, when the feeder would go off, the water would almost boil with feeding activity. In fact, you could see them stage just below the surface at feeding time and as soon as the pellets would hit, they would go crazy.
This evening, the feeder went off and...nothing! It took about 30 seconds before the first one showed up and even then, once they slowly started eating, they were much more subdued than normal. I understand that in extreme heat situations they feed less etc., but I was surprised to see it happen so suddenly, literally overnight! Has this been your experience as well? Should I reduce feeding now until it cools off some? FYI, the surface temp was 93 degrees!!!

Stop feeding for now. You may have a low oxygen event in process. If the fish are sluggish and you have low oxygen you need to mechanically stir the surface water enough to create a current in the pond and froth on top. See the concurrent "Fish Kill happening now, aeration questions" thread.

A water pump or boat motor is good for the stirring and frothing of the surface.

Thanks, I've been following that thread but didn't think I had a problem...until today. I'll see how they react in the morning and if similar, I'll shut down the feeder and figure out how to temporarily agitate/aerate it. I wasn't planning to add aeration until next year but I may have to accelerate that plan now, if that is indeed what is happening. In the meantime, all I have at my disposal is a tractor and bush hog. If I lowered the bush hog into the pond enough to stir it up for awhile, would that be enough to do any good? Are there any reasonably affordable DO meters available? I would like to know what my levels are but can't really justify a YSI or similar instrument.

The bushhog will agitate the surface immediately under it, but I don't know how effective it will be at circulating that agitation. If you see the surface water moving away from the platform, it may give you some benefit. You'll need to let it run for a while, I would think. With a boat motor or sump pump you can create current which will eventually bring the surface water into a circular pattern, thus distributing O2 across the entire pond surface. I've found best results by letting my prop run just deep enough to really chop up the surface and push the water away. I shoot the froth down one bank and within a minute I've got current moving. When you get this going you'll notice the surface temp start dropping as the cooler water starts mixing with the heated surface. This is VERY IMOORTANT....you only want to circulate the top 2-3 feet of water. Bringing up too much dead water from the bottom for too long will create bigger problems as what O2 you have will get mixed with it and be greatly reduced where it's needed.

I've had to do this a couple times already this year. Expect to do it again before long. I don't have aeration yet either.

I've seen them go off feed like that all at once. Sometimes a weather event will do it too.

If they don't want eat, I don't feed them.

I was just thinking that too, shrub. Mine have been kinda timid since that tropical system moved through last week. Water looks good, temp was 84 today, a lot better than 99!! PH was good too. Seem to have some algae blooming now. It's almost as if they feed better when the surface gets warmer.

JKS...if you dont see fish floating or sucking air on top, your O2 may be OK. Barametric pressure can have an effect on fish that may take them a couple of days to adjust to. If its increased lately, theyll move as deep as they can trying to balance the pressure. You may just want to shut down the feeder and go to hand feeding until they tell you they want more.

Well, I missed the early morning feeding so not sure how they reacted. I don't see any fish near the surface so I am going to assume they just went deeper to escape the heat. I really would like to know what the approximate DO levels are though. Is there any way to reliably check that without spending $3500+ on a high end instrument??
Thx

See if you have any floaters?

No floaters and minnows swimming normally next to the bank in 97 degree water! I guess they are ok. Gonna be a long summer.

Yes it is!!!

Well, this makes no sense. After all this hubbub, when the feeder went off yesterday evening and this morning, they acted perfectly normal and attacked the pellets as soon as they hit the water. I have no idea why they were absent two days ago, but they are, evidently, just fine.
Odd...

Critters be strange sometimes. I lost one of my biggest GSF today. Around 7". Guess he wore himself out guarding his nest. It's empty now. Should've had plenty O2 as it was in the middle of a patch of grass.

Checked my temp today. 98 degrees 5 feet from shore, but the critters dont seem to mind. They ate good....when they weren't running from Mrs. Bigmouth.