Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Just looking for some theories

As I’ve mentioned in a couple other posts - I have two ponds. The upper is about 3/4 acre and the lower is an acre. I have bass and bluegills in both. I’ve owned them for a year and have stocked them with channel cats. I’ll say that is my primary objective for the time being. The Lower pond is deeper (18’). I have stocked more cats in the lower as it’s my primary fish pond. After a year of feeding and much observing I’ve noticed that the cats in the two ponds behave very differently. The upper pond cats do not feed aggressively. In fact when I throw pellets in - it can take five minutes or more for the first one to show. They will feed - but very casually over a long period of time. The lower pond however has cats that feed aggressively within seconds after I broadcast the feed. They churn the water up seconds after I toss the feed while the uppers swim around sipping pellets like a trout taking a dry fly. It has been like this every time for a year or more. And it doesn’t matter whether I am feeding daily or a week goes by between feeding. I’m just curious if any of you have any theories why? Keep in mind the two ponds are separated only by a dyke so the water quality and temp are the same. Yes there are more cats in the lower but even when I’m feeding daily - the lower pond cats are always much more aggressive and quick to the feed. And growth rate seems about the same in both ponds. None of this is super important. Just thought I’d see if anyone has any theories why this would be? I have a few but I keep disproving them.

Same size fish? Same number per acre stock rate? how about anything else present in pond?? Same water source?

Yes same water. Two ponds are only separated by a dyke. The upper pond has more vegetation. My original theory was that the upper pond got the food washed in from the rain and all the little worms and bugs etc were being consumed before the water flowed into the second pond. But this summer has been dry and I still see no difference to n the feeding behavior.

CC will consume FA, vegetation etc.. If you have veggies or algae, you have "bugs-worms-critters" that fuel the food chain. Whether that is steering behavior, who knows. Water temps could be different, but again, are the fish per acre stocking rates the same?

Seems like the most likely reason is that the casual feeders are not as hungry as the aggressive feeders and are getting food elsewhere. The greater amount of vegetation in the upper pond suggests a greater inflow of nutrients feeding the food chain. The upper pond appears to function as a settling pond for the lower pond in your situation, and would be expected to be more nutrient rich and thus support more "natural" forage.

Stocking rate is lower in the upper pond which I suppose could mean there’s more natural food to go around. And yes the presence of more vegetation makes sense too. Water temps are pretty much the same in both. I guess I never expected that these subtle differences would cause such a big difference in pellet feeding. I guess I’m seeing first hand that every pond is different even if they are right next to each other.

Nail on the head right there, Ryan.. and that's why I was asking about stocking rates. One pond may satisfy the needs of fish present, the other may not. More aggressive fish usually means more competition for food.

Yep makes sense. Thanks for the input!!

Ok upon further review I need to dig a little deeper. And I fully recognize none of this really matters. It’s not like I have a pond problem - I’m just one who gets stuck on puzzles and like to try to figure things out. So I’m on board with the upper pond being rich in vegetation and possibly other sources of food. The part that doesn’t compute to me is that when I feed multiple days in a row / to the point that the fish look fat and full the upper pond fish stop feeding completely. They won’t even surface at all for pellets. In fact I typically won’t feed the upper pond fish two days in a row. The lower pond fish however will feed aggressively day after day. Their consumption decreases because they can’t fit any more food in their stomachs but they show up on the surface immediately despite the fact that they are still half full from the day before. Is this just learned behavior since there is more competition? It’s the only plausible explanation I have at the moment.

Competition for food (and space) can be a cause for whats going on and you said the stocking rate is lower in the upper pond so the more heavily stocked lower pond is naturally going to have more competition. When the trigger to feed kicks in, they continue even though they may be regurgitating feed as quick as they eat it. Mother nature has built that into them, it's a normal reaction.

Local adaptation (more competition in lower pond) can drastically effect behavior. My question is do the BG feed on pellets. I am not aware of any situations where BG will not learn to feed on pellets over time. How would you describe the population status of BG and LMB in each pond?

Another question - did the CC come from the same source and at same time?

Ewest I have not seen any bg feeding on pellets. I wish they would - but I’ve not done any of the tricks yet to encourage it. As for the big lmb in the pond - I significantly thinned the lmb a year ago. There are still a number of them in the 6-8” range and a few larger. The bg have spawned both last year and this year. I see them frequently in all sizes. I don’t have a feel for the total population. I suspect I’ll get a better look next spring when water clarity is better. I can say my lmb now look healthier. Usually have something in their bellies as opposed to the skinny looking creatures they were when I started this project.

Oh and yes the cc came from the same source.