Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Daphnia stocking and Silver Ch. Cats

Hi Guys,
I was given a catalog from Zetts Fish farm in Drifting PA. They have a Daphnia culture (etomostracans-cladochera-cyclops) for sale. They reccomend 2-3 cultures per acre, claiming that all fish from minnows to predators feed on these. My question is: Would this be beneficial enough in my 7 acre pond to warrent spending about $400 (2002 catalog). Does this work? I have a Stren 75# on the north end for the wipers.

Also, here is the claim they make on Silver Channel Cats: "All ponds should be stocked with 100 to 500 fingerling channel cats, for algae control. At our hatchery, all ponds are stocked with channel cats to control the growth of algae. We use no chemicals, and our ponds are always clear of algae, as channel cats feed on it."

I need some input because they also reccomend for new small pond stocking (1/4 to 1 acre) 100 crappies along with the usual suspects.

Thanks for any input!

Uh, just from experience, the only time cats eat algae is when there's nothing else for them to eat. If that's what they're surviving on, then their liable to be pretty skinny and taste pretty bad.

They'll be much happier to help you thin down yer bluegills...

Jason - Be very carefull what you believe whenreading the Zett's catalog. They only tell you part of the story. They, like many other catalogs, tell you enough to make their point and leave out lots of other impt info that the consumer should know. Their catfish ponds are clean of algae primarily because of all the bottom stirring, fish crowded, activity keeps the pond muddy-cloudy and algae does not grow in those ponds due primarily to turbidity and stirring of the sediments not cause the cats are eating all the algae. If the cats are eating algae then the pond is way too crowded with small cats who would rather be eating invertebrates and bottom organisms which would cause better fingerling growth compared to if they were eating mostly algae. Algae is not a preferred food for them.

I have never seen examples of their Daphnia cultures. I am sure these cultures are a mixture of a variety of zooplankton from one of their fishless ponds. Most naturalized ponds have natural populations of zooplankton, yours included. Diversity and sizes of zooplankton in the pond are determined primarily by the structure of the fish community. I question what types of problematic and or nuisance algae types might also be included in the Daphnia cultures which are collected from their wild ponds. I rarely ever see a pond that has severely depleated zooplankton populations unless the pond is regularily treated with copper sulfate. Basically all ponds have natural cycling zooplankton populations that increase and decrease due to the amount of food available to the zooplankton and seasons as affected by temperature.

An article in PBoss magazine should come out this year with more details about this topic. Look for it.

Bill, Thank you for the insight. Proffesionals like you keep amatures like me from spending lots of time money and potential problems on our ponds. Thank you for your input and time on this board.
JN