Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Gambusia On - err, Under - Ice

I am conducting an experiment this Winter to see how Gambusia will fare through a Central Ohio Winter. Two of the most common negative thoughts on the Gam's chances of making it through a cold Winter - 1) deprived of their ability to leap out of the water and escape hungry mouths, they will be eliminated by predation under ice cover, and 2) they will be killed by low temperatures - will be examined.

I have Gams in three different BOW this Winter, my 1/2 acre new pond (where 100 Gams stocked in June produced 100's of thousands to millions of offspring by Fall), my 1 acre established pond (where about 500 Gams transferred from the new pond during the Summer produced a smaller number of offspring, that nonetheless could be found in the shallows around the entire perimeter by Fall), and a 100 gallon horse trough (which had about 30 Gams put in it in early Fall).

These three locations have vastly differing levels of predation. In the new pond, the largest number of Gams face a small number of predators (a little over 300 total YP, SMB, RES, and BG, plus a lonely Walleye). The middlin' number of Gams in the big pond have a much bleaker outlook, being faced with well established populations of LMB, HSB, CC, BG, and RES. The 30 Gams in the horse trough have no predators to worry about at all.
Obviously, final results will not be known until Spring. I suspect the Gams in the big pond will likely be gone by then, but I think the species will still be present in the new Pond next year (is there any way 300-some small predators can eat what must be well over 1000 Gams apiece over the Winter?).

I do have some preliminary results on the question of Gams' cold-water survival abilities. We have had ice on the ponds for about 10 days now, and active Gams can be seen where the edge of the ice melts at the shoreline of the new pond on sunny afternoons. In addition, I forgot to plug the tank heater in the horse trough in one night this last week, and the Gams in it survived temperatures cold enough to put an inch of ice on the top and sides of the trough - the water temp must have been 32 degrees.

NOTE: These Gams, of a species not listed by the source, but described as "Winter hardy", are one of many species of Gambusia found throughout the country. Other species, native to southern climes, would undoubtedly have a harder time surviving in cold water.