Any implications for my pond? Am I predator light in my 1/4 acre pond? I have freshly hatched fry everywhere. I also have flooded smart-weed and grass that the fry can hide in.
Here is what I have stocked so far:
June 2011: 3 dozen GSH, 5 dozen FHM
Mid July 2011: Alum treatment to clear the water and hydrated lyme to bring the PH back up. I had minnows trying to get out of the water when the PH crashed.
Late October 2011: 20 5-9" SMB (mostly 5", one 9")
Early December 2011: 110 4-6" RES and 4 gallons of small to medium sized minnows.
Note: I had to break 1" of ice to these stock fish, I'm not sure if the RES succumbed to a fish fungus or not due to the cold water temps. Never saw any RES floaters but I have tons of snails and fingernail clams for them to eat. I did see quite a few FHM floaters at the end of December with fungus infections.
March/April/May 2012: 11 2-5" YP & 30 4-6" YP (41 YP total), 28 2-3" RES and three 2" SMB
I do have 72 SMB that I am currently pellet training, they are now 3-5" long. Should I stock them sooner rather than later? I was planning to set them loose in about 4 weeks and was hoping to have them close 6" before they putting them in the pond. With this many fry in the pond I think they are going to ignore pellets for a while. I am wondering if I could end up with too many GSH down the road?
