Ben A. 10 shiners of spotfin or steelcolor and/or bluntnose minnows in a 1 acre pond without predators will find each other to spawn and recruit young fish. These are schooling fish so all survivors will hang out together. 10 survivors of about 50:50 male and female mix will easily produce several thousand youngsters that without predators will grow fast due to excess food and low competition. I produced a pond full of spotfins from 12-16 adults. Spotfins are prolific and lay eggs over the entire summer. If you can get 10 fish to survive you will be surprised at how many you will have after a summer of minnow reproduction. Note the spotfin and steelcolor shiners need special spawning substrates with cracks and crevices to lay their eggs. If you provide these artificial structures you can easily monitor the egg laying process by periodically examining the spawning devices. Bluntnose minnows spawn the same as FHM so similar habitat is required. PM me if you need more information about building spawning structure for the shiners.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 02/07/15 09:51 PM.
