Thanks, Canyon. I grew up in West Mich, but now am in Ann Arbor. Where is your tilapia supplier located? Would be good to chat with him. I'm a nature lover and not a huge fan of stocking fish only to have them die several months later. After doing some reading through this forum, it sounds like I want to avoid fingerlings for the reasons you mention.

I'm actually a member of the HOA Board and filling in the ponds is not an option according to DEQ, township, etc.

As mentioned, we do plan on dredging south end to 4-6'. That alone is estimated to cost $7-10k. How deep does it need to be for aeration to work?

The ponds are ~20 years old. One thing to note, the ponds don't seem to freeze completely unless temps are very frigid. Our chemical vendor hypothesized that we have some low flow springs underneath. Not enough to keep water level up, so we have a well pump running 24/7. Muskrats have created a leak somewhere in the system. According to long time residents, this land was swampland prior to a subdivision.